Elie Saab
Lebanese designer Elie Saab has long been a leading name in haute couture in the Middle East, where his romantic, crystal-encrusted evening and wedding gowns attracted princesses to his Beirut atelier, opened in 1982 (when he was just 18 years old). His ready-to-wear line, which launched in 1998 in Milan, heralds the same feminine aesthetic as his couture dresses, with brightly-colored silks, chiffons, pearl beading, and embroidered lace. Classically regal, yet unmistakably sexy, Saab's designs combine Middle Eastern details with European fashion, and appear at home on Hollywood A-listers like Halle Berry who wore Saab at the 2002 and 2003 Academy Awards.
