In spring 2020, a few days before most of Europe went into lockdown, Elie Saab entered the furniture business by signing a major licence deal with Swiss private equity firm Corporate Brand Maison SA (CBM), part of the A++ group. In just a few years, the Elie Saab Maison project has grown significantly, and is active in several domains. 

On the first day of Milan Design Week 2024, FashionNetwork.com met Massimiliano Ferrari, CEO of CBM, who talked about the latest developments in Elie Saab’s furniture and home decoration line, mentioning a long list of new projects. “What seemed in 2020 to be a stroke of terrible bad luck – the whole world shutting down because of the pandemic – turned out to be an opportunity in the end. We were able to develop the [Elie Saab] Maison collection in less of a rush, and we managed to achieve, right from the outset, the level of quality and precision the label deserved and the market expected from us. This paid off immediately, producing results that weren’t expected in such a short a time,” said Ferrari.

CBM is expanding the renowned Lebanese designer’s presence in the home interiors segment by working on two distinct fronts. On the retail side, it designs, manufactures (strictly in Italy, in the Brianza area) and distributes the Elie Saab Maison furniture line worldwide via its showroom and retail partners, currently operating 25 monobrand stores in key cities like Paris, Beirut and Riyadh, with more to come soon, and via various shop-in-shops. On the residential front, it has developed major projects in prestigious locations, like gated communities in Vietnam, a tower in Sao Paulo, residential buildings in London, and villas in Marbella. In all of these, CBM incorporates the global lifestyle concept typical of Elie Saab, painstakingly curating their construction and interior design through an extensive team of top-notch professionals active across the entire real estate sector. 

Ferrari welcomed FashionNetwork.com at Elie Saab Maison’s Milanese showroom in via Sant’Andrea, presenting the label’s new furniture collection, ‘Nights of Wonder’, inspired by the Arabian desert and its stunning night sky. The collection, designed by architect Carlo Colombo, CBM’s creative director, perfectly blends Art Deco style with a sophisticated contemporary aesthetic. Besides the new furniture, including a statement four-poster bed worthy of royalty, the latest collection is characterised by the introduction of a home accessories line, featuring among others boxes, design objects, picture frames and bathroom accessories. The collection also includes an extensive home linen range, another novelty, with bed and bathroom linen in Elie Saab’s typically luxurious style, and a range of office accessories featuring the label’s monogram as a sophisticated, understated decorative element.

Besides expanding the label’s furniture line and integrating it with home accessories, Ferrari is also planning to extend Elie Saab’s presence in the hospitality sector. The Elie Saab luxury apartments, which include a mountain resort in the Caucasus and new developments in Istanbul, Casablanca and the Caribbean, are doing extremely well. They feature Elie Saab-style interiors and offer amenities like spas and restaurants. Ferrari is also aiming to enter the hotel industry, and mentioned the project for the first Elie Saab hotel. It will be a super-luxury hotel and is set to open in a prime destination, either a major capital or a top resort, although neither the location nor the inauguration date have been defined yet. The project is inspired by a true “residential haute couture” spirit, infused in all its aspects by the label’s impeccable style, and striving for the highest standards of customer service. 

Elie Saab Maison is growing at a remarkable pace: its revenue increased by 35% in 2023, and for 2024 Ferrari is forecasting a 40% growth. Surprisingly, the first market covered by the licence granted to CBM is Vietnam (where the Elie Saab villas are regarded as the country’s best), followed by India and the Middle East. The Arabian mood of the label’s collections is highly appreciated in Mediterranean countries too, for example Spain.