Lebanese designer Elie Saab stays the same, just the way his clients like it
PARIS - What would the red carpet be without Elie Saab?
The Lebanese designer is such a reliable purveyor of the dramatic, va-va-voom gowns that â with their curve-hugging shapes and generous sprinkling of sequins â are the bread and butter of black-tie events, it's become nearly impossible to imagine one without him.
Critics lambaste Saab as boring, saying his work remains static. That's true in a way. But it's also beside the point, as Saab never claimed to be fashion-forward.
He's successful because his gowns tap a wellspring of timeless, classic glamour that makes women feel beautiful and sexy. Celebrities and civilians alike choose Saab for when they need to look like a million dollars â simply because he does make them look like a million dollars season after season.
The same cannot be said, however, for other more fashion-forward labels.
So it was no surprise that for Wednesday's spring-summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection in Paris, Saab stuck to staples like belted sheath dresses for day and sequin-covered gowns with long fluttering skirts for the evening.
Elie Saab 2006-2011 Website by NOBRAND is listed for Digital ...
Elie Saab has become synonymous with luxury and modernism. A serious couturier with a powerful and unique vision, Saab takes luxury to its zenith, designs for a woman that are both dreamlike and elegant.
Born in Beirut on the fourth of July, Saab’s interest in dressmaking started at the young age of 9. He spent much of his free time cutting patterns and drawing sketches for his sisters using his mother’s tablecloths and curtains.
In 1982, Elie Saab opened his first atelier in Lebanon at the age of 18 with ten employees. He began designing luxurious evening gowns and exquisite wedding dresses. Saab quickly proved that his talent surpassed his age when he showed his first collection at the Casino Du Liban in Beirut. Garnering extensive media coverage, Saab’s astounding debut collection dazzled the Lebanese press, who instantly dubbed him the “precocious genius.”
Lebanon news - NOW Lebanon -Net-à-Porter
Wenty-two-year-old Dana Mortada is a Psychology major at the American University of Beirut, but in her spare time she is an haute-couture designer with her very own brand, D-signé. Her label, which stands for âsigned by Dana,â already features a collection of beautiful cocktail and evening dresses. To market her line, Mortada created her own website as well as has advertised her collection of Facebook to Lebanese fashionistas.
âI have always liked fashion. I liked to sketch dresses and I took drawing courses for eight months. Then, together with a friend, we started making and selling tops. But my imagination [works] better with haute couture, so I started this business a year ago,â Mortada told NOW Extra.
She said her secret lies in her sketches that are detailed and provide the color and texture of the dress. This makes each creation unique. âEvery dress can be customized according to the clientâs taste. She may like the concept, but prefers to shorten it,â explained Mortada.
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