Omar Chakil is a designer whose practice exists at the intersection of design, craft, and culture. Born in Beirut and raised in Paris within a French environment as the son of Egyptian-Lebanese parents, he developed an early awareness of cultural hybridity and a strong aesthetic sensibility. Creativity became a means of navigating and connecting different identities, shaping an approach that continues to inform his work today.
Chakil first gained recognition as a singer-songwriter, contributing to the emergence of soul music in France. His transition into design evolved organically when interiors he created for himself began attracting commissions, leading to a multidisciplinary practice spanning more than two decades.
After a period of study at Domus Academy in Milan, he relocated to Egypt, his father's homeland, where he began exploring the country's rich material and craft traditions. His first collection of objects crafted from Egyptian alabaster debuted at Beirut Design Week in 2018, selling out and subsequently finding collectors internationally. Since then, he has dedicated much of his practice to reinterpreting local materials and artisanal techniques through a contemporary lens, combining references to Ancient Egyptian symbolism with a cross-cultural perspective shaped by his Parisian, Lebanese, and Egyptian influences.
Chakil's work seeks to build bridges between cultures, histories, and ways of making. Working across collectible design, interiors, and objects, he explores how traditional craftsmanship can be reimagined for contemporary audiences while remaining rooted in place and cultural memory.
His work has been recognised internationally, and he has been featured in AD Middle East's Top 100 Designers for five consecutive years. In 2025, he joined Galerie Gastou in Paris as its first Middle Eastern artist. Today, his work is commissioned by private collectors, galleries, and cultural institutions worldwide.
