There wasn't a princess dress in sight, nor a bride. Zuhair Murad paid homage to Phenicia, the ancestor of modern-day Lebanon, and its seafaring heritage with a collection of powerful shoulders, straight lines, draped silhouettes and a jewel-filled shipwreck hull that rival the display in his front row.
Chain after chain of precious stones and ornaments of different shapes and sizes hung from her eye-catching silver and gold designs, several of them backed with nude tulle to make it look like they were decorating the naked body. What appeared to be rough-cut semi-precious stones were embedded, jewel-like, in numbers of sequins, giving them an irregularity that detracted nothing from the dazzling message, testimony, if one were needed, to Murad's undeniable skill with embellishments.
Evoking the Greco-Roman Empire, bunches of grapes and vines formed a sinuous mesh pattern over white numbers, among the most creative looks, or formed embellishments at the neck and hips on a draped dress in faded wine red. Designs with geometric arabesque or mosaic patterns in multiple metallic hues had a more contemporary vibe that could translate into modern pageantry.
Leave the princess dress, the goddess dress is in town.
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