Designers set to unite under one roof at Rabih Mokbel's Cairo Fashion Central Week

Rabih Mokbel

Thirty-four-year-old Rabih Mokbel is one of the Middle East's top events entrepreneurs. Based in Cairo, Egypt Mokbel, got his start working in his family's catering business in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With his company Venture Lifestyle, Mokbel has planned, organized and executed some of the region's top events and concerts, including his bringing Jennifer Lopez to Cairo in 2019. But it's his Lebanese roots that sparked Rabih Mokbel to create an event in Egypt to help Lebanese designers who are still affected by the August 4th explosion.

This is the first ‘Fashion Central' edition for Mokbel and Uptown Cairo Emaar, an Emirati real estate developer with property in Egypt. "Every year I do a fashion event for Emaar," says Mokbel. "Last year I brought Lebanese couture designer Nicholas Jebran to Cairo. I organized a fashion show for him here in Egypt. This year I decided that instead of one designer, it would be for many designers over four days in a row of fashion, art, and food and beverage."

The four-day event is bringing all aspects of art under one roof where Arab fashion designers are getting the opportunity to present their collections and accessories in Cairo. Done in a collaborative effort along side content and concept creators CONTEGRAM, and design studio THE CULT- the event is filled with a bazaar of Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian designers, along with workshops, manicures, and talks revolving around all things fashion. L'Aterlier Nawbar, Roni Helou, and Dina Shaker are some of the few designers showcasing.

"We're doing this to help the Lebanese designers who are not making any money right now due to the recent explosion in Lebanon," he says. "We flew them in on our expenses so that they can sell their products. We're not taking money and they are getting an opportunity to make a profit and sell their designs. But from the local designers like Okhtein and Kojak, we are taking from them. We have top of the line food and beverage companies serving as well. Every day starts at 3pm with panels, workshops, and the bazaar, and in the evening, we have a band from 8-12pm.Next year we plan to have bigger names in entertainment and fashion," he says.

Mokbel's success is really one of being self-made with lots of opportunities mixed in. He calls them mistakes but divine guidance and blessing has enabled him to be one of the top entertainment entrepreneurs in the Middle East. He has the know-how of putting together top concerts and events. When he's called on to do something, the wheels are turning in his head and the vision comes quickly to him to organize every detail.

Studying hotel management, Mokbel got his early start in events by working for his father's catering business. "I started my career by being a waiter, then a bartender, then a hotel supervisor, and moved onto housekeeping, and then to a receptionist" he recalls. "I've been through all the positions." In 2003, he was working for Sky Management for their locations in Beirut, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company opened a location in Egypt in 2009 and that's where he had a sense for organizing events, that's when Rabih Mokbel knew he had found a calling. "This is where I established a sense of organizing things because Sky Bar is a club of 3,000 people. During the journey we did a couple of big events of 10,000 - 20,000 people and I realized I enjoyed putting on events. While my main studies were food and beverage, and I learned how to work from the kitchen to the floor, I went on my own and opened my own bars and restaurants and came to Egypt permanently in 2017. I opened my own company Venture Lifestyle where I discovered a need for events and for food and beverage."

In addition to doing fashion events like Fashion Central and bringing top designers like Nicholas Jebran to Cairo, Mokbel's clients from Emaar, Samsung, the El Gouna Film Festival, and Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris hire him to do their events. I do a lot of events in Egypt and I did Jennifer Lopez's Egypt concert last year. We had planned to bring Shakira, Maluma, Drake and Akon but they all postponed due to the pandemic."

Next year, granted that the pandemic is hopefully over, Rabih Mokbel plans to organize Cairo Fashion Week, where he will put on a fashion show at the Great Pyramids of Giza. Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad has already signed to do the fashion show. And hopefully famed Lebanese designer Elie Saab will also be taking part.