Eliot
Raffít, third generation artist & designer, is known internationally for
his signature Romantisme (French
for Romanticism) style. Born
in Miami, the son of a passionate artist & architect father & a mother
who sculpted in marble. His maternal
grandfather headed a women’s fashion house & his maternal grandmother
painted in oils. His early days were
filled with painting, drawing & sculpting, while nights took the family to
the opera & ballet. His family felt
travel was an important educational instrument & off they flew to the great
capitals of the arts: London, Paris, Barcelona, Athens, Cairo & Kyoto. These extending voyages would play a
significant role in the development of his emerging style. His father saw his son was gifted beyond his
years & at the age of nine sent him to apprentice with an Italian master of
classical drawing & painting. His
formal education culminated with honors at Cornell University, College of Art &
Architecture.
The
early years were lined with cultural trips to New York to view the metropolitan
museums & theater. One spring
Sunday, the young protégé proudly strolled 5th Avenue with his
parents in hand for the Easter Parade, as he waved to the onlookers. Pageantry & fashion were deeply
intertwined with his love for the arts.
His move to New York was an inevitable conclusion, as the center of
fashion & culture beckoned him. His
Manhattan atelier is now home for his creative endeavors as he designs new
visions for patterns & products within the realm of luxury fashion &
home decor. His artistic influence can
be found in the Modernist canvases of the French painters Leger &
Matisse. His fashion inspiration is
composed from the couture creations of the French designers Chanel &
Dior.
Eliot
Raffít’s designs can be found in the finest luxury retail stores in the
Americas, Europe & Asia: Bergdorf
Goodman & Saks Fifth Avenue on New York’s 5th Avenue; Neiman
Marcus in Dallas; Harrods in London & Lane Crawford in Hong Kong.
