There’s a common stereotype about where well-to-do Hollywood types come from: privileged backgrounds, money, and an upbringing in such places as Los Angeles, New York, or London. This isn’t always the case, however, and some have earned their place despite a bevy of difficulties.

Enter Lion Shirdan.

Born in Israel, the multi-talented Shirdan has become a major force in the entertainment world, involved in everything from a high-end exclusive boutique to film production.

“I am a perfectionist,” says Shirdan. “Everything I do, I do 100 percent.”

Shirdan’s perfectionism seems to have paid off in the realm of fashion with stylehaüs, a members-only upscale boutique founded by Shirdan and friend Marina Monroe in 2011.

Stylehaüs is a first-of-its-kind, members-only, upscale boutique. Located on Melrose Place in West Hollywood, Calif., stylehaüs is an exercise in exclusivity chock-full of the rarest, most decadent fashions from across the globe. With an around-the-clock styling team dedicated to making members look their very best, its part showroom, and part indulgence: high fashion as it is meant to be.

“Everyone craves exclusivity,” Shirdan says of the boutique, “my involvement [has been] in the financial and development side.”

It’s been so popular, stylehaüs teamed with LA’s Mondrian hotel just in time for awards season to create the Red Carpet Room, a pop-up shop featuring pieces from Valentino, Theirry Mugler, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Lanvin, and many, many more. There was also a bevy of footwear finds from the likes of Christian Louboutin and Pierre Hardy, and diamond jewelry from Philip Press, Elodie K, Ashley Morgan, Pippa Small, and Gimetti.

Though the pop-up shop closed Feb. 26, it was a major hit, especially among those all too familiar with the brutality of fashion critics at the Oscars.

The doors of stylehaüs are open to a select group of shoppers for an annual fee of $1000, and clients are accepted on a referral basis or through a stringent online application process. Once becoming a stylehaüs member, each customer reserves a half-hour window for a style appointment. Upon arriving at the boutique, members are greeted by their personal stylist who has a style identity dossier on every aspect of their person and purchase history. In addition, members may call and request a custom clothing pull, where a stylehaüs stylist assembles a selection of clothes and accessories based on the member’s dossier and ships them to the member’s home or wherever they’re at.

“I’ve been friends with Marina for a long time,” Shirdan says of the stylehaüs co-founder who handles day-to-day operations. “She lives and breathes fashion.”

Out of Israel

Shirdan may breathe fashion also, but growing up that didn’t seem like it would be his future.

Born in the Israeli city of Haifa, Shirdan’s maternal grandfather was killed by terrorists in 1968. During the 1991 Gulf War, missile interceptors were placed outside his family’s home to stop incoming scud missiles launched by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Over seven weeks, a total of 42 missiles struck Israel.

“Living in Israel forces you to grow up a lot faster, dealing with death at a very early age,” Shirdan says of his childhood.

In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, sending the country reeling.

“It was a shock,” explains Shirdan, saying the assassination was “similar to 9/11, but on a lesser scale.”

In the midst of the turmoil, his family began looking to move elsewhere, and at the age of 17 Shirdan and his mother and younger brother moved to Toronto, choosing Canada’s largest city over Switzerland.

“That became our destination,” says Shirdan.

Yet despite the move, things were still difficult.

“That was really a tough time for me,” says Shirdan. “I didn’t know anybody. I wanted to put everything behind me.”

But Shirdan got the fresh start he wanted within six months, becoming involved with the Toronto nightlife scene by throwing events and bringing in talent, and by the age of 18, he became one of the most prominent figures in Toronto.

That was the beginning of Shirdan’s long streak of successes.

After graduating from York University with a degree in Finance and Economics, Shirdan was offered a partner position with Paradigm Energy, managing a team of eight senior energy advisors dealing with contracts worth millions of dollars. The following year, he teamed up to create a whole new energy wholesaler. Shirdan and two others joined with SemGroup –at the time the fourth largest privately owned corporation on Forbes – to create the Wholesale Energy Group (WEG).

But after two years in business, and being exhausted from the tight schedule and the extreme jet setting (up to 10 flights a week) without any breaks, Shirdan decided to get out of the industry altogether.

Move to entertainment

In 2009, a new industry came calling.

Always attuned to current trends, Shirdan met critically acclaimed director George Hickenlooper, while in Toronto filming Casino Jack in June 2009. The meeting turned out to be life-changing, inspiring Shirdan to make a complete transition into the entertainment industry.

“To get into the entertainment world was more an idea than a goal [at first],” he explains. “[But when I met Hickenlooper] it was fascinating to see how these things (movies) get done.”

Selling his companies, Shirdan devoted almost all of his time to acting, working 45 hours a week with five different coaches, including vocal and dialect coaches.

But business was always his main focus, and in early 2011 he joined forces with longtime friend Jonathan Gordon to create Red Lion Films. As a cautionary move, Shirdan decided to fund two micro-budget films to start: Petunia, a comedy-drama filmed in 2011 starring Brittany Snow, Thora Birch and Christine Lahti, and executively produced by Shirdan (who also has a supporting acting role), as well as Séance, a psychological thriller by director Greg Pritikin (Dummy, Movie 43) that is expected to shoot in Manitoba, Canada this spring.

Learning the film funding ropes with Petunia “was like trial-and-error” explains Shirdan. And according to the young producer, funding films was a way to maintain his active, jet setting ways. “I was used to a certain lifestyle,” he says. “I had to find a way not to give that up.”

With Petunia done shooting, Shirdan says, it’ll be shown at various film festivals – although he hasn’t seen the final version of the film yet, since it’s still being edited.

“It was a great experience,” Shirdan says of his involvement with Petunia. “It’s the whole experience [that I enjoyed], rather than just having a financial transaction.”

Passion for film and fashion

Currently, Shirdan and Gordon are focused on finalizing Red Lion’s slate for 2012-13, all projects in the $5-$15 million and $20-$40 million range. Beyond that, says Shirdan, he’d like to set up film funds with high-profile individuals on boards to go after $150 million to $200 million-dollar blockbusters.

Yet so far, Shirdan is perhaps best known as one of the faces of stylehaüs.

“I’ve talked to designers in Canada and a friend from Paris, and they’ve heard of stylehaüs,” explains Shirdan.

The celebrity clientele has certainly helped raise the boutique’s profile. In the past few weeks, stylehaüs customers have included Randy Jackson, Christina Milan, and Chris Brown’s girlfriend, model Karreuche Tran. Having designers like Adolfo Sanchez and Katharine Kidd creating pieces hasn’t hurt, either.

With such success, there are big plans for stylehaüs’ future. One of those plans is adding a selection of menswear.

“That’s the stuff I’m looking forward to,” says Shirdan.

Another possible plan might be to add a second stylehaüs location – possibly in New York.

“We’re looking to expand,” explains Shirdan, who also says that after setting up some more film production companies, he’d like to go back to acting.

Given Shirdan’s track record, there can be little doubt that his future is as bright as the stars that shop at stylehaüs.

Cincopa WordPress plugin