Backstage before today’s event, Elie Saab noted that couture would always be a method to transcend women’s imaginations into a land of fantasy. Since the 1980s, when he first opened his couture company in Beirut, he has never deviated from the ideas that he holds to be true.

Saab is noted for the lavishness of his embroideries; the intricate ornamentation is practically a built-in feature of his designs, strangely dominating over the forms and silhouettes of his outfits, which are kept reasonably basic and flattering. Saab is a pioneer in the use of embroidery as a design element. At Saab, there are no plays of cutting-edge volumes or boundary-pushing structures; rather, there is an unwavering commitment to the traditional canons of attractive beauty, which Saab’s customers continue to admire.

The idea for the collection came from historical films that were set during the Middle Ages, which was a period of time when beauty wasn’t exactly at its pinnacle. Saab, on the other hand, took the austere, monastic lines of capes, trailing trains, and décolletages from the middle ages and converted them into a spectacular, theatrical celebration of luxury. Dresses made of fragile chiffon were embellished with sequined embroidery designs all over the surface. These dresses had modest fitting bodices and were frequently worn with matching capes or veils to hide the head. In Saab’s hands, the Middle Ages shone with a brightness that they almost certainly never possessed on their own.

A flow of plain-colored gowns in emerald green velvet or in amethyst silk duchesse looked delectable. These gowns were interspersed with soft-pink chiffon numbers that were elaborately embroidered in silver, as well as cape dresses in dramatic black velvet that were studded with more pearls than the Black Sea could give. Refreshingly free of decorations, they highlighted Saab’s ability to play with silhouette-flattering, soft-draped shapes, without necessarily indulging in his characteristic decorative flair. They also highlighted Saab’s ability to play with silhouette-flattering, soft-draped shapes.

The Collection