Elie Saab

Elie Saab

A fashion designer from Lebanon, Elie Saab was born on 4 July 1964 in Beirut in a Maronite Catholic family. Saab is the eldest among the five children of a wood merchant in Damour. Since his childhood, he has been stitching and is a self-trained professional. He was only nine when he became attracted towards fashion. In the love of his interest, he used newspapers to cut out patterns and searched his mother’s cabinet for extra laces. His sister was his model at the time and his family was surprised with the gown he made for her.

The head office of his brand is in his home country and added workshops are in Paris and Milan. Over the journey of his career, Saab’s name has become prominent among well-known celebrities, such as Halle Berry, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Anggun, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry, Mila Kunis, Catherine Zeta Jones, Emma Watson, Aishwarya Rai, Taylor Swift, Michelle Dockery, Salma Hayek, and Sandra Bullock. In addition to this, he has also dressed royalties, including Princess Claire of Luxembourg, Victoria: Crown Princess of Sweden, Queen Raina of Jordon, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Stéphanie: Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Marie-Chantal: Crown Princess of Greece, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Clotilde: Princess of Venice and Piedmont, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg.

In 1982, at the age of eighteen, Saab launched a fashion label in Beirut with fifteen workers. At that time, his focus and skills were specialized in designing couture for brides – stitching wedding gowns and dresses using high-quality quality lace, fabrics, crystals, pearls, silk threads and intricate embroidery. Soon, he became recognized in nearby areas and eventually grew in reputation among high-society females who flaunted his designs.

In 1997, he turned into the first non-Italian designer who was included in Italian Camera Nazionale della Moda as a member. In the same year, he displayed his first clothing collection outside his nation in Rome. In 1998, he began a prêt-a-porter line in Milan and also held a fashion retrospective in Monaco, attended by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.  A year later, for her ceremony of enthronement, Queen Rania of Jordon wore a dress by Elie Saab embellished with diamonds and emeralds.

In 2002, he became a quick talk of the world when his design was worn by Halle Berry to Oscar when she won an award for Best Actress. Consequently, the designer was showered with interviews and hence appeared on minimum five television channels. Even for the next year’s Oscars, she wore a dress by the same designer.

In 2003, Elie Saab was invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to blend in as a member of the association. In the same year, he displayed his haute couture line in Paris and the city became his permanent prêt runway.

In 2010, he had dressed around 102 celebrities from around the world for major international events. Saab’s designs are shelved in different parts of the world, including London, Paris and Beirut. He has sixty retail shops across the globe and his works are sold in twenty-two countries.

Apart from designing clothes, in 2011 Elie Saab launched Le Parfum, his debut fragrance in fifteen countries.

Moving on, his personal life involves Claudine his wife and three children. Saab owns three homes in Lebanon and has properties in Switzerland and France as well.