A Funny Thing Happened to Perla Lichi on the Way to a Fisher Island...

A 'Saudi Prince' selected Florida Designer Perla Lichi to be his designer. Now she shares the international spotlight in the November issue of Vanity Fair magazine with luxury brands Cartier, Rolex, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferrari, Mercedes, Regent Beverly Wilshire, Four Seasons, Rolls-Royce, Ritz-Carlton.

And it was no coincidence that Anthony Enrique Gignac, a/k/a Khalid bin al-Saud telephoned the Coral Springs office of Interior Designer Perla Lichi in the Spring of 2017.

PERLA LICHI DESIGN HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

He told Perla that she came highly recommended and identified himself as a Saudi Prince. The 'Prince' said that he needed an interior designer for two multi-million-dollar Fisher Island penthouses. It is true that Perla Lichi has published two books on palatial design, Palaces (2011), and Palaces of the World (2014). And many clients looking for this specialty find Perla Lichi through her books and her website. https://www.perlalichi.com

PERLA WORKS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
As an international designer, Perla has worked in the Middle East and Africa, designing villas and palaces for royalty. This call from 'the Prince' was nothing extraordinary, just a standard call from a prospective client.

"We went to meet him the next day," describes Perla. "After I got off the Fisher Island ferry, two realtors were waiting for me in a golf cart and off we went. Khalid wanted to know what I thought, which penthouse would be the most glamorous. He said, 'I need your advice so that you can turn my penthouse into another one of your masterpieces.'

LOOKING COOL ON OCEAN DRIVE
"Things progressed. He postponed signing my agreement time after time and I was concerned about that. It seemed to me that he wanted to build a friendship bond. We hung out together. I have a funny selfie video of the two of us looking cool and cruising along Ocean Drive in his Ferrari convertible. Then on April 15th, he arranged a family dinner for my birthday. The following month he visited my booth at the Las Olas Art Fair and took my son to lunch.

PORTRAIT OF HIS CHIHUAHUA FOXY
"I naturally anticipated signing an agreement and collecting our design fee, so we could get started designing his penthouse. My staff, my family and I spent a lot of time meeting with him, on the phone, texting, face timing. He kept telling me the penthouse was still under negotiation. My son, Adam, painted a portrait of his beloved Chihuahua, Foxy. When he accepted the painting, Khalid said that it was his best gift ever.

READ THE VANITY FAIR STORY
"In order for you to get the complete picture, the whole story, you really need to read Contributing Editor Mark Seal's entire article in the November issue of Vanity Fair. I'm mentioned three times.

"Isn't it sad that all the many fabulous interior design ideas that I had for his penthouses are now only in my dreams. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/10/he-actually-believes-he-is-khalid-the-odyssey-of-a-counterfeit-saudi-prince

THE PRINCE SELECTED ME
"Truth be told, I am actually quite honored that he selected me out of all the interior designers in the world. You can see that I didn't lose any money, like so many others, all those investors. I only invested my time.

"Attention Hollywood! My only request is to play myself when they make the movie"