Wer ist elie saab

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“I think working in fashion was more my destiny than anything else,” explains Elie Saab, the Lebanese designer who, by the tender age of 9, was making clothes for his family from materials he found around the house. Apart from a single year spent at a fashion school in Paris, Saab is self-taught—and focused. In 1982, just 18, he made his debut in war-torn Beirut. “There had never been such a presentation in Lebanon,” he later recalled. “Models didn’t exist. I found girls who worked in advertising and students. I suspect most, like me, had never even been to a fashion show.”

Saab got his start designing elaborate bridal gowns, and he has grown his business slowly, steadily, and internationally with dazzling getups that pair the luxury of Eastern embellishment with Western silhouettes. “I like feminine elegance, not extravagance,” Saab has said. “I try to give good taste.” In 1997 he was invited to show in Rome by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana; three years later the elite Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture asked him to present in Paris, naming him a membre correspon­dant in 2006. (Saab is the first Arab to be admitted into the organization.)

“The code of my collections will always remain the same,” the glamour-focused Saab has stated, and his clients, A-listers and otherwise, wouldn’t want that to change. Queen Rania of Jordan chose an Elie Saab design for her husband’s 1999 coronation; and in 2002 Oscar winner Halle Berry wore Saab’s flirtatious flower-embroidered burgundy dress to the awards ceremony, making Saab a diva’s go-to red carpet designer overnight. “She wore it out of love, not because a stylist told her to wear it. That is the force behind wearing my designs,” Saab told The Telegraph. “Everything comes from the heart.”

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Summary

From cutting newspaper patterns as a child to opening his atelier at the age of eighteen in Beirut, the journey of eponymous brand Elie Saab is truly entrprenial and inspirational.

History

Born and bred in Damour, a coastal suburb of Beirut, Elie Saab learnt sewing when he was nine and dressed his sister in textiles from their mother’s cupboard, which he would sew together. In 1981, Saab moved to Paris for a formal education in Fashion but dropped out in a year to return to war-torn Beirut in 1975. The following year, at eighteen, the young man launched his eponymous brand and opened his atelier. At that time, it specialized in bridal couture handcrafted with expensive fabric, lace, embroidery, pearls, crystals and silk threads.

In 1997, Elie Saab became the first non-Italian designer to be invited to National Chamber of Italian Fashion, the governing body for Milan Fashion Week, where he showed his ready-to-wear. Shortly, he was invited by Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the governing body for the Fresh fashion industry, to become a member. The following year, the brand diversified into ready-to-wear and accessories followed by a collaboration with Beauté Prestige International for fragrance and cosmetics. During the same year, he held a fashion show in Monaco, with Princess Stéphanie of Monaco in attendance, and it quickly became the go-to brand for couture. In 1999, one of his evening gowns lavishly hand embroidered with emeralds and diamonds was reportedly sold for $2.4 million.

Elie Saab became a popular brand in the United States after he became the first Lebanese designer to dress Oscar winner Halle Berry in 2002. Combining Western silhouettes and silhouettes with Middle Eastern aesthetic for ornate embellishment, Saab’s eveningwear earned him accolades and he collaborated with Pronovias to handcraft a bridal line, Elie by Elie Saab. In 2011, Madame Tussaud unveiled a statue of Kate Winslet draped in Elie Saab, a dress she had worn at Primetime Emmy Awards. The same year, Elie Saab launched his first fragrance, Le Parfum.

The luxury brand became so popular among the A-list that Kate Middleton wore Elie Saab while attending the 2019 Royal Ascot with her husband, Prince William. Increasingly sought out by celebrities,there was no one who didn’t want to wear Elie Saab, from Halle Berry, Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones, Salma Hayek and Sandra Bullock to Princess Claire of Luxembourg, Victoria: Crown Princess of Sweden, Queen Raina of Jordon, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Marie-Chantal: Crown Princess of Greece, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Clotilde: Princess of Venice and Piedmont. The brand opened boutiques in Beirut, Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, Geneva, Hong Kong, Moscow, New York City and Mexico while the ready-to-wear and fragrance is sold worldwide including stockists Net-a-porter, Matches-fashion, Mytheresa and Farfetch.

Saab’s son, Elie Saab Jr, soon took over the role of brand director. In April 2019, Saab announced his expansion into interior design, through a collaboration with real estate development company Emaar to create a gated island property at Emaar Beachfront, Dubai that boasts views of the Arabian Sea, The Palm and Dubai Marina. Sadly, Elie Saab’s office and headquarters were damaged by the explosion in Beirut and his home was destroyed. Despite this, the designer resolutely presented his next collection. Per Nicole Phelps, Vogue, ‘Elie Saab and his team are delivering profiles in perseverance along with their latest pre-fall collection. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, the designer lost his home and atelier in the tragic Beirut explosion, yet the brand carries on… In this collection Saab, famed for his embellished evening dresses, focused on day-to-evening wear… Some women might find his 9-to-5 looks appropriate for after dark…’

Mission Statement

To design haute couture custom-made dresses that creates an image of unique design, quality and high status for the elite of world.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Saab

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/pre-fall-2021/elie-saab

https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/elie-saab

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/designer/elie-saab

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