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| Elie Tahari with Joan Rivers |
An Israeli citizen who lived in an orphanage, decided to move to New York to make a better life for himself.
Elie Tahari, who still speaks with a thick Israeli accent, came to New York with just $100 in his pocket. While addressing an audience at the New York fashion show he said: "The city of New York gave me everything."
It's now 40 years since the Israeli fashion designer became famous for his unique clothing designs. Recently, New York city recognized his contributions to the fashion industry by designating September 4 as Elie Tahari day.
Tahari runs a $500 million business with an international presence in over 40 countries, including 600 stores in the United States. He has a celebrity clientele which includes Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, and Jennifer Hudson.
When Tahari first came to New York City from Israel in the 1970s, his first bed was a park bench in Central Park. At that time, he was a poor kid with only $100 in his pocket.
His family moved to Israel from Iran in the late 1950s, experiencing poverty familiar to many families during that period. Tahari's parents eventually divorced, sending him to an orphanage. He later joined the Israeli army, where he served as a mechanic.
It was during one of his first jobs in New York that he started his career. He was an electrician at a boutique in Greenwich Village. At that shop, he bought some articles of clothing that the store was unable to sell. He did some work on it and made it into unique tube tops. People loved his work and the rest is history.