A Lebanese clothing designer based in Beirut, Zuhair Murad has marked his presence internationally, as well as in Hollywood among great stars. He has become a favorite at red carpet events for celebrities, and several other famous people wear Murad’s breathtaking designs.
According to Murad’s mother, he began drawing when he was only three years old. As he turned ten, he began making fashion illustrations. Murad was almost fifteen when he decided to pursue fashion designing as a career path. At this time, he was inspired by Christian Dior, Schiaparelli, Balmain and Balenciaga.
His first client was his sister’s friend who asked Murad to design a dress that she could wear on her engagement. Once the dress was complete, she was amused by it. This was his very first success that gave him encouragement to move forward.
After completing high school, Murad moved to France from Beirut. He attained a degree fashion designing from an institute in Paris. In 1999, he made his debut appearance with his acclaimed collection on Roman catwalk platforms and acquired a place in the Italian almanac.
Cyrus wore his design at the Academy Awards and in 2011 his creations were worn by Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera at the Golden Globe Awards. Moreover, Murad designed a dress for Chloé Mortaud when she became Miss France in Miss Universe 2009 and five extra dresses for the same event in 2010. Florence Welch wore his label at the Brits award ceremony. Wanda Skyes, Aguilera and Nina Dobrev also flaunted Zuhair Murad at the Emmy Awards, 2010 and the next year at this award event, Kerry Washington was spotted with a gown by Murad. Additionally, Cheryl Cole wore his outfit on the reality television series, The X Factor. Even princesses have worn his designs, for example Princess Amira Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia wore his brand when she attended the royal wedding of Prince William.
Apart from these women, his designs have been worn by several other great women in their respective fields, such as Kristen Stewart wore an apparel by Murad at the premiere of her well-known movie The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in Los Angeles and in the Toronto Film Festival that took place in 2012. His other clientele includes Blake Lively, Miranda Kerr, Kellie Pickler, Katy Perry, Shakira, Ivana Trump, Carrie Underwood, Vanessa Williams, Christina Applegate, Najwa Karam, Ana Ortiz, and so on.
His wide-ranging lines cover prêt-a-porter, eyewear, accessories and haute couture. The designer plans to expand his business into various lines, such as furnishings, lingerie, swimwear, perfumes and beauty products.
Murad has stores in Beirut and Paris as well as a showroom on Rue Borgogna in Milan.
Although Zuhair Murad is a busy man, he likes traveling because different cultures of the world inspire him. Whenever he travels, he visits museums and galleries to discover new customs and to know the history of countries. He loves to see various kinds of people in modern, casual, formal and traditional dresses. Because of this inquisitiveness, Murad not only designs for Middle Eastern women but he aims to focus on the global image of a woman – beautiful and glamorous.
The best part of his work for him is when his collections are ready and models flaunt his creations in a runway show. This is when all his stress is relieved.