Story by Editor-at-Large CAROLINA OGLIARO
In a world often entranced by minimalism and severity, Elie Saab offers an exquisite counterpoint, one rich in seduction, craftsmanship, and unapologetic beauty. His Autumn-Winter 2026 haute couture collection, La Nouvelle Cour, presented in a hushed salon privé in Paris, reclaims the throne of opulence with a contemporary twist. This isn’t a pure nostalgia for courtly grandeur; it is a sovereign declaration of a new monarchy: a court ruled by daring femininity, where pleasure is power, and every gesture is a carefully cut silhouette.
The opening scene was pure cinematic indulgence. Models swept into the space like heroines from a gilded novella. Draped in sumptuous silks and adorned with lustrous pearls, they weren’t nostalgic relics of aristocracy but avatars of a new kind of glamour: audacious, precise, irreverently elegant. Elie Saab knows his women; they are queens not because they obey, but because they rewrite the order.
The silhouettes were masterfully sculpted: corsets emerged as bold declarations rather than whispered suggestions, reengineered through a distinctly French lens of seduction. In ebony velvet, molten metallics, or embroidered tulle, the corset became both shield and invitation, guarding the body while celebrating its curves with unapologetic flourish. There were flirtatious plays on volume: moiré sheaths cinched at the waist, draped to tease a sliver of skin, skirts that swelled into movement like silk sighing through air.
The palette was as poetic as it was purposeful. Macaron hues, rose thé, pistache, bleu de mer, were counterpointed by imperial black and sovereign gold. Through brocade, chiffon, and embroidered taffeta, florals erupted with painterly audacity, not as background but as protagonist. Each bloom was a testament to Saab’s deep commitment to craft: romantic, yes, but also rigorous, technique wielded like a scepter.
There were details that whispered while they dazzled: crystal-strewn bows fluttering across sheer backs, velvet capes pooling behind the shoulders like shadows drawn in silk, and delicately feathered gowns that seemed to hover rather than touch the floor. Saab’s fascination with adornment extended beyond the dress; couture accessories made their entrance with conviction, from minaudières in jewel-encrusted satin to clutches embroidered with regal precision.
But the true crescendo of the evening arrived with the bride, a vision suspended between fantasy and divinity. Embroidered with moonlit florals and crowned in a voluminous pearl-toned overskirt, she didn’t simply walk the runway. She reigned, graced over it. As the room held its breath, Saab reminded us what couture is truly for: to celebrate the moments when fashion transcends time and enters the realm of memory.
La Nouvelle Cour is a restoration of wonder. In an era where elegance is often measured by understatement, Elie Saab dares to drape power in lace, sculpt desire in velvet, and crown his women in fantasy. This is not costume, it is sovereignty in silk. And for those who still believe that beauty is a language of strength, Saab speaks with fluent majesty.
Because in Elie Saab’s court, femininity doesn’t bow. It rules.
