Elie Tahari Celebrates 50 Years in Business

Under a new business model, the Elie Tahari brand is having a revival.

The women’s apparel brand, which was founded by Elie Tahari in 1974, is now under brand management company Bluestar Alliance LLC, and generates more than $1 billion in retail sales through 39 licensees, according to Ralph Gindi, cofounder and chief operating officer of Bluestar Alliance.

In 2018, Tahari and Bluestar Alliance LLC formed a joint venture company, TBH Brand Holdings LLC. Elie Tahari contributed the intellectual property for the Tahari and T Tahari collections, along with related trademarks, into the joint venture with Bluestar, which is responsible for the day-to-day management and licensing of those brands domestically and internationally. In addition, TBH Brand Holdings assumed responsibility for the licensing management of the Elie Tahari core trademark with a focus on expanding the brand’s global presence and the opening of Elie Tahari stores worldwide.

The 72-year-old designer retained ownership of and manages the Elie Tahari brand, the premium designer collection, which he designs and sells exclusively online at elietahari.com.

For the past 50 years, Tahari’s styles have stayed consistent to the brand’s DNA. The company became known for its wearable and fashionable clothing for the modern woman. Tahari developed as a key resource for working women climbing the ladder, and in more recent years has focused on soft tailoring and prints.

Among Bluestar’s largest Tahari licensees is Republic Clothing Group, which has the license for women’s sportswear and ready-to-wear. Republic also produces a premium designer collection under the Elie Tahari label for wholesale distribution, as well as a diffusion line of soft career dressing under the T. Tahari label.

Republic offers soft, easy dressing that is strong in color and prints, as well as knit dressing. The company has retail partnerships with stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

Licensing Revenues a Big Driver of the Business

Bluestar also licenses the Tahari label as a diffusion line that’s more accessible and spans denim, sleepwear, intimates, fragrance, coats and handbags.

In a telephone interview, Elie Tahari said, “Things are going very well, fantastic I want to say. We have lots of licensing, and that’s the biggest business we have.”

Under the Elie Tahari label, Tahari designs clothes for work, dressed-up clothes and weekend clothes exclusively for online. He offers about 100 new styles monthly. “We make limited quantities, when it’s finished, we drop it,” he said. He is currently working on designing clothing for 2025, which will go online then.

“Bluestar is doing very well. They’re a great partner, and they’ve increased the licensing tremendously,” Tahari continued. There are currently licenses for such categories as intimate apparel, coats, handbags and footwear.

Gindi added, “We dated for many years, Elie and I, and my partner Joe [Gabbay]. Until one day he [Elie] said, ‘Let’s do something today.’ We’re full partners. He’s an amazing partner, it’s been all good. This January it will be seven years.”

Asked why he decided to invest in Tahari’s business, Gindi replied, “We felt he was one of the few brands that had huge recognition. The game plan was to take the brand into more categories. He had a beautiful women’s line and he dabbled in some categories along the way, but we wanted to make sure each category was meaningful. We built a business that’s over $1 billion at retail. We’re trending up for the first six months about 5 percent.

“The customers are still excited about the brand,” Gindi added. “We continue to do really well in women’s dresses, in sweaters and in key categories. Intimates has been a very strong piece of the business. [IHL has held the intimate apparel and swimwear license since 2018.] We just signed on Fantasia [for handbags] and Lorency for swimwear for next spring/summer,” Gindi said. When Bluestar took over the business, there were about 12 or 13 licensees, Gindi said. Today there are 39 licensees.

Going forward, Gindi sees menswear as a sizable opportunity for the brand, as well as home, both of which will be done by Republic.

“Men’s will be a huge growth opportunity for us. What we did in the women’s area, we’ll do in men’s. We’ll do Elie Tahari and Tahari [for men],” Gindi said. Republic will do the men’s and women’s apparel. “It will be presented, shown and sold with one look and one DNA. The entire brand will have a seamless presentation at retail,” Gindi said.

Gindi sees a lot of runway for growth in the international business. He sees opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, particularly in boutiques and specialty shops. “You look at [South] Korea and Japan, those are the areas that we’re going to be geographically focusing on,” Gindi said. They plan to look for distribution partners for the product that Bluestar’s licensees create in the U.S.

Elie Tahari’s Continued Participation

According to Gindi, Tahari himself is most effective when he touches the lines and gets involved in the look and feel of the licensees’ products. “He has a big hand in it,” he said. He said Tahari wants the shopping experience to be something that the customer can navigate easily and is elegant. “It definitely has his DNA written all over it, and he still runs the specialty stores that he has. He loves to talk to the customer,” Gindi said.

Gindi said Republic has been an amazing partner on various brands they have worked together on. “We’ve seen what he [Steven Sall, founder and chief executive officer of Republic] has been able to do from a design aesthetic, from execution and his relationships at retail,” Gindi said.

He said Tahari is growing. “We’re growing within the stores in multiple departments. When a customer walks into a store, they need to see the brand in multiple categories to know that the store really believes in the brand,” Gindi said. “The more input we get from Elie, the better the product does. We really try to keep him as involved as much as we can to build everything from the foundation he built so many years ago.”

While Tahari isn’t the biggest business at Bluestar, “it’s an important brand in our portfolio. It’s probably one of the largest designer brands we have in our portfolio,” Gindi said.

All the Tahari brands are carried on elietahari.com. “We make sure the brand is seamless and the look and feel is one DNA,” he said.

For the Elie Tahari business, there’s a two-pronged approach: The online collection designed by Tahari and the soft dressing collection designed by the Republic team, under the direction of Rohit Ghosh, design director of Elie Tahari.

“If you go to the website you wouldn’t necessarily know which is his product and which is ours. It’s all mixed together,” said Kati Edwards, chief merchant, senior vice president at Republic.

The Tahari Brands at Republic Are Showing Growth

The Elie Tahari collection at Republic is sold at stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s, while T. Tahari is sold at Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. Both brands are also sold at specialty stores around the country.

Republic has held the Elie Tahari license since the fall of 2021, after the designer closed his wholesale business during the pandemic. Republic has held the T. Tahari license since 2017.

Edwards described current business as good. She said T. Tahari has had a nice year so far. “Bloomingdale’s is our largest customer and has been with us the longest,” Edwards said. She said that business is healthy and is constantly growing. “We’re continuing to figure out ways to do business with them and are layering on ideas based on classifications that have been working,” she said. She said T. Tahari is positioned in Bloomingdale’s Sutton brands, near Nic & Zoe and Sanctuary. In some stores, it’s near Kobi Halperin and Lauren.

The Line Pivots From Structured to Soft Dressing

For T. Tahari, it’s definitely soft dressing for career; it’s not a very casual brand. “It’s still very polished, trend-driven, color-driven, pattern and emotional. I think every brand has to be a lifestyle brand. It has to serve multiend uses,” she said.

Sweaters, which account for 40 to 45 percent of the business, retail from $78 to $88, jackets are $130 to $148, bottoms are $78 to $88 and dresses are $120 to $158.

“Suiting is taking a little bit of a backseat in both T. Tahari and Elie Tahari. Sweater knits and dresses are the two by far leading classifications of business,” Edwards said.

Edwards said as fashion pivots from suits and structured looks, the company has added a third piece such as sweaters and sweater coats/cardigans. “Because we’re a powerhouse sweater manufacturer, we’ve been able to pivot, and the retailers have been excited,” Edwards said.

In addition to Bloomingdale’s, T. Tahari is available at Macy’s — both representing their two biggest accounts. The line is also sold at Belk.

At the higher end, Elie Tahari sweater knits go from $145 to $225, sweater dresses, “which are huge,” $295 to $325, soft printed dresses, which are mainly silk, are $495 to $595, jackets are $395, pants are $295, blouses, which are silk, are $295 to $345, and outerwear is around $695.

Elie Tahari was exclusive to Saks for the first two years. Once they opened up distribution, they added Neiman Marcus, and now Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

In describing the Elie Tahari woman, Ghosh said, “It’s the same woman Elie is designing for. She’s definitely a little more mature. I don’t design thinking of an age. I think of multiple uses of the clothes. She’s definitely successful and working and we do lifestyle dressing.”

Republic has licensed brands such as Jason Wu, Catherine Malandrino and Carmen Marc Valvo. They also own Magaschoni, have Philosophy, and do a lot of private label cashmere.

Asked where she sees the opportunities for Elie Tahari, Edwards said there’s a white space in the modern zone. A big growth opportunity is knitwear, such as sweater knit dresses, matched sets, minidresses and wool and cashmere sweater knits. It’s become a year-round business. “It’s something different from what Elie based his success on previously,” she said. His strengths were more in wovens and structured looks, she added.

“It’s recognizable as Elie Tahari but definitely a little softer,” Ghosh said. “There’s more ease to it. He’s great with his chic dresses. Here, we have had more success with our soft silk dresses, our flowing blouses and sweater dresses are just so big,” he said.

Edwards said the print direction is a little bit different than earlier Elie Tahari collections. The prints are less moody, with more color and emotion in a different way. She said Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s sell “color and happy” year-round.

“Collectively everyone’s working together in support of the global Elie Tahari customer,” Edwards said. The focus is on expanding in the U.S., and then they’ll move on internationally. “Our goal was to get the big four [major retailers], which we now have. We want to perfect those businesses, and then go for opportunities internationally,” she explained.

Elie Tahari is offering a offering a Heritage collection that is holiday-driven and features event dressing. It is exclusive to Saks. The items will be heavy on trims, lace, feathers and sequins. “We wanted it be a separate feel from what the fall collection will look like so it will stand out and be different,” Edwards said. It will be suiting, cocktail dresses, cashmere dresses, sequin lace and cut-out pieces. There are 20 pieces and it is priced just a little above the Elie Tahari collection. The label says “Elie Tahari Heritage.”

Ghosh said he has meetings with Elie Tahari himself every season, and he gives his opinions. He sees Elie Tahari about four to five times a year.

“I think we lean on each other. They always see our color and print direction. They want to make sure what we’re doing fits in with their story, and what they’re doing fits in with our story. It’s been very collaborative. It’s definitely a two-way street,” Edwards said.

“We’ve been doing it for two years now and we haven’t had a season where we’ve been out of sync,” Ghosh said.

The company showcased the lines at Coterie the last few seasons and opened a handful of specialty stores.

“In general we had a very solid spring,” Edwards said. “September will be when true fall hits. The last week or two we’ve seen a pivot in fall business. Year-to-date, we’re running ahead by upper-single digits,” she said. Their e-commerce business is up double digits [ie., Saks’s website], while brick-and-mortar is seeing a single-digit increase.

Their collections are manufactured in China, Vietnam, Turkey and Peru.

Elie Tahari’s Primary Focus

Discussing his website business, Tahari said he’s been doing the online business for at least 20 years. “It was small, now it’s big,” Tahari said. After the pandemic, he didn’t wholesale anymore, and he licensed the Elie Tahari name to Republic, “and I just design online.” Since it’s an online business, there’s no showroom and it owns an office in Millburn, N.J., from which it ships and designs the collection.

Over the past five to 10 years, the e-commerce business has grown by double digits every year.

Looking back on the past 50 years, Tahari said, “Right now it’s the best the business has ever been,” he said, because of licensing.

Tahari said the most satisfying time he’s had in business was when he started.

“I started with the tube top and I opened a showroom and there was a line to get into the showroom, and my first fashion show was at Studio 54, which was a highlight. And seeing women wear my clothes gives me a lot of pleasure,” said Tahari, who was born in Jerusalem and came to the U.S. in 1971 by himself when he was 19 years old with less than $100.

In terms of building his name and the business, Tahari said he’s proud of the past 50 years, and continues to have a passion for what he does. “Over the 50 years, I worked with amazing talent, photographers, retailers, weavers and factories. It was exciting. I [still] get up in the morning and I have a passion for what I do. It’s colors, textures, silhouettes, feeling fabrics.”

To be sure, Tahari has seen a lot of changes in the business over the past half century. “Yes, big changes. Obviously, the online business is the biggest growth we have,” he said. “That’s what the biggest change has been. We’re selling all over the world. I used to dress women who go to work and needed to dress to feel confident. Now, they have confidence. They’re more individual, more casual. They put themselves together more freely.”

He said to see his children going to college and becoming successful gives him pleasure. His son, Jeremey, is running the real estate. He’s been buying buildings, and Elie Tahari works with him. “I own a lot of real estate and manage it.” His 20-year-old daughter goes to Boston University. “I’m very proud of them.”

Asked how he’s managed to change to meet the needs of today’s consumer, he said, “From the beginning, I wanted to create clothes that give confidence to the woman. Today she has confidence, she’s very much an individual. I try to be more creative and to dress her from going to work, going out and casual. I believe that the clothes should be quieter than the woman so the woman can shine through them,” he said.

As for where he gets his inspiration, he said, “New York inspires me. I live in the heart of New York City. Getting out of my apartment and seeing women in New York City, that is the biggest inspiration. Buildings, architecture and museums, architecture always attracts me,” he said. He said he doesn’t travel a lot. “I like New York City,” Tahari said.

“I’ve mellowed. I’m more involved with what’s happening in Israel. I watch a lot of TV news.” He said he stopped going to Kabbalah. “I’m watching Fox News, I’m watching the Israeli channels. I do yoga,” Tahari said.

Tahari said he’s also designing a special 50th anniversary collection which was released Wednesday, the day that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared as Elie Tahari Day back on Sept. 4, 2013, on Tahari’s 40th anniversary in the fashion industry.

The anniversary collection is the best of what has done well over the years, but updated for today. “It’s exciting, it’s the best collection yet.” It has about 30 pieces and retails from $248 to $598. It will be available on elietahari.com.

Discussing his goals over the next 10 years, Tahari said, “I hope my kids take over, and I hope they grow the licensing and the collection online,” he said. In its heyday, Tahari had a lot of licenses, “but Bluestar made it much bigger. They made it three or four times bigger.”

The brand’s social media is all handled by Tahari’s own company under the direction of marketing manager Nicole Murphy Kelleher. David Clements is president of Tahari’s retail and online business.

Tahari said he doesn’t miss the runway one bit. “Runway is a thing of the past. E-comm became the runway,” he said.