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Nour Hage (born 20 June 1988) is a British-Lebanese fashion designer, textile artist and digital artist. She is known for her frequent collaborations with Middle Eastern and South Asian artists and designers, including Riz Ahmed, Mashrou' Leila and many others. In 2021, she became a Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Early life

Hage grew up between Beirut and Saudi Arabia, and moved to Paris aged 18 to study fashion design at Parsons School of Design (since renamed Paris College of Art), where she graduated in 2010. She has been based in London since 2016.

Career

After graduating from Parsons, Hage went on to work for Paris-based Croatian-German designer Damir Doma. Working with him and seeing the success he managed at a young age pushed her to start her own brand.

Nour Hage

Since launching her eponymous brand in 2013, she initially focussed on womenswear, pivoting to menswear after a move to London in 2016.

In the early part of her career, Hage often stated that her style is heavily influenced by the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic & philosophy, the belief that things shouldn't be perfect, which can be seen in the asymmetry of her designs, and the materials and textiles she uses. She has been noted for her artisanal approach and the craftsmanship of her pieces.

In recent years, her focus has turned to research-based design focused on finding stories in Arab and Middle Eastern heritage and culture, with her designs being described as "reinventing Arab menswear". Her design practice focuses on contemporary reimagining of traditional Arab menswear, including abayas, traditional shirts and thawbs.

In 2014, Hage was featured as one of the ten up-and-coming designers in Lebanon during the Newcomer's Exhibit at Beirut Design Week. In May 2015, Hage was listed amongst the 5 Lebanese designers reshaping the Beirut fashion scene by CNN, who noted that "Hage's designs diverge from the pretty, polished effect that many Lebanese women prefer."

She has frequently collaborated with leading Arab and South Asian artists, especially musicians, dressing them for performances. She has collaborated with actor Riz Ahmed, Narcy, Mashrou' Leila, Zahed Sultan, amongst others.

Textile Art

In 2019, Hage took her first leap into textile art with a group show at Dr. Johnson's House with a piece entitled 'Sultana Isabel', commissioned by the House and the Arab British Center. Her piece, an Elizabethan ruff died with indigo and turmeric, was a response to Samuel Johnson's play 'Irene' and a reevaluation of historic ties between England at the Arab and Islamic worlds.

In 2020, she took part in the Haramacy residency at The Albany in London.

A fellowship at the V&A Museum was announced in early 2020, where she will be exploring the museum's collection of textiles from the Middle East. The date of the fellowships is to be confirmed.

Digital Art

In 2021, Hage became part of a wave of artists exploring the creation of digital art using blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Her digital work ties into the rest of her practice, by being tied to research into Middle Eastern art, culture and identities as well as incorporating digitized textiles.

Other work

She also teaches a knitting course at The Creative Space, a free education space in Beirut launched by fellow Parsons graduate Sarah Hermez.

Awards

Design awards

In November 2014, Hage was awarded the Boghossian Foundation Prize which includes a monetary grant and a residency at the foundation's headquarters at the Villa Empain in Brussels. The jury unanimously selected Hage because “she works fabric with much precision and preciosity.”

Personal life

Hage is married to British-Lebanese writer and producer Nasri Atallah.

References

Notes

1. Beirut Based Profile http://beirutbased.com/nour-hage-city-guide/
2. Class of '10 Fashion Alumna Nour Hage Profile | Paris College of Art (Previously Parsons Paris)
3. London exhibition explores Britain, Middle East ties, The Arab Weekly | https://thearabweekly.com/london-exhibition-explores-britain-middle-east-ties
4. Nour Hage met le talent à la mode, L'Orient Le Jour http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/857794/nour-hage-met-le-talent-a-la-mode.html
5. Nour Hage met le talent a la mode, L'Orient Le Jour | https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/857794/nour-hage-met-le-talent-a-la-mode.html
6. Muse: Nour Hage talks self-expression and serial killers, Arab News | https://www.arabnews.com/node/1291886/lifestyle
7. 7 Questions With Nour Hage, Raghunter http://www.raghunter.com/7-questions-with-nour-hage.html Archived 2014-08-12 at the Wayback Machine
8. How Lebanon's fashion industry can create the next Elie Saab, Wamda http://www.wamda.com/2013/11/lebanese-fashion-industry-crossroads-elie-saab-zuhair-murad-reem-acra
9. Nour Hage: Infusing some of Beirut's chaos into design | http://life.executive-magazine.com/design/nour-hage
10. Back to the future: How Nour Hage is reinventing Arab menswear, Arab News | https://www.arabnews.com/node/1400056/fashion
11. Beirut Design Week Exhibitions http://beirutdesignweek.org/exhibitions/ Archived 2014-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
12. Beirut's new look: The hip designers reshaping Lebanon's fashion scene | CNN | http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/13/travel/cnngo-beirut-hip-new-designers/
13. Riz Ahmed in British GQ wearing Nour Hage | https://www.nourhage.com/new-blog/rizahmed-gq
14. Riz Ahmed Instagram Post about custom garments | https://www.instagram.com/p/BqYUXzKhOe8/
15. Mashrou' Leila band member post about custom abaya | https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_lT5lhx3V/
16. Eastern impact: Four artists reinterpret historic English play, Arab News | https://www.arabnews.com/node/1843356/lifestyle
17. Review: 'London's Theatre of the East' and Irene - a staged reading at Dr Johnson's House, Grub Street Lodge | http://www.grubstlodger.uk/2019/11/review-londons-theatre-of-east-and.html
18. Haramacy - Short Films | https://www.commun.space/whats-on/haramacy-short-films
19. Jameel Prize 6 to focus exclusively on design, The National | https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/jameel-prize-6-to-focus-exclusively-on-design-1.994417
20. How Lebanese artist Nour Hage made the leap from fashion design to NFTs by India Stoughton | The National | https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/2021/08/08/how-lebanese-artist-nour-hage-made-the-leap-from-fashion-design-to-nfts/
21. The Creative Space Faculty http://creativespacebeirut.com/faculty/ Archived 2013-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
22. 10 Questions for The Creative Space https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/10questions/529856-10-questions-for-the-creative-space
23. Chafa Ghaddar, Nour Hage et Carla Salem : le trio gagnant de Boghossian 2014 | L'Orient Le Jour | http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/896541/chafa-ghaddar-nour-hage-et-carla-salem-le-trio-gagnant-de-boghossian-2014.html
24. Prestigious Art Prizes Awarded to Three Lebanese Women | The Daily Start | http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Arts-and-Ent/Culture/2014/Nov-17/277838-prestigious-art-prizes-awarded-to-three-lebanese-women.ashx#axzz3JEH2abYq
25. Less is more: A new kind of Lebanese wedding, Aishti Blog by A Magazine | http://blog.aishti.com/24819-2/

External links

• Official website

• 1988 births
• Living people
• Lebanese fashion designers
• Lebanese women fashion designers
• Lebanese emigrants to France