Long established as one of the Middle Easts foremost fashion icons, due to both her innate sense of personal style and her acumen when it comes to the business of fashion, Ingie Chalhoub has been pushing the boundaries of high luxury in the Region since the foundation of her Etoile Group through the opening the first ever Chanel boutique in the Middle East in 1983.
The success of the group, and its quick expansion from just one to more than 70 boutiques and 500-plus employees across the Middle East, is evidence of her drive and focus.
Ingie Chalhoub was one of the first in the business community to note the regional potential of high-end fashion and worked to ensure her brands were well represented throughout the Gulf. The fact that she has been entrusted with the licensing and launching of numerous covetable houses, including Chanel, Valentino, Ralph Lauren, TODs, Hogan and most recently ISSA London (to name just a few), illustrates how highly the international style cognoscenti regard her and her expertise about the Region.
The launch of Etoile La boutique in 2005, yet another product of a trailblazing vision, from its trademark baroque fusion interiors to its selective buying, represented a landmark in the evolution of not just the Etoile Group, but of the regional fashion industry itself. The ultra-luxurious, multi-brand boutique revolutionized shopping and is now a regional success with a strong presence in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Jeddah, and tremendous expansion plans in Riyadh and Al-Khobar, in the near future.
As multi-award-winning style icon, Ingie Chalhoub has achieved many accolades. Shes been an advisory board member for Dubai International Fashion Week and had a prominent position on the panel of Mission Fashion on LBC1 for three consecutive years, she also participated in Project Fashion on Future TV in 2007.
Stylistas favourite Harpers Bazaar chose her as one of the regions best dressed in 2010 and she is a regular in Ahlan! Magazines Hot 100 list, which picks out the most influential people in the UAE.
Her mantelpiece includes also the prestigious LOfficiel Woman of the Year award and Emirates Womans Business Woman of the Year (for both 2008 and 2009), the Gulf Connoisseur Awards in 2011 and 2013 and the title of ELLE Business Woman of the Year" in late 2013. CEO Middle East have also included her in their list of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and she was listed by Arabian Business magazine in 2012, 2013 and 2014 as one of the Worlds 500 Most Influential Arabs.
BALMAIN | SPRING SUMMER 2021 FASHION COLLECTION 4K | PARIS FASHION WEEK | 巴尔曼 / бальзам / बालमैन
Balmain (French: [balmɛ̃]) is a French luxury fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain in 1945. It currently operates 16 monobrand stores, including locations in New York, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and in Milans Via Montenapoleone.[1]
In 2016 Mayhoola Investments acquired Balmain for a figure reported as close to €500 million ($548 million).[2] Balmain was 70 percent controlled by heirs of Alain Hivelin. Balmain does not regularly release financial information, but Les Echos estimated its revenue in 2015 at €120 million (about $136 million), growing from an estimated €30 million (about $34 million) in 2012.[3][4] Balmain expected to reach a revenue of €150 million in 2017, 90% of which is generated by the wholesale channel, and is also putting more effort into direct retail.
After Balmains death in 1982, the house was led by Erik Mortensen, described by Vogue as «Pierre Balmains right hand».[8] Mortensen had joined the house to work as Balmains assistant in 1951. After succeeding Balmain, Eric Mortensen worked to maintain the brand aesthetic in the ever-living world of couture while still maintaining the progressive spirit of creativity in the fashion industry. The Balmain house recruits Peggy Huynh Kinh in 1982 to provide artistic direction for womens ready-to-wear and womens and home accessories license studios.[9] Eric Mortensen won two Golden Thimble awards for his haute couture collections, one for the Autumn/Winter 83/84 and one for the Autumn/Winter 87/88. He left the house in 1990. After his departure, designer Hervé Pierre took over until 1992 working as director of ready-to-wear and haute couture.
Possibly the most influential designer to take over at Balmain was Oscar de la Renta, who led the house between 1993 and 2002.[8] Already a fashion veteran before joining Balmain, De la Renta brought a famous face to the brand Balmain. He lived in New York City most of his life, although he was born in the Dominican Republic and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1971. He fit into the Balmain design aesthetic, with an eye for detail and classic silhouettes. He, like Balmain, preferred modest and simple design rather than extremely ornamental and flashy styles. Couture had been suffering at the time since it was an extremely impractical business, so Oscar joined the brand in order to challenge himself and to help it through the beginning of the decline of couture.[10]
After Oscar de la Rentas departure Christophe Decarnin joined the house in 2005. Contrary to all the designers before him, Decarnin insisted on bringing the brand into the 21st century. He favored expensive prices and flashy pieces that sharply contrasted with the labels reputation for its classic and luxurious designs. He was considered a «star designer», and the brand became more about his star status than about its clothes.[11] In April 2011, Balmain announced that Decarnin was to be replaced by Olivier Rousteing.[12]
Rousteing had joined the company in 2009, after attending a prestigious French fashion school and working under Roberto Cavalli.[13] While he liked Decarnins aesthetic, he wanted to orient the label towards the finer aspects of French couture. At the time of his appointment, Rousteing was a relatively unknown designer, and has brought a fresh take on the brands aesthetic that remains to this day. He was credited with adding an Asian influence to the clothing, as Asia comprises a huge part of the brands buyers.[14]