From Her Mother’s Sewing Room to Dressing Beyoncé: The Moroccan-Belgian Designer Making Her Mark in Paris

At the family home, clients come and go to order dresses, blouses and caftans. Leona watches her mother’s hands at work; she trained as a seamstress in Morocco. Her father, a potter from Marrakech, dies of cancer before Leona turns seven. The family has eight children.

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Her mother repeatedly tells her to first secure financial stability before becoming an artist. Leona studies communications, works in London, then settles in New York. There, she discovers real estate and sets up an investment company with her sister Hanna.

The 2008 financial crisis proves to be a turning point. The two sisters now have the means to fund their passion. In 2009, they create Lena Erziak, a name formed from their first names.

From stars carrying their bags to Paris runways

First came handbags. Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry embraced them, Leona says in an interview with Forbes Belgium in July 2024. The designs gain visibility, then the venture comes to a halt in 2013 after a personal tragedy affects both sisters. In 2016, they return with luxury shoes made in Italy.

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But Leona keeps thinking about the dresses her mother used to sew. Starting in 2020, she moves into haute couture and presents her designs in Paris. A comment from her son about textile pollution also leads her to work to order and favor materials that have already been produced.

In 2023, Lena Erziak generated 15 million euros in revenue, according to Forbes. At the time of the interview published in 2024, her made-to-measure haute couture pieces were priced from 9,000 euros. At that time, her teams worked between New York and Paris, while she embraced her Belgian-Moroccan identity.