Elie Saab Resort 2019
For his resort collection, Elie Saab paused to consider life beyond the red carpet. Taking to the streets — albeit the ones that wind along the French Riviera — he ventured into daywear territory, offering a lineup of chic Sixties- and Seventies-inspired silhouettes meant to last into an evening commitment. Red poppies and white daisies added a fanciful touch in the form of prints, built from fabric or drawn with sequins and beads, bringing texture to trim skirts, flowing dresses and embroidered jackets, or exploding through the black fuzz of a mohair sweater. This is Saint Tropez, back in its heyday, serving as the backdrop to a young, smokey-eyed Brigitte Bardot.
Nods to the era’s spunkier side came in the form of a short suede dress in black and a camel-colored jacket, both with studded fringes lining the back and running down the arms.
There were jeans — a first for Saab – dark, stiff but slightly stretchy and supremely cut, of a class suited for a first lady or European royal. For the less constrained celebrity counterpart, a boiler suit in the same, regal material.
Wide legged camel trousers, sleeveless Vichy dresses and leopard prints broadened the mix. Hinting at streetwear, waists of floral printed dresses were cinched with wide black ribbons, outlined in red and white, which felt like a reference to tracksuit stripes — another new element.
More solid colors along with a stark palette of black, poppy red and daisy white anchored the lineup, introducing a somber tenor to the breezy era that served as inspiration — age appropriate.
Launch Gallery: Elie Saab Resort 2019
Related stories
Dennis Basso's Creative Director Emily Burnett to Exit
AGL Introduces Pre-collections, Opens N.Y. Showroom
Get more from WWD: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
