There are moments when the world feels too heavy, when headlines blur together and every push notification feels like another reason to sigh. But then Elie Saab stages a couture show in Paris and, suddenly, you remember the power of beauty. The Elie Saab Fall 2025 Couture collection, unveiled at 46 Rue Cambon—a storied address just steps from where Coco Chanel once reigned—was nothing short of a romantic fairytale. In a time begging for softness, the Lebanese couturier delivered it in spades.
Titled La Nouvelle Cour, or “The New Court,” this was escapism in its purest form. While some designers reflect the chaos of the times through sharp tailoring or dystopian edge, Saab remains a devoted romantic. His latest muses were queens of their own making, their beauty resting in silk, velvet, and the quiet confidence of an expertly boned corset.
And oh, the corsets. Reimagined in jet-black velvet, gold moiré, and soft pastel sheens, they are fit for a queen. Take the blush-toned velvet corset dress, ruched and wrapped tightly around the waist, with a flourish of sculptural flowers blooming at the hip.
Just when we thought the collection couldn’t possibly get better, each look that followed seemed to somehow outdo the one before it. There was a sheer black gown embroidered with oversized roses in painterly hues—deep burgundy, faded pink, with hits of mustard yellow and sage green—paired with a voluminous velvet wrap that could’ve doubled as a royal cloak. Then came a gilded masterpiece: a metallic golden dress that gleamed like molten sunlight, with criss-crossing folds gathered at the waist, and a bodice adorned with delicate bejeweled bows.
What stood out this season wasn’t just the craftsmanship (though, as always, it was impeccable) but the sheer variety in textures and silhouettes. Saab worked his way through airy tulles, frothy laces, and heavier moirés without losing the thread of romance. His color palette shifted from macaron pastels—pistachio greens, rose pinks, pale blues—to imperial blacks and golds, offering both softness and strength.
A sheer nude gown, dusted in blush florals and glimmering embroidery, seemed to float down the runway rather than walk. Another look—a pale green-blue ballgown with a corseted bodice and a single oversize peony blooming at the chest—was pure storybook.
Naturally, the collection is poised to be eaten up by the Beirut-born designer’s loyal clientele. His dresses already line red carpets, worn by everyone from Hollywood A-listers to royalty. You can picture them mentally reserving each look as it glided down the runway—this one for a state dinner, that one for a gala, the other for the kind of engagement party that gets covered by Vogue.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any dreamier, Saab skipped the traditional finale walk. Instead, his models gathered on the grand staircase like characters frozen in a living painting before confetti rained down from above. It was a cinematic end to a show rooted in fantasy, but you could also read it as something more: a celebration of beauty in defiance of bleakness. A bow, not just to the designer, but to love itself.
