Elli Saab, master of fairy-tale glamor, must have left her magic wand at home this season. Gone a thousand-and-one-night gown, golden shimmer, embroidery that could beat a chandelier. Instead, the show was opened with Daava Casel, Monica Beluchi’s daughter, in a slinky khaki pencil skirt and a silk blouse was just disconnected, just as we were delayed for a meeting in the stiltto sandals.
The veil, chiffon rotation, and indexed storms were nowhere. In their place: Python-print silk trench coat, Boyish Blazers combined with Wide-Leg Organna Denim, wore high-kamar Prince of Wales trousers with one-one chiffon top, and beige skirt suits so sharp that they could cut through a boardroom meeting.
“I wanted the collection to talk about a courageous woman,” Saab said backstage. “Women are born courageous, I know that, but now the world needs to be more fearless than before.” And so, instead of spinning another extravagance in tulle and gold, Saab attracted his attention to real life, or at least his seductive version, not only the ballroom or some grand royal opportunities to dress for women, but also for more worldly works.
The collection may not be a mirror of her couture fantasies, but still excluded practical glamor. The trench coat, although utilitarian, was swept away with a sensual liquidity, while the evening fabrics tamper with restraint, shed the additional drama: short, taut, and a fine draped into a printed chiffon, they felt more kinetic than the queen. Nevertheless, for Saab, the practicality demands a touch of the spark-and always a pair of sky-high stiltos.
