If there can be a sartorial antidote for unprecedented and heartrending times, Elie Saab has an idea or, rather, 48—each one intended as a haute couture love letter and message of hope to his hometown of Beirut, in all its beautiful complexity.
True to what the designer’s son told Vogue following the catastrophic blast in August, Saab’s ateliers were up and running in a matter of weeks, ensuring continuity amid crisis.
For those who, like this reviewer, are still waiting for a chance to experience “the Paris of the Middle East,” Saab paints it in impressionistic, watercolor hues, “like the subtle smell of jasmine in the spring.” With a palette of pale blues, blush pinks, gentle greens, and muted golds, the designer translated strength into diaphanous veils showered with feathers and crystal droplets, fortitude into a cascade of intricate and organic embroideries, and resilience into a shoulder line rendered sculptural via a whorl of lustrous rose petals.
To help convey his message, the designer opted to stage the collection in a sylvan setting and enlisted the award-winning young film director Mounia Akl, who created a mirrored set in the forest of Faqra. As outdoor runways go, this is a rare one that truly delivered, and although less embellished than what we’ve come to expect from Saab, there’s a rich, romantic, and ethereal quality to these looks. They are stronger for it.
In his notes, the designer spoke of his bride venturing forth, noting that she “knows not where [the trail] leads, but she is certain that it can only be better.”
