It all started with a tweet. “I want to interview Haider Ackermann,” penned French-Tunisian stylist and fashion commentator Osama Chabbi on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sep. 30, 2022. Less than four-months later, the 27-year-old was sitting front row at Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2023 Couture collection, designed by Ackermann, who became the first guest on Chabbi’s online interview series. The 18-minute-long conversation was filmed at the Jean-Paul Gaultier couture headquarters days leading up to the show.
As the inaugural episode, the encounter set the bar exceptionally high for future installments, and Chabbi rose to the occasion. He has since sat down with some of the most esteemed and revered names in fashion, including Belgian fashion designer Kris Van Assche, Y/Project and Diesel’s Glenn Martens, Jordanian-Romanian footwear designer Amina Muaddi, and Mugler’s Casey Cadwallader, among others. According to the Dubai-based creative, “this interview series is a sort of love letter to the creative figures that have shaped my fashion culture and those moulding it today.”
The self-made fashion critic’s online series has quickly cemented him as a formidable force in the fashion industry’s digital landscape. These dialogues not only showcase the visionary talent of those being interviewed, but also underscores the interviewer’s knack for fostering meaningful connections within the fashion community. “It’s important for me to create an environment with these figures that isn’t necessarily hostile, like traditional media outlets can be. This is a human to human conversation, I want them to let loose while remaining institutional somehow,” he explains of his unique journalistic approach that sets him apart.
What’s more impressive is that the series is entirely independent and self-funded, yet its production quality belies its humble origins. Each episode is a visual treat, reminiscent of high-budget productions helmed by full production teams and an eye-watering budget. It’s nearly impossible to believe that he operates without his own dedicated crew, and occasionally, even does the video editing himself.
Chabbi, who was placed on the prestigious Vogue Business 100 Innovators list—which celebrates people reshaping the fashion industry in major ways— didn’t wait for an invitation to the table— he built his own damn table. “As an Arab born and raised in France, we were made to think we didn’t have access to these people and the more opportunities I get, the more I realize that there’s more bridges than we think connecting us (as Arabs) to fashion on a bigger scale,” he explains. “Being self-taught and essentially expressing my opinions online, producing this interview series has helped me gain more confidence in showcasing my journalistic skills as well.”
The Lyon-born creative’s freshly-minted journalistic prowess continues to evolve with each episode. For his latest installment, Chabbi sat down with iconic French fashion figure Michèle Lamy during her most recent visit to Dubai. The interview is set to premiere tonight during an intimate screening at Cinema Akil in 25hours Dubai in the presence of Chabbi’s closest friends, who will get to watch the exchange before it’s dissemination onto Chabbi’s social media platforms, where his combined audience of 30,000 eagerly awaits. “It’s quite wild how it all started,” he reflects. “All it took was a tweet and next thing I know I was sat in front of Haider Ackermann at the Jean-Paul Gaultier HQ. It’s a great progression from my fashion commentary, which truly enables me to have conversation and extend the narrative to a bigger purpose.”
