PORTRAIT OF A DREAM
Painted in soft pigment, traced in translucent layers, daubed with exquisite detail: ELIE SAAB HAUTE COUTURE SS25 blends the craft of couture with the illusion of art to reveal an otherworldly masterpiece. Inspired by the romantic radiance of an Impressionist garden, each look in this ethereal collection is designed to be one brushstroke in a harmonious whole. From the palette of dreamy pastels to the fluid lines of their silhouettes, these luminous portraits combine into a transporting tableau which is both intensely feminine and powerfully delicate.
Entering the gilded frame, a figure appears from behind a spray of lilies, the flowers’ graceful forms echoed by the silver-rimmed petals sculpted in silk against her skin. This enigmatic muse is an ever-shifting canvas, her beauty changing moods as she moves between shady groves and sun-dappled pools. In a cross-hatching of pewter braids, stippled with glittering beads, she is a study in dew-brushed elegance. In a gossamer sweep of lime, frothing with gauzy camellias, she captures all the fragile exuberance of spring. In a column of nude chiffon she becomes a serene statue, blurring into a haze of light, her shoulder blades etched with shimmering silver. And in a masterstroke of unexpected perspective, the deep lapis purity of denim wraps her body like the folds of a very modern rose. In this rarefied atmosphere, every detail conspires to create the painterly mirage. Lifting her arm, a single sheer sleeve reveals a lavishly embroidered branch in a stunning trompe l’oeil. Turning into a glade, the chiaroscuro highlights an aureole of slender golden stems twisting about her gleaming hair. And as dusk draws in, the picture glows with all-encompassing enchantment, as she emerges from a bridal bower in layer upon sparkling layer of crystal-embellished tulle, dissolving into a breathtaking double train.
Art has the power to suspend time, imbue the world with a heightened beauty and renew our jaded gaze. In ELIE SAAB HAUTE COUTURE SS25, unparalleled craftsmanship and creativity draw on the past to paint a vision of a future that feels quietly, ravishingly fresh.