Elie Saab
PARIS, January 25, 2006
By
You have to watch an awful lot of Elie Saab to get to the good bits. Forty-six or so dresses into the show, the best finally arrived: a dramatic black strapless gown made of circles of lace edged with tulle ruffles that was cut close to the body and broke into a swirl below the knee. It was vaguely Spanish, a tinge Edwardian, and had the slender, attenuated silhouette that also appeared at Chanel and Lacroix. Yes, it was on trend, but it would be a gorgeous dress in any season, and one that could confer mystique upon a clever woman who booked it for her Oscar appearance. The fact that few would be able to place its origin would only add to its attraction.To be fair, there was a clutch of other dresses in the nude-and-silver-sequin section that could turn heads for the right reasons. But those almost passed unnoticed amid the overlong parade of white-lace-and-crystal cocktail numbers, hobbling sheaths, shot-taffeta gowns, and Lurex goddess dresses. A few looks, including some with very peculiar stiff bust protrusions, one of which stuck out at a sharp angle 12 inches to the left, were wince-making. Many more, however, were simply near misses, spoiled by just one detail too far.
Ultimately, there's nothing wrong with Saab's show that a stiff edit and a pair of scissors wouldn't improve. If he'd take a red pencil to his long, apparently randomly planned running order, and snipped off, say, the dangling ribbon and beads that interfered with a perfectly decent black lace cocktail dress, he'd be getting somewhere.
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