Abboud first started working in the fashion industry as a 16-year-old working part-time at Louis Boston. Abboud stated: "Louis Boston was a huge part of my career. I really landed in a world of very glamorous style, beautiful clothes, just the world of what international fashion was about. If this had never happened, then the rest of it wouldn't have happened."

Abboud joined Ralph Lauren in 1981, eventually becoming associate director of menswear design. He launched his own label in 1986. In 1991 Abboud worked with fashion director Peter Speliopoulos. Abboud was the first designer to win the CFDA award as Best Menswear Designer two years in a row.

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