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I DON'T LIKE WOMEN WHO TAKE RISKS
Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)
July 10, 2011 Sunday
by Natalie Long , Editor
Don't take risks. Don't be shocking. Live simple."
In this age of Lady Gaga, Elie Saab's fashion advice seems, well,
almost shocking in its austerity. The man who launched a thousand
Swarovski-swamped impersonators is telling me that he isn't impressed
by celebrities who take fashion to extreme levels âEUR" and while
there are many who would accuse Saab of instigating the current crop
of OTT Arabic designers, a quick glance at his latest haute couture
offerings, as always, reveals why he is considered a master of the art:
a rare subtlety along with the sequins.
"Why would she want to be crazy?" continues Saab, seated in the cool
white surroundings of the Pavillion Downtown Dubai gallery recently.
He's reacting to the suggestion that the current red carpet scene is
predictable and lacking in risk takers. "She" is the woman, his raison
d'etre, the feminine ideal he lives to dress. "In some places, I feel
like she's confused, she doesn't have enough to live in simple ways.
She wants to be shocking. For me it's not healthy."
The Lebanese designer has never hidden the fact that he has one main
objective: to make women beautiful. "I don't like women who take
risks. Because for me, the more important thing for a woman is that
she respects her femininity and her image. To be a fashion victim âEUR"
for what? It's complicating life for nothing."
This month, a different outlet for that objective was released: his
long-awaited first fragrance, Elie Saab Le Parfum, the first of what
he promises are many lifestyle extensions to his brand.
"For me [a fragrance] is very important because it's complementary
to a couture house. We are doing a lot for lifestyle. We have a lot
coming up. We are serious about too many projects."
Saab turned to Beaute Prestige International, the cosmetics company
behind several iconic fashion label fragrances âEUR" think Issey
Miyake, Narcisco Rodriguez âEUR" to create the scent, saying the
process was too far away from his world of tulle and taffeta.
"It's not the same way as [doing] fashion, it's not the same feel.
It's more industrial. It's not my market. I want to leave my feeling
and my approach for the women I respect." To that end, a concoction by
reknowned "nose" Francis Kurkdijan (the creator of Jean Paul Gaultier's
Le Male) was picked from dozens of others put forward for development.
"It was easy," says Kurkdijan of working with Saab. "Because we are
speaking a common language, mostly because of my origin [France-born
Kurkdijan is of Armenian origin], also because I see myself as a mix
between East and West, and I do believe he feels also that way. His
brief was: âEUR~Get my style and get my spirit into a bottle'."
respect for a woman
That spirit, adds Saab, is "a big responsibility." It's "respect for
a woman to wear something always flattering from me." Looking up from
a photograph of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wearing
one of his designs on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival,
he adds: "The woman everywhere speaks the same language. She wants
to be beautiful. Just because she's Indian, African, American âEUR"
she wants to be beautiful. From my side, this is my obsession,
always. I don't go far, I don't want to do stories. I want to do
clothes flattering for a woman only. It's my target."
That's not his only target however: having the fashion world take his
home country seriously, and having the Lebanese take their own fashion
designers seriously, have been parallel projects for over two decades.
"My atelier is in Lebanon," he says when asked why he doesn't move to
Paris. "All my haute couture is there. I don't want to move. I have
my people for 25 years. I'm so proud of the image of my country and
I'm a success story of all the Arabic countries."
Plenty of the rising stars of Lebanese design âEUR" including Rabih
Kayrouz, who also showed at Paris Haute Couture Week last week âEUR"
worked under Saab, and most namecheck the designer when asked about
why they went into the industry. Saab believes he paved the way not
only for Lebanon to be seen as a creative hub, but also for design
hopefuls to gain the approval of their families.
"I'm so proud that 80 per cent of Lebanese designers passed through
my atelier. For 20 years I've been working on it. I take behind me
all these young people, and every time I see a name dressed outside
of Lebanon [wearing a Lebanese designer], I feel proud. Trust me âEUR"
every day I'm working on that. I shocked my parents. Now, every family
wants to have an Elie Saab in their family."
From: A. Papazian
Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)
July 10, 2011 Sunday
by Natalie Long , Editor
Don't take risks. Don't be shocking. Live simple."
In this age of Lady Gaga, Elie Saab's fashion advice seems, well,
almost shocking in its austerity. The man who launched a thousand
Swarovski-swamped impersonators is telling me that he isn't impressed
by celebrities who take fashion to extreme levels âEUR" and while
there are many who would accuse Saab of instigating the current crop
of OTT Arabic designers, a quick glance at his latest haute couture
offerings, as always, reveals why he is considered a master of the art:
a rare subtlety along with the sequins.
"Why would she want to be crazy?" continues Saab, seated in the cool
white surroundings of the Pavillion Downtown Dubai gallery recently.
He's reacting to the suggestion that the current red carpet scene is
predictable and lacking in risk takers. "She" is the woman, his raison
d'etre, the feminine ideal he lives to dress. "In some places, I feel
like she's confused, she doesn't have enough to live in simple ways.
She wants to be shocking. For me it's not healthy."
The Lebanese designer has never hidden the fact that he has one main
objective: to make women beautiful. "I don't like women who take
risks. Because for me, the more important thing for a woman is that
she respects her femininity and her image. To be a fashion victim âEUR"
for what? It's complicating life for nothing."
This month, a different outlet for that objective was released: his
long-awaited first fragrance, Elie Saab Le Parfum, the first of what
he promises are many lifestyle extensions to his brand.
"For me [a fragrance] is very important because it's complementary
to a couture house. We are doing a lot for lifestyle. We have a lot
coming up. We are serious about too many projects."
Saab turned to Beaute Prestige International, the cosmetics company
behind several iconic fashion label fragrances âEUR" think Issey
Miyake, Narcisco Rodriguez âEUR" to create the scent, saying the
process was too far away from his world of tulle and taffeta.
"It's not the same way as [doing] fashion, it's not the same feel.
It's more industrial. It's not my market. I want to leave my feeling
and my approach for the women I respect." To that end, a concoction by
reknowned "nose" Francis Kurkdijan (the creator of Jean Paul Gaultier's
Le Male) was picked from dozens of others put forward for development.
"It was easy," says Kurkdijan of working with Saab. "Because we are
speaking a common language, mostly because of my origin [France-born
Kurkdijan is of Armenian origin], also because I see myself as a mix
between East and West, and I do believe he feels also that way. His
brief was: âEUR~Get my style and get my spirit into a bottle'."
respect for a woman
That spirit, adds Saab, is "a big responsibility." It's "respect for
a woman to wear something always flattering from me." Looking up from
a photograph of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wearing
one of his designs on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival,
he adds: "The woman everywhere speaks the same language. She wants
to be beautiful. Just because she's Indian, African, American âEUR"
she wants to be beautiful. From my side, this is my obsession,
always. I don't go far, I don't want to do stories. I want to do
clothes flattering for a woman only. It's my target."
That's not his only target however: having the fashion world take his
home country seriously, and having the Lebanese take their own fashion
designers seriously, have been parallel projects for over two decades.
"My atelier is in Lebanon," he says when asked why he doesn't move to
Paris. "All my haute couture is there. I don't want to move. I have
my people for 25 years. I'm so proud of the image of my country and
I'm a success story of all the Arabic countries."
Plenty of the rising stars of Lebanese design âEUR" including Rabih
Kayrouz, who also showed at Paris Haute Couture Week last week âEUR"
worked under Saab, and most namecheck the designer when asked about
why they went into the industry. Saab believes he paved the way not
only for Lebanon to be seen as a creative hub, but also for design
hopefuls to gain the approval of their families.
"I'm so proud that 80 per cent of Lebanese designers passed through
my atelier. For 20 years I've been working on it. I take behind me
all these young people, and every time I see a name dressed outside
of Lebanon [wearing a Lebanese designer], I feel proud. Trust me âEUR"
every day I'm working on that. I shocked my parents. Now, every family
wants to have an Elie Saab in their family."
From: A. Papazian