Daily Front Row

2013 January 23

Paris Couture: Elie Saab

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Elie Saab Haute Couture Spring 2013
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(PARIS) Elie Saab
Floral, pastel and off-the-shoulder, all pervasive touches du couture this week? Check, check, and check. The interpretation chez Saab was all about weightless gowns with detailed embroidery over tulle, rendering the designs decidedly tattoo-esque. The result? Frock and mod practically became one, as fluid, femininely patterned lithe figures traipsing down the runway. To wit: a dress done in a sublime lavender, scattered with lace. A three-quarter-sleeved gown got peppered with white flowers from the neck to the top of a voluminous translucent skirt, the flora-inflected trim appearing to float ethereally around the model's legs. Some of the dresses were quite legère in places best kept discrete. Slips required, darlings. Capes both short and long proved to be sophisticated statement pieces, draped elegantly on the shoulders. Of course, embroidery is what Saab does best; that attention to detail certainly wasn't lost throughout the collection. Also worth j'adoring: a floor-length, full-skirted, one such number sporting intricate beading and black fleurettes that sparsely trickled down onto a nude skirt with just the faintest hint of lace. To make heavy beading appear to merely float over the body? A heavenly gift only Saab could possess.