Elie Thari (front and center) with his former wife Rory at the 2010 Elie Tahari Fashion Show during Fashion Week. Photo: screenshot via Zimbio.

The timing associated with the firings of some of Elie Tahari’s top executives is being linked to a Kabbalah retreat that the Israeli-born fashion designer went on late last year.

Tahari, who started the Elie Tahari brand, which does over $500 million a year in revenue and is featured in some of the world’s most fashionable department stores, fired the company’s creative director, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, general counsel, the head of human resources and other management officials beginning late last year.

“He wanted to build the company into a global powerhouse, and he thought he needed to make a few changes,” Scott Curie, the company’s VP of communications told the New York Post.

According the The Post’s report, retailers were concerned about an excess of Tahari brand clothing reaching their stores that was not up to par.

“I was concerned about markdowns on the floor. They needed to tighten up the amount of inventory,” Ron Frasch, president of Saks Fifth Avenue told the paper.

The firings followed a Kabbalah retreat Tahari went on, leading some to question whether the time he spent on the trip had something to do with the firings.

“His perspective on things seemed to have changed after he got back from that trip,” a source told The Post.