On my site, « Haute Couture: the eighth art, » I love to decipher those moments when fashion transcends clothing to touch the artistic. Elie Saab’s Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 collection, titled « Portrait of a Dream », is precisely one of those magical instances.
What Saab offers us here is a total immersion in an « Impressionist garden. » I was struck by this desire to treat each silhouette like a « brushstroke », seeking to capture that elusive light, that delicate reflection on water that so characterizes this artistic movement. The palette is a true visual poem: « dreamy pastels » – those powder pinks, delicate blues, absinthe greens, and evanescent lavenders – suddenly awakened by a flash of citrine or the unexpected depth of lapis lazuli blue.
The chosen materials fully participate in this artistic illusion. Transparent silks, airy chiffon, omnipresent tulle… everything contributes to this feeling of fluidity, of almost aquatic lightness. The silhouettes follow this movement, between vaporous dresses, skillful draping, and majestic capes, even if Saab reminds us of the underlying structure with some plays on visible corsetry, a modern detail that I found particularly interesting.
And what can be said about the ornamentation, except that it is pure art? These flowers that seem to bloom on the fabric, these embroideries of pearls and crystals that catch the light like dewdrops… This is where one fully measures the exceptional savoir-faire of the ateliers.
But the real masterstroke, the one that caused a stir and which, in my opinion, anchors this collection in audacious modernity, is the introduction of denim. Seeing this fabric, so everyday, so « robust », transformed into sculptural, fluid dresses, adorned with couture details, is a demonstration of mastery and a risk-taking that I applaud. Saab proves here that he knows how to innovate, push boundaries without ever betraying his essence.
In conclusion, this « Portrait of a Dream » is much more than just a collection. It is an affirmation of the power of Haute Couture as an art form, a celebration of beauty and femininity, carried by a strong artistic vision and refreshing audacity. A masterpiece to add, without a doubt, to the gallery of this eighth art that is Haute Couture.
CHIKH Larbi, for www.the-8th-art.com
Crédit photo: FHCM.
