ELIE SAAB Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2021

LE THEATRE DES REVES

Kan ya ma kan, once upon a time, there was a little boy with a spectacular vision. Every evening he would sit by his window and stare out into the quiet of the night sky, allowing his mind to wander and become hypnotized by the deep blue depth. Even at nine years old he understood the need to disappear into his own imagination – it gave him somewhere to go, something to believe in, some kind of purpose. On one of these nights, as he gazed out into the unknown, celestial bodies began to appear, twinkling and flittering at amazing speed, illuminating the darkness and giving breath to the suspended silence. He recognized a patter and began to will their gravitational power. Surprised by his own magical force, he began orchestrating the stars into enchanted movement, creating a magnificent scenography that painted the way forward for an extraordinary future.

ELIE SAAB Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021 is a THEATER OF DREAMS, dreams that dance their way into exaggerated female silhouettes and become a dazzling, spectacular reality. ELIE SAAB wields his wildest imagination, takes a radical turn and choreographs a theatrical celebration that brings couture to the stage as fantasy come alive.

Midnight materializes as silver silk chiffon and noir taffeta flowing into oversized figures that command space. Shooting stars fall to earth and masquerade as chandelier earrings and stellar headpieces that blaze so bright, one cannot look away. Dramatic feathers take flight in cosmic wind as accoutrement, trimmings, sleeves and winged shoulders, and constellations become intricate lace masks and embroidered throws. The dream-like promise of the universe becomes a shimmering, sparkling vestiary of over-the-top structures, voluminous forms and alluring textures that carry the women that wear them to fantastical realms.

With power and with grace, the women resolutely rise to endless glittering possibilities above the clouds. They know they will steal the show and are ready to make themselves crystalline spectacles, captivate their audience and take their breath away. She calls on the sun, radiating in a crown of crystals and a creamy ivory jumpsuit hidden under an over-sized hooded cape embellished in embroidered sun rays. Feeling strong in nude cuissard boots, she invokes a tempest in an elaborate short gown that alternates between layers of light blue plumage and jewel embroidered tulle. Her face is subtly hidden behind bedazzling headgear as the mystery of twilight envelopes her in layers of metal grey taffeta that billow into a ball gown of overstated shoulders, a plunging neckline and infinite train. She is a soft spark in a blush rose fitted silhouette with a signature cinched waist that only serves to exaggerate her growing flame.

Taken in by the power of the ELIE SAAB Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021 collection, they exhibit the strength, the daring and the courage to carry these larger-than-life pieces that are not only made of the stuff of dreams but also inspire to dream big, because dreaming keep us moving forward.