16 July 2014
BEIRUT: The buzz around haute couture fashion week has died down in Paris, but fancy dresses are still aflutter on catwalks in Italy.
The capitals Alta Roma Alta Moda fashion week for rising international designers and Italian fashion houses is in full swing. Two growing Lebanese brands, Rani Zakhem and Toufic Hatab, presented their fall-winter couture collections this week in Rome, the first as part of the official program and the other on its sidelines. Back in Beirut, beloved local designer Rami Kadi also released news Tuesday of his latest couture.
Kadi, known for his full-skirted princess dresses and sexy sheaths that have made him popular among Arabic pop stars, put out an uncharacteristically serious winter collection inspired by Arab architecture.
Hand-embroidered geometric shapes decorate the entire collection of evening wear. One wonders if the timing of the launch, in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, had something to with the theme. At one point, the Arabic dcor theme was taken so literally a skirt was decorated in what looked like tiny Ottoman helmets.
Kadis team referred to the collection of long and short dresses, fur-lined capes and jackets as new arabesque. Ethereal geometric forms, lines and symmetric waves meet the cool modernity of a couture collection, read the collection notes.
Using the rich colors associated with regional design like aquamarine, brick red and okra green Kadis collection brought a more artistic and sophisticated tone than we saw at his very pastel summer collection presented in Dubai in April.
In contrast to Kadis very specific theme, Zakhems inspiration was loosely based on the many transformations of woman. From dawn to night; from youth to maturity, the collection notes read.
Zakhems brand saw a wave of success this year when several Hollywood actresses and top U.S. entertainment news anchors wore his designs to red carpet events. His winter collection comprised a range of embroidered, beaded and flesh-revealing dresses aimed at another round of celebrity clientele.
Italys Alta Moda couture shows have a history of attracting rising Lebanese designers. Tony Ward only recently moved his biannual couture shows to Paris after 10 years showing in Rome.
The Rome event has become such an important platform for Lebanese designers that it has begun to attract newbies to show on its sidelines much like rising designers show alongside the official program in Paris. This season, such Lebanese designers included Toufic Hatem, who presented a line of lacy evening gowns.
Copyright The Daily Star 2014.
