VICTOR WHO CHOSE US

The name VICTOR has now become, at least in the UAE, a synonym to fashion, style, boldness, and creativity. Being a co-founder of this brand, and as this is the Victor Magazine’s anniversary issue, I would love to share with our valued readers, a closer zoomed-in view on the Victor brand. In many interviews, I have been asked “who is Victor?” I believe the more relevant question would be “What does Victor stand for?” What is its target and how do we plan to get there?

The first mention of Victor as a brand was in Q4 2019 during discrete brainstorming meetings in Dubai Media City when me and Martin decided to materialize our dream and started, with the aid of other close friends, the Victor Closet. The first collection of the Victor Closet was groundbreaking. We wanted to make sure that the collection would create a shock and precisely point at Victor’s identity. The pandemic started right after, we maneuvered big time with our schedule, but we have always moved forward … never back and never stopped. We then created the underwear collection and the streetwear collection which were designed to achieve more sales and expand the existing brand awareness to a bigger segment of the community … and they did. The famous Victor print on the streetwear has inspired us to further invest and produce our latest released collection that was revealed during Dubai Fashion Week in December 2021 … it was an absolute success. The name and the brand Victor are strongly present in our designs not just because they look good but because it means something to be wearing Victor. 

Very few people know that the idea of creating Victor Magazine came as early as creating Victor Closet itself but the decision to actually start Victor magazine came after a lot of lengthy discussions in 2020 and 2021. I have to say that the Victor Magazine’s launch party in June 2021 was the real beginning of the Victor brand as we know today. We were finally able to showcase to everyone in Dubai our message and what we are capable of. It was our first time we host that huge number of VIP’s, celebrities and public figures in one event, and it was one of the first ever Dubai “big” events after putting the lockdown behind our backs. Big events have thereafter become a Victor signature whether these events relate to the brand or to its co-founders.

While our passion for fashion urged us to launch the Victor Closet, our passion for art and artists urged us to launch Victor Magazine. In our journey, we have come across a lot of real talents whose stories are worth telling and work that deserves spotlight … we created that platform to put forward “real” art, fashion, style, and beauty forward. The message quickly spread, and Victor Magazine is now attracting celebrities and public figures as well as start-ups and newer artists and brands. 

I would also like to share with you, our valued readers, that our idea about fashion is not limited to a brand, even if the brand is as great as the Victor Closet, but it is (as everything about Victor should be) a platform … this explains your openness to other brands and your different perception of competition and collaboration. We fully understand our position in the fashion community and our unique role that, with all due respect, only Victor can provide.

Victor is not simply a number of brands or designs … Victor is a vast station of creation that has many platforms in it. Victor Closet is a platform, Victor Magazine is another, Infinity World Models/Events is another … other platforms will unfold very soon too. The slogans we use for each brand are ways to tell our audience why we are here and what do we want to achieve. Martin’s famous quote about Victor Closet is “we don’t make clothes, we make identities” … I have always said “clothes are all about bodies” … we call Victor Magazine “house of all talents”.

Victor is an idea that me and Martin have found and embraced … we believe that Victor chose us rather than we have created Victor … while both statements seem synonymous considering the end result, yet I wanted to share with you from where we are coming and where are we going.

In this anniversary, it is appropriate to give thanks and of course, I have to thank Martin for representing Victor in the way both of us have, for years, planned to and dreamed about. I would also like to thank our amazing team located in the UAE, Lebanon, and the USA … you are all part of this great journey and I want to tell you on behalf of Victor … this is just the beginning ☺