Tony Ward (designer)

Tony Ward (Arabic: طوني ورد, born on March 27, 1970 in Beirut) is a Lebanese-Italian fashion designer. Named “The Architect of Detail”, he draws his inspiration from contemporary architecture.

Early life
Tony Ward is the son of Elie Ward, a couturier based in Beirut. At 18, he enrolled in the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, France. He worked with Claude Montana at Lanvin, with Gianfranco Ferré at Dior, and then with Karl Lagerfeld at Chloé, where he studied haute couture before he launched his own brand ''Tony Ward Couture. Ward'' transformed his family's couture house, established by his father Elie Ward in 1952, into an international brand. He created Couture, Ready to Wear as well as Bridal Collections.

Career
After working in Paris, Tony Ward came back to his home country and launched his own couture line in 1997, for which he was awarded 1st prize at the "Société des Artistes et Décorateurs" (SAD) design competition, and his drawings were exhibited at the Musée Galliéra (The Fashion Museum of the city of Paris).

In 2004, Tony Ward began showcasing his couture fashion collections in Rome. His debut collection, titled 'Eden,' attracted attention from both the media and the public. Ward was honored as the Fashion Designer of the Year at the 'L'Ago D'Oro' (Golden Needle) Awards. By 2007, his couture collections had garnered a significant international clientele, prompting the opening of a showroom in Moscow due to the growing demand for his creations.

In 2013, his collection "Frozen Memories" was presented in Moscow at The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The runway used competitors from the Miss Universe 2013 pageant who walked down the runway wearing Tony Ward Couture creations. After ten years of presenting his collections in Rome during Italian Fashion week, Tony Ward chose in 2014 to start presenting his collections in Paris.

In 2014, Tony Ward was picked to dress the 12 finalists of the Miss France 2015 elections during a live show on French channel TF1. Miss France 2015 Camille Cerf and Miss France 2010 Malika Menard were also wearing Tony Ward designs during the event. He has also been involved in providing dresses to numerous other pageant contestants, including Miss Lebanon and Miss Universe competitions.

Headquarters
After celebrating the 60th birthday of the historical Ward Atelier, Tony Ward Couture moved its new headquarters to Hôtel-Dieu Avenue in Beirut, Lebanon. The building houses the boutique, couture salons, offices, and ateliers.

Museum displays
A gown worn by Whitney Houston for The BET Honors in 2010 was part of a temporary exhibit at the Grammy Museum.

A dress worn by Pink at the Grammy Awards was displayed at the Limited/Unlimited exhibition for the AltaRomAltaModa fashion event 2010 in Rome, Italy.