Steven Khalil is an Australian bridal and red carpet fashion designer, known for his bridal and red carpet gowns. Khalil launched his own fashion brand in 2003, 'Steven Khalil', and has since gained popularity. His designs have been worn by many Australian and International celebrities such as Samantha Jade, Giuliana Rancic, Dannii Minogue, Ariel Winter, Jessica Mauboy, Paula Abdul, Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Preston, Emily Ratajkowski, Carrie Underwood, Princess Olympia of Greece, Georgia Fowler and Jesinta Campbell.
Early life
Steven Khalil was raised in Campbelltown Western Sydney by his single mother who immigrated to Australia at the age of 21 from Lebanon with her then husband (and Steven's father). Khalil is the youngest of four children. From a young age, Khalil was intrigued by fashion designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. However, Khalil's love for fashion, specifically bridal wear began at 7 years old, where he was highly anticipating the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Khalil was drawn to Princess Diana's dress, especially its fabric, drape, movement and length and thus ultimately triggered his journey to becoming a bridal and red carpet fashion designer. At age 11, he received his first sewing machine and began sewing small items such as scrunchies and clothing items for dolls.
Education
Khalil has expressed that he was always drawn to the creative subjects in high school, such as art, textiles and design technology. After graduating high school, despite being rejected from his desired fashion school, East Sydney, Khalil continued to pursue his dreams and studied Fashion Design, Bridal Couture and Clothing Production for three and a half years.
Career
Early career
Khalil's first fashion related job was working with a bridal boutique, making flower girl dresses and doing basic errands. Shortly after, Khalil began working in Double Bay's well known bridal boutique, Mark Holt Bridal, where he was able to expand and refine his skills. Khalil continued working at Mark Holt's Bridal for seven years with love and passion, becoming Head Designer at 22 years old. His talents were indeed exposed and celebrated, with his bridal designs landing on the front page of magazine covers across the nation. Likewise, many of his designs were sent to editorial shoots. Eventually, his talent was recognised in various bridal houses across Sydney, Khalil opened his own fashion boutique in Paddington, known as, 'Steven Khalil'.
Current career
Opening his first bridal boutique at just 27 years old, Khalil's designs soon became renowned both locally and internationally. While Khalil has expressed that he certainly struggled and made mistakes in the early years of his boutique, he continued to strive and learn from them. Thereafter, the future bridal market became highly intrigued with Khalil's modern and romantic gowns. As a result, Khalil was able to establish his clientele, which included celebrities and high profile social identities. Khalil's attention to intricate detail presented him with an opportunity to design Red Carpet gowns, which are now well known to be worn among celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Emily Ratajowski, and the Kardashian/Jenner family. While increasing his expertise, skills and understanding the bridal market over the course of his career, Khalil has gradually released bridal and red carpet collections since the beginning of his own business, including showing at 2019 Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. Khalil's designs have expanded to an international scale, launching international stockists such as The Wedding Club, a luxury bridal wear store based in London, and is hoping to expand to Europe and Dubai. Due to his popularity in the US, Khalil opened a showroom in LA for celebrity stylists to access his gowns. A large part of Khalil's career centralises around fashion shows, domestically and internationally, which gives the ability for designers to showcase their work, increase clientele and generate a well branded name.
Although Khalil is well regarded for his bridal and red carpet designs, in late 2017, he launched his own perfume for women, 'Steven Khalil Eau De Parfum'. Khalil created the perfume around the idea that the woman would have a special connection to the scent in conjunction to a special event, in particular, their wedding day.