Rabih Kayrouz () (born 1973) is a Lebanese

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, creator and

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of the fashion house Maison Rabih Kayrouz, established in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 2008.

Early life

Rabih Kayrouz was born in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

in 1973. Kayrouz migrated to

at the age of 16 to study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

Career

In 1995, after

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

for several months in the workshops of design houses

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

and

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

, Kayrouz returned to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

where he developed a reputation for designing

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), tea (above the ankles), to full-length. Such gowns are typically worn with evening ...

s and

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Sa ...

es. In 2008, Kayrouz returned to Paris to open his own design house at 38, Boulevard Raspail. The location was previously "Le Petit Theatre de Babylone" where Beckett's play '' Waiting for Godot'' was performed for the first time . Since 2009, Kayrouz has been a guest designer for the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, with his seasonal collections included in the bi-annual Paris haute-couture fashion shows. In 2011, Kayrouz was selected by the prominent French ELLE Magazine as one of the "Emerging New Talents". In 2012 he abandoned the appellation "couture" to focus on

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing ...

. In the same year, he created a capsule collection for

La Redoute La Redoute is a French multi channel retailer founded by Joseph Pollet in 1837. La Redoute specialises in ready to wear apparel and home decor, La Redoute is the 2nd largest seller of women's apparel and the 3rd largest seller of linens in Fran ...

(French mail order brand).

Design signature

Kayrouz's design signature has been described as

pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy *Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *''Pragmatics'', an academic journal in ...

, but daring in its use of haute-couture style codes. He has been praised for his use of style "know-how" in creating

collections which complement the

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

lifestyle Lifestyle often refers to: * Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives * ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle * Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality Lifestyle may also refer to: Bus ...

Contribution

Kayrouz co-founded in 2008 a

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

called the Starch Foundation which helps young Lebanese designers launch and promote their debut collections.

References

External links

* * /www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXUAdmjYFh0/ Making of Maison Rabih Kayrouz for La Redoute*
Kayrouz,Le luxe pour initiés
*
News Report Maison Rabih Kayrouz
*
Heureux comme Rabih à Paris
*
Lebanese Designer Interview: Rabih Kayrouz
*
Maison Rabih Kayrouz
*
Apparel design – Rabih Kayrouz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayrouz, Rabih Living people Haute couture Lebanese fashion designers High fashion brands 1973 births Lebanese emigrants to France