What Kitsch concept stores
Owners Dalia Dogmoch Soubra and Racil Chalhoub
When The Beirut location opened in May 2006, Dubai stores opened last year
Why The region’s first true concept stores. The owners had the courage to fuse edgy fashion and home-cooked food
www.kitschconcept.com
In the Middle East, as in most regions, the selling of clothes and food has been historically kept separate. If you want to buy a dress or the latest handbag, you head to certain shops. Similarly, if you crave something a little sweet, you’d set out on a mission to find a freshly baked dessert of some sort. That was the case; at least, until Kitsch launched in Beirut, back in 2006.
Created by two childhood friends who shared the same passion for fashion and food, Dalia Dogmoch Soubra and Racil Chalhoub managed to merge seemingly diametrically opposed themes and effortlessly made them appear as a logical and complementary union. The first Kitsch boutique was (and still is) located in an old Lebanese house just off Rue Gouraud in the trendy Gemmayzeh district.
The original Middle Eastern concept store offers a little bit of everything. From up and coming designer clothing, to bio-cosmetics, accessories and vintage movie posters and that’s before you even get to the bakery that serves the city’s best cupcakes (Sex and the City style), and a kitchen that offers health conscious salads. Kitsch clearly has something for everyone.
The model has proven to be a great success, almost unpredictably so. Women from all walks of life can now be found embracing the possibility of trying on a top after devouring a Funky Monkey muffin. “It’s really a place where you can sit down by yourself, if you want to, browse and shop for the latest trends or just devour a scrumptious peanut butter cookie. It has something for everyone,” says Dalia Soubra.
Originally a German word, Kitsch is defined as something that appeals to lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality. It was no doubt an ironic choice of a name as Kitsch the store is anything but tacky and poor quality. In fact, Kitsch is the epitome of a risk gone right. So much so that the owners decided to expand to Dubai.
****Unfortunately for them the union of the bakery and the boutique was not something that was feasible in the United Arab Emirates for a host of reasons including licensing as well as zoning. But the owners strove on and finally settled on opening two separate locations. First up was Kitsch Boutique, which opened at Souk Al Bahar in the Old Town Burj Dubai development. “We’re really appealing to the fashion conscious buyer. People who wish to find the latest trends before they go mainstream,” reveals Racil Chalhoub. If truth be told, that description is right on the money as, for instance, the store was famously stocking Boyfriend jeans almost two years before the region’s multi-brand stores did. “Our main focus is to constantly search for up and coming design talents who have something fresh to offer but we stock everything from everyday basics to high fashion pieces to funky trinkets,” Chalhoub surmises.
Finally at the end of last year, Kitsch Cupcakes was launched on the Jumeirah Beach Road amid much fanfare. The bakery is now working at full steam and such is the demand that the owners decided to unveil a loyalty program for regular customers. Using the highest quality ingredients available, such as chocolate imported from France and authentic sprinkles from the U.S, Kitsch Cupcakes is the real deal. What’s more, the duo isn’t resting on their laurels either; rather Soubra and Chalhoub are continuously creating new flavours and recipes, much to the delight of their devotees. Kitsch is not just here today, it’s here to stay.
