PRINTEMPS/ÉTÉ 2012
HAUTE COUTURE PRINTEMPS/ÉTÉ 2012 MERCREDI 25 JANVIER 2012 À 18 H 30 E S PAC E E P H É M È R E - J A R D I N D E S T U I L E R I E S
Elegance is a statement, an attitude. Elegant women are women of character with confidence. ELIE SAAB
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CONTENTS
08 FOREWORD
10 THE DESIGNER
22 CHRYSALIDES FLEURIS
38 BEHIND-THE-SCENES
44 THE PHILOSOPHY
FOREWORD Elie Saab reveals us in the Grand Palais his Spring-Summer 2012 collection. The Lebanese creator treats our eyes and transports us in a world where reigns beauty and elegance. With graceful silhouettes and beautiful embroidery, the artisan captivates with his work this season. I have been a devotee of his creations for a very long time and his modern day princess dresses have always left me in awe. There is a certain quality about his dresses that completes a woman—makes her feel beautiful. There are only so many dresses that can make a woman feel this way. Saab’s collections are glamorous and sophisticated, fusing a cultural myriad of fashion influences to give a distinctive and modern edge to his designs. He experiments with the central themes of femininity and romanticism, creating clothing that is cut-to-the-curve, with soft edges and exquisite detail including hand embroidery, beading and the use of luxurious fabrics such as mousseline and silk. The sweetness, the elegance, the freshness and the beauty which gets free there fill me with enjoyment and takes me to the marvels’ world. Silk tulle, shantung, organza or lace adorn themselves and are decorated of flowers in crepon, of sheets and pearls embroidered in silver reflections . The bust comes to light subtly on these dresses in transparency games, those who are another signature of the Lebanese creator.
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THE DESIGNER Once upon a time in Lebanon there lived a little boy whose favorite game was inventing dresses for his sisters, deftly sketching the designs before cutting out the patterns on tablecloths swiped from the family cupboard.
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B
orn in 1964 in Lebanon, Elie Saab is a self-taught fashion talent. His interest in dressmaking started at the young age of 9, already making clothes for his sisters. The talented adolescent sold his creations to the women in his neighbourhood. In 1982, at just the age of 18, he opened his couture atelier in Beirut managing over a dozen employees, being already a master in the arts of dressmaking and its know-how. In the following months, he presented his first collection to a public of women, instantly won over by the talent of the autodidact artist. His reputation rapidly transcended Beirut’s borders, attracting women from high society who desired an Elie Saab dress. Invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show in Paris in 2000, he presented four collections a year (Haute Couture and Ready To Wear) and six years later became a corresponding member. In 2007, he set a flagship boutique in the heart of Le Triangle D’or.
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I liken myself to someone who built the house he will live in one day and is preparing to furnish it. ELIE SAAB
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Beirut remains his main source of inspiration, it is where he’s founded and maintained his studio. In 2005, he inaugurated a modern five-storey building where the workshops are now located, as well as his studio, the Ready-To-Wear boutique and Couture showroom. The Elie Saab Atelier is where all the Haute Couture gowns are made and passed through the hands of the designer. It is the sole heart of the Savoir-Faire and excellence of his achievements. The designer magnifies femininity working with fine materials, delicate embroideries with outstanding quality. He builds his fairytale creations using simple designs, preious resources, whilst always maintaining a form of sophistication. Elie Saab dazzles with his intricate detail and strong sense of beauty. His specialty is the ultimate dress that highlights a woman’s silhouette.
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THE ATELIER Saab’s atelier is where all the magic happens —the place where all the Haute Couture creations are handmade with excellence and intricacy by Saab and his talented artisans.
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THE COLLECTION Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, “Chrysalides Fleuris”
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Delicately she advances, dressed in a palette so ethereal it seems lifted from a fragrant garden: fresh rose, angevin blue, creamy yellow, silvery white and nasturtium spring to life with embroidery and effervescent shimmer. Strong shoulders mark a new approach to structure, in thick layers of gazar or luminous white shantung silk washed over with watery green and embroidered with silver. Innocent short dresses add a carefree allure all their own. Silk tulle makes an entrance with the transparency of a chrysalis, capturing the eye with a modern contrast of volumes and materials. Intricate, tone-on-tone embroidery enlaces her bodice; tulle flowers give way to lace petals, impressionist motifs stitched in silk thread and abstract silver leaf appliquÊs. The collection is completely encrusted with fragile, crystallised tulle flowers—and beading so delicate and light, that the gossamer fineness gives the illusion of a constellation of ethereal, twinkling creatures.
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My signature look is a combination of glamorous silhouettes and feminine details. ELIE SAAB
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HAUTE COUTURE PRINTEMPS/ÉTÉ 2012 MERCREDI 25 JANVIER 2012 À 18 H 30 E S PAC E E P H É M È R E - J A R D I N D E S T U I L E R I E S
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HAIR & MAKEUP This season, the hair and makeup was kept simple and beautiful to complement the soft and ethereal tone of the collection. Models were given fluttery lashes, blushing cheeks, and soft candy pink lips to go with their glowing skin. The look is very romantic and subtle, much like the dresses they will be wearing in the show. The models became delicate Chrysalides.
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Hair was slicked back into a clean ponytail with hair wrapped around the base.The look was simple, clean, but elegant. CO L L E C TI O N | 37
Behind-the-scenes SPRING/SUMMER 2012 HAUTE COUTURE
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THE PHILOSOPHY Elie Saab has the art of glorifying women, those who twirl their dresses with infinite pride. They’re more than just a dress—more a promise of an exceptional moment. Elie Saab is an expert who handles both the stripped and the fabulous with dexterity. His one ambition: to inject beauty in women’s lives and, above all, never to lose the magic.
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Saab uses the finest, most delicate fabrics for his dresses—silk tulle, shantung, organza or lace adorn themselves and are decorated of flowers in crepon, of sheets and pearls embroidered in silver reflections. The fine, intricate details of his dresses add to the elegance and grace of his creations. He designs for a woman. His aim is to create something that will not only make a woman look beautiful, but feel beautiful as well. His dresses are a promise of magical moments and grace. Every woman can feel like a royal with his dresses.
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T
he Saab dresses are always ones to complement a woman’s figure. His philosophy is to celebrate the woman’s figure. The dresses have sensual cuts, flattering bodices, sexy yet subtle necklines, all to show the beauty of a woman’s body. The goal is to make a woman feel beautiful, regal, elegant, graceful, and sexy, but subtly so. His dresses are never too much, but just enough to guarantee the spotlight for its wearer. Creating both ready-to-wear and haute couture, Elie Saab has a lot to manage in his hands. The haute couture collection is handmade in his atelier in Beirut, where it remains Saab’s central office and atelier. His ready-to-wear collection is made in Italy.
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My personality resembles my designs to a large extent. I’m in sync with myself and I’m transparent, just like my designs. ELIE SAAB
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PURITY & INTRICACY THE HEART AND SOUL OF A SAAB
I traced the path I walk today and my goals are many. I think that I’m achieving my goals. ELIE SAAB
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