Photos:
Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv
Exuberance is her kingdom, spontaneity her playground, flamboyance her empire. The offspring of couturier Zuhair Murad’s nomad imaginings, this fairy-tale queen has a pronounced taste for the life Bohemian, jubilantly combining the past and the most brilliantly eclectic present with a touch of the exotic and a carefree hippie chic, brimful of sensuality.
Everything about her heralds a sovereign freedom of style and movement – her head held erect by high collars and flattering cuts, a shimmer of ornament, abundance of flared, loose-fitting bell sleeves, queenly capes, pinched waists, regal shoulders, swooping backs, sheer daring, resplendent trains, cascades of calypso flounces, hems high and low, and loose jumpsuits: the trappings of a storied, continent-crossing caravan.
Imagine a heady mix of petticoats, sarouel pants, caftans, peasant smocks, Ottoman coats, and gypsy shawls, all set off by broad brimmed felt hats, dog-collar chokers, and leather belts – the go-to accessories for a rebellious nature with a bent for maximalist sexy, magnified by a heavenly gift for fabrics and anti-conformist décor featuring patterns from the Caucuses and Persia, Art Nouveau à la Klimt, and Asian flora and fauna in velvet and crêpe, tulle and chiffon, jacquard and silk dupion.
Embroidery macramé, Chantilly lace, hand-painted fabrics, ostrich feathers, plumetis, sequins, beading… bedeck the collection throughout – resplendent echoes of traditions reinvented for today, overawed by the aristocracy of colours: cyan, lime green, honeysuckle, imperial purple, amaranthine, rosewood, regal black, old gold, iris and more. From cocktail hour and beyond, nothing is too opulent, nothing too festive, for this uniquely international jet-setting gypsy queen.
