Who is Elie Tahari?

Who is Elie Tahari?  The design world knows Eli Tahari as an American luxury fashion designer of men and women's clothing. He has evolved a $500 million business, with a presence on five continents, in more than 6,000 US stores and in five free-standing boutiques.

Early life

Tahari was born in 1952 in Jerusalem, the eldest son of a Persian Jewish couple. The family immigrated to Israel from Iran and lived then in the transition camp of Al-Qastal, now Mevasseret Zion. In 1953 - 1957 the family returned to Iran, then came again to Israel. As his parents divorced and his father remarried, Elie was sent by the Israeli social services into an orphanage ("Sde Hemed") in Rishon Lezion, later moving to Tel Aviv ("Maon Hayeled"). The following years of his youth were spent in Kvutzat Schiller and in an Israeli Air Force boarding school in Haifa.

Moving to the US

Tahari immigrated to the United States in 1971 as an electrician. Moving to New York he sought work in Manhattan's Garment District, sleeping many nights at a YMCA hotel, or on the benches of Central Park. In Manhattan he learned about the fashion retail business. His position selling clothing from a boutique in Greenwich Village introduced him to women's fashion. He began designing women's fashion inspired by the New York City nightclub scene.

Throughout the 1970s, Tahari remained focused on women's fashions, and his designs were well received. He was one of the first fashion designers to open a boutique on Madison Avenue, in 1974.

In the 1980s, Tahari turned his focus to the tailored suit.

 Agyness Deyn

Eugenia Volodina

After his 46th birthday, he met his future wife. In a collaborative effort, this husband-wife team has tripled the size of the company in the last five years, and launched the Elie Tahari Collection. Tahari has retained the likes of Agyness Deyn, Daria Werbowy and Eugenia Volodina to model his clothing.

Dariya Verbova

In the United States, Tahari has boutiques in New York, Boston, East Hampton, Atlanta, Bal Harbour, Boca Raton, and Las Vegas. In the 2007 movie Enchanted, two characters are shown shopping at Tahari's New York City store.

He and his former business partner Andrew Rosen co-founded the Theory fashion brand in 1997. Tahari designed the clothes and Rosen was in charge of marketing and sales. Elie Tahari sold his share of the business in 2003 and is no longer involved in the company.

Personal life

In March 2010 Tahari and his wife Rory placed much of their U.S. real estate on the market and were reported to be attempting to get out of their commercial leases.^[1]


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