PARIS: The sounds of spring, with babbling brooks and birdsong, set a serene yet surreal tone Wednesday as Elie Saab unveiled his latest couture collection inside the soaring Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

It was punctuated only by whoops and clicking camera shutters as Eva Longoria swept in.

While the setting evoked pastoral bliss, the collection was a study in high-drama couture, as Saab’s signature opulence met a new architectural precision.

This season, the Lebanese designer, a red carpet mainstay, tempered his signature cascades of embroidery with an almost armor-like structure. Sweeping architectural flourishes curved around shoulders and hips, recalling the grandeur of Art Deco but with a modern sheen. Geometric bands of sparkles reinforced the sculptural intent, carving out silhouettes that felt more commanding than Saab’s typical fluid romance.

Models emerged on three parallel runways framed by classical white arches, wearing gowns dripping with jewels and embroidered feathers that echoed foliage. The effect was cinematic, an invitation into a world of 1920s glamour — Gatsby decadence reimagined with Saab’s unerring eye for fantasy. But in a world of uncertainty, the excess took on a different weight, a reminder that fashion has long been a glittering escape from reality.

Saab’s touchstone aesthetic — luxurious embellishment, silhouette-flattering cuts and red carpet allure — was intact, but there was an added sense of structure, a couture boldness that gave the collection its edge. The designer has never strayed far from his core of femininity and grandeur, yet here was a whisper of something stronger: a woman draped in fantasy, but armored for the future.

Saab was not the only Arab designer to present that day.

Lebanese designer-to-the-stars Zuhair Murad, whose country has been under Israeli bombardment, told AFP that his glamorous collection of long evening wear was inspired by the idea of a tropical island inhabited by goddess-like women.

“The message of this collection is about escaping from our hectic world. I imagined this beautiful island, far from the cities, far from technology, far from the world that we live in right now, a peaceful world,” he said.