“I wanted to celebrate the magic of femininity,” said Elie Saab backstage before the show. The usually press-shy designer was putting the final touches on the breathtaking wedding dress in crystal-encrusted tulle that would close the show, a concoction of such sumptuous lightness, it looked like a dream. “Oui, c’est le rêve!” he enthused. “It’s a dream of luminous mermaids emerging from the waves and promenading along the sea.” The collection indeed had a liquid quality, with sinuous silhouettes dripping in silvery ocean-blue sequins. “I wanted to express the brilliance and the glamour of women; I try to enhance their charm with my creations: I look at femininity with my utmost respect.”
Beirut is the center of Lebanese couture culture and it’s where Saab keeps his ateliers, where all his collections are hand-embroidered and hand-painted. “I bring to French haute couture my Mediterranean sensibility, a vision of a woman almost regal in her demeanor,” he said when asked about his approach. He definitely gives the couture narrative a touch of flamboyance. In this collection, extravagance and lightness made a winning combination.
Expanding on the sea life theme, ruffles rippled around figure-hugging, asymmetrically draped evening dresses in deep-blue silk crêpe, and underwater gardens blossomed on delicate confections of sheer pleated tulle, organza, and iridescent taffeta. Corals were finely embroidered in tiny silver sequins on wispy ballgowns, giving them a translucent shimmer. Wearing one of these fantastic creations would transform any woman into a million-dollar mermaid. In the end, that dreamy, fantastical dimension is what true haute couture should be about.
