Career & Timeline

• In 1997, the young designer paraded at Italian Fashion Week in Rome. His collection was very well received and caused a stir. In 2000, he presented his collection in Paris and two years later, Elie joined the golden triangle in Paris and his clients became more and more numerous. Elie opens boutiques all over the world: Paris, London, Dubai, Moscow, Geneva, Los Angeles, Honk-Kong…
• He moved to Paris in 1981 to be able to study design but returned to Beirut. He didn’t want to wait any longer to start designing clothes.
• He launched his first workshop in 1982 when he was only 18 years old. He had 15 employees. Initially, Elie Saab made wedding dresses using beautiful fabrics, silk thread, beads, lace and detailed embroidery.
• His reputation spread so well that he went from simply dressing women in his neighborhood to dressing women in high society. In 1997 he became a member of the Italian “Camera Nazionale della Moda”. He was the first non-Italian to become a member.
• He presented his first collection outside Lebanon in Rome in 1997. He created a ready-to-wear line the following year in Milan, Italy.
• In 1998 he had a fashion show in Monaco. Princess Stephanie of Monaco attended the show.
• Queen Rania of Jordan wore one of his designs upon her accession to the Jordanian throne in 1999.
• In 2003, he became a correspondent for the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the sector that governs French fashion. It is the highest honor a non-French member can receive. He had his first haute couture line in Paris the same year.
• In 2006, the young Lebanese designer became a “corresponding member” of the haute couture union chamber.
• The Spring/Summer 2006 collection he presented in Paris marked his first ready-to-wear fashion show. The ‘City of Light’ has since become her permanent runway for ready-to-wear.
• In 2011, Elie Saab launched his first perfume called “Le Parfum”. Her perfume has become a best-seller in fifteen countries.
• In 2016, he appeared as a judge in “Project Runway: Middle East”, the Arabic version of the popular American reality show “Project Runway”.
• Between 2015 and 2017, he opened boutiques in Paris, London and Manhattan.
• He has dressed many celebrities and royalty including: Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Emma Watson, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Princess Claire of Luxembourg, Christina Aguilera and Katy Perry.
• In 2011, he launched his first fragrance “Elie Saab, le parfum”, a real revelation that won a Fifi Award.
• In 2016, the designer launched his first collection of wedding dresses, a collection long awaited by his fans.

Other activites

• In March 2003, BMW Dubai offered the designer to revamp the interior of the BMW X series. This model was intended for sale in Middle Eastern countries.
• In 2003, he worked with MAC Cosmetics to develop an eye shadow palette inspired by the colors of its collections.
• In 2004, he lent his image to a marketing campaign for the scotch whiskey brand Johnnie Walker.
• In 2006, he sponsored a reality TV show Mission Fashion broadcast by the LBCI channel. The show aims to elect apprentice models and designers in the Middle East and the Maghreb in order to support young people and make them persevere in this direction.

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