What can we conceive of that’s more extravagant than visions of lost treasures of gold and precious stones hidden in ancient galleons lying at the bottom of the sea? At the dawn of 2022, at a time when the world appears to hold no more enigmas or secrets, Zuhair Murad transports us to a universe of mysterious hidden islands and revives the grandeur of the age of navigating the high seas.
More than three centuries after their last voyage across the oceans, sensual pirates bedecked with ornate jewels emerge from a spectacular wreck to set off once more to conquer uncharted lands. The silver embroidery on their outfits has darkened, in striking contrast to the tangles of gold chains and pearls slung from their slender waists. The designer has envisioned for them a wardrobe at the crossroads of the Grand Siècle and the digital era.
To help them find their bearings in our wondrous era, he furnishes them with time-worn navigation charts elucidated with lavish embroidery on ball gowns, or in tattoos on tulle, an art in which we perceive his signature, with the navigation routes intersecting in magnificent golden contours and forming constellations.
In an all-encompassing palette dominated by the aged pink of maritime dawns, the pallid red of canopies faded by sun and salt, the sand of beaches and deserts, and the rust of oxidized metals, along with traces of the blue or green of the water when it reflects the sky, brocades and embroideries bring back to life the flamboyance attenuated by the passage of time.
Accessorized with double leather belts that form a corset, tricorn hats and turbans, as well as jewels incorporated into the fabrics, the collection presents a flurry of pleated organza shirts with balloon sleeves, brocade waistcoats, midi skirts in sunray-pleated lamé fabric, cascades of tulle enveloping shorts, long dresses in silk chiffon, jumpsuits and fitted jackets in crepe cady.
A genuine invitation to a hunt for buried riches, the Zuhair Murad Spring Summer 2022 Haute Couture Collection takes us back on a quest for the intrinsic, to the notion that nothing is ever lost and that everything is waiting patiently to emerge once more beneath the sun of the brightest day.