Despite 40-plus years of dazzling red-carpet moments – and two decades since becoming the first Arab designer on the official Paris haute couture calendar – in real life Elie Saab is still more comfortable letting his runway do the talking for him. And while he’s often been approached about collaborations, it took until now to feel the time was right.
Come 22 October, the Elie Saab H&M collaboration at last puts Mr Saab’s particular brand of glamour – spotted of late on Zendaya, Olivia Dean and Eva Longoria – within reach for the rest of us.
“We’ve always been true to ourselves,” the softly spoken couturier with 20 million followers said during an exclusive preview at his showroom in Paris. “We’ve never been driven by trends. If you look across the archives, what you see is consistency and craftsmanship.” He continued: “We wanted to be sure we could do something where every piece was special – without compromise – because otherwise it wouldn’t be Elie Saab. No one wants ‘basic’ from Elie Saab.”
There’s nothing basic about this evening look from the Elie Saab H&M collaboration.
The house is in full expansion mode, said Elie Saab Jr, vice chairman and CEO of the Elie Saab Group. “As a core business, the group has been growing on average 35 per cent year on year. I believe the reason we can do that is that we’ve always stayed focused on our DNA. So, it was really about translating the essence of the brand for a new audience, and who better to do that with than H&M? They’ve done amazing things with the best houses in the world.”
Unsurprisingly, the Elie Saab H&M collection plays up after-dark glamour, and just in time for holiday party season, too. But it also includes daywear, coats, embellished knitwear and accessories – like dangly logo-ed earrings and vintage-y jacquard scarves, ladylike flat sling-backs and runway-true towering platforms – as well as a handful of men’s accessories and tailored evening jackets with crossover appeal to burn.
In all, some 55 items reprise house signatures like gradient sequins, lace embroidery and faux fur in a restrained midnight palette of black, gold and emerald green. Prices range from around £25 for a sassy flower choker with slender ties long enough to let it double as a belt to £68 for an embellished hoodie and around £258 for a gradient gold-to-black sequined blazer or a flowing gradient green-to-black bustier gown. The highest-ticket item is a funnel-neck jacket in rich chocolate sheep leather that dissolves into black toward the waist (£343), which can be paired with a matching pencil skirt.
“People think we’re really strategic about which designer collaboration happens when, but the truth is that sometimes it all starts with a feeling,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M creative advisor and head of design womenswear. “Mr Saab has been making beautiful clothes for years now, but it felt like maybe he hasn’t been celebrated enough.” At a time when AI dominates the conversation, she added, what we all need is “just to experience something beautiful.”
“There’s a yearning for things that only hands can make. Elie Saab is a true creator – he just has that craft in his hands and you can see it.” Johansson recounted how, during one studio session, Saab picked up a single piece of black fabric and twisted, turned and draped it into a bustier dress right on the mannequin. “It was really intriguing. After that, it was up to us to try to work out how he did it and to get it right. It’s harder than it looks. It was a real challenge for our pattern-maker – the bow and all the little details have to sit right, and there’s even a little handle on the train,” she explained.
By the same token, the H&M team pushed the envelope to translate the couturier’s flair for lavish embellishment into something that would feel both wearable and more crafted than what one might ordinarily expect from a high street fashion giant.
Some pieces, such as the black faux fur jacket, would not have been possible to produce even just a few years ago. “We learned a lot from our Balmain collaboration [in 2015]. We’ve been working ever since to elevate the process, and recycled fabrics are getting better and better, too,” Johansson said.
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The Elie Saab H&M collection plays up after-dark glamour, and just in time for holiday party season, too. But it also includes daywear, coats, embellished knitwear, and accessories.
Versatility was also top of mind. Pieces like a double-breasted black jacket with a pleated cape back or a sequined brown-to-black bodysuit could easily do double duty with evening separates or jeans. Most of the line-up, such as as that black bustier dress in recycled polyester duchesse, a draped and twisted green chiffon top, a green sequined bustier, and embellished dresses also could, with proper care, look just as good many seasons down the line.
Which was the point, Saab and Johansson agreed. “Looking at the clothes, you see how the codes of the house have been translated, but it’s not about adapting one look, one collection or one style. They all come from the Elie Saab universe, so what you really see is a lifestyle,” Saab Jr said. Added Johansson, “When you come together as two totally different companies, you can do things you might not achieve on your own.”
The Elie Saab H&M collection will land in selected H&M stores worldwide and online on 22 October.
The highest-ticket item is a funnel-neck jacket in rich chocolate sheep leather that dissolves into black toward the waist, which can be paired with a matching pencil skirt.