You can see why Hollywood’s finest actress flock to Lebanese designer, Elie Saab, to dress them for the red carpet. His beaded tulle dresses ensure a goddess-like glamour to whoever wears them. Until now however, the designer has not found his Fashion footing, existing in the parallel universe of red carpet fabulousness.His haute couture show in Paris today signalled a new beginning, catapulting him directly onto the fashion radar. Although your typical haute couture customer doesn’t have to concern herself with trends (if you don’t have to worry where your next billion is coming from, who cares if you are trendsetting?), it is important couture collections steer fashion on.
Whatever happens here will impact eventually on silhouettes and styles you find in Zara. By choosing to make his couture gowns ethereal, light, transparent and luminous, Saab, a master of beading and evening wear, put them in a fashion context that will automatically gain respect from a younger clientele too.
Trendspotting at Paris Haute Couture
His vision, although very Elie in spirit, echoes the collections of Givenchy, Valentino, Christophe Josse and Giambattista Valli. This makes him very much ‘in’ with the in crowd. There was a fin de siècle feel to Saab’s collection, which followed the line of the body like a second skin before splaying out just after the hourglass hip-length. High necks added a prim, private elegance to them.
The celestial palette of slate blue, brown tinged with bronze, aquamarine and silvery white added to the overall lightness, along with the constant reflective qualities of those ever present twinkling beads.
"We wanted to explore the fragility of femininity," said the British stylist, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, who has collaborated with Saab for three collections. "These dresses have a diaphanous fairy like feel to them but remain empowering. It’s always a challenge to relate Elie’s inspirations and themes to his couture customers but he remains mindful of this at all times."
This time madam will surely love Elie’s vision of tripping the light fantastic. We certainly do.
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