COMPLETE COLLECTION DETAILS

PARIS, January 26, 2011

By Tim Blanks

Can it really be nearly ten years since Elie Saab caught the world's attention when he dressed Halle Berry for the Oscars? Of course, it was actually Halle who bagged the eyeball time, because Saab let her let it all hang out. My, how times have changed. Sure, there was plenty of décolleté, and sinuous limbs slipping out from skirts that were, at times, almost too split, but what today's show really evoked was the up-to-the-neck missy-ness of Norma Shearer, an Oscar winner from centuries ago. One long tulle and organza gown, piled with flowers at the shoulder and tied with grosgrain at the waist, would surely have driven La Shearer into a paroxysm of desire. Coupled with the exceptionally sweet hair and makeup, this peculiar sense of propriety took Saab's collection into territory that was new for him. It was certainly a world away from the sparks struck by his last Couture show. Just look at the bride—last time, she shimmered with hints of gold. Here, her gown drooped with organza flowers and tatters of mousseline, and her veil was almost shroudlike. "Miss Havisham," suggested one waggish onlooker. Now that's a role that could win a woman an Oscar.

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