ELIE TAHARI

Elie Tahari is the founder, designer, and Chairman of Elie Tahari, Ltd. His passion for dressing sexy, sophisticated, feminine, and powerful women over the last four decades has evolved into a $300 million enduring and privately held fashion brand, with a global presence in 40 countries, and more than 800 points of distribution world wide.

Elie Tahari began his self-taught fashion career in 1973 after immigrating to the US from Israel, where he had grown up in an orphanage. Arriving with empty pockets, his desire to work hard translated into selling clothing from a boutique in Greenwich Village. His determination to learn, and his attraction to the energy of New York’s famous Studio 54 club scene in the 1970’s, inspired the initial designs that propelled him into the world of fashion. Less than one year later, he was one of the first fashion designers to open a boutique on Madison Avenue in 1974 at the young age of 22.

Over the course of the next decade, his attention turned from the nightclub to a generation of powerful women entering the workforce. It was the 1980’s and Elie Tahari discovered his passion for dressing women in a tailored suit—a design effort that defined the decade. It was during this time that Elie Tahari honed his skills and earned his reputation in perfecting a fit of meticulous tailoring that women would grow to love and count on for generations to come.

Elie Tahari is seeking, curious and never quite satisfied. From season to season, the challenge and the total transformation are what remains constant. In the late 90’s, his desire for change inspired a concept for a new collection and company named — THEORY — that found inspiration in clean, straight lines. This company later sold, would go on to become yet another globally recognized brand founded by Elie Tahari.

“Achieving silence through design is extremely difficult. A great architect creates space that is in tune with the wind, the sun, the light, the air, and the seasons. Clothing should be the same.” From his passion for architecture, Elie Tahari began his collaboration with world renowned architect Piero Lissoni in 2004. Shortly after opening the flagship boutique in Elie Tahari’s beloved East Hampton, New York’s playground for the rich and famous, the incredible concept of his design studio landed on the cover of Interior Design magazine. This collaboration would become the foundation for the next decade that was defined by both retail expansion and product expansion into men’s, handbags, shoes, accessories, eyewear, and home.
Elie Tahari’s collections can be found in every major department store around the world such as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, Tsum, and Harvey Nichols Dubai. His designs have been worn by celebrities — Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper, Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elizabeth Hurley, Gwyneth Paltrow, and have been featured globally in every major fashion publication such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, W, and Elle.

Elie Tahari’s mission today is to be deeply involved in the present and reflecting that in his work. He is constantly rethinking all aspects of the creative process in order to achieve the ultimate outcome of the final product. Although his design studio is based in New York, Elie Tahari’s main source of inspiration is sexy beautiful women from all over the world. Thus he continues to empower women with designs inspired by his belief that the modern powerful woman should look sexy and feminine. His devoted following continues to revel in the feminine embellishments, sensual fabrics and perfect fit, that have defined the Elie Tahari collection for more than four decades.