As an unprecedented gilded era unfurls in real time, Zuhair Murad is turning his eye to an earlier one: Paris during the Belle Époque, a period when a certain kind of spirited, cultivated woman could live freely and do exactly as she pleased, by whatever means she saw fit. In his notes, the designer explained that his fall pre-collection celebrates “the audacity and untamed personalities” of legendary courtesans like the bejeweled Countess de Castiglione or the Marchesa Casati, whose entire raison d’être was to be a living work of art.
During a showroom preview, jewel-toned numbers dominated, for example strapless gowns in emerald taffeta with a corseted bustier or with a pleated bodice in garnet cady, and on corseted fit-and-flare numbers in conch pink or ivory cotton with laser-cut eyelet on the skirt. Having recently expanded accessories to include the Mandapa bag in tooled leather, beflowered stiletto sandals, satiny jewel box evening bags, and unapologetically large faux diamonds as big as the Ritz, Murad kept these looks relatively pared down and tonal, giving the baubles free rein. Case in point: a chocolate gown shown here with an imposing bib necklace proved that opulence and restraint can indeed co-exist.
Naturally, there were exceptions, starting with boudoir-adjacent lace dresses with integrated corsets, or a full mosaic of mirrored sequins on an otherwise sheer café au lait number. An outcropping of jewel-toned sequins adorned a structured jacket, a frond of diamonds anchored a strapless gown, and shimmying tendrils of jet cascaded from the shoulder of a black jacket. Further along, a detour into painted florals nodded to the romance of a jardin d’hiver.
The lineup skewed evening—though that depends on how Murad’s ladies choose to dress by day—but it did underscore suiting as a lesser-known strength, with sharply tailored yet easy-looking jackets and trousers made for heavy rotation, now and potentially for seasons to come. And there’s no shortage of glamour and grand soirées ahead: in November, the designer received Fashion Trust Arabia’s Trailblazer Award for bringing Arab fashion to the world stage. This year, he’ll be taking things to another level when he moves his namesake house into a grand hôtel particulier in the City of Light’s golden triangle.
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