You will fall in love with Elie Saab’s India-inspired fashion

The globally popular Lebanese fashion designer added an Indian zing to his Haute Couture showcase in Paris by taking inspiration from saree and salwar kameez. Proof. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

Updated on: Jan 29, 2016 5:03 PM IST

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The globally popular Lebanese fashion designer added an Indian zing to his Haute Couture showcase in Paris by taking inspiration from saree and salwar kameez. Proof. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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The intricate lace dresses for which the designer is known, were not so radically changed, although they often had long sleeves. Others had a sari-inspired drape over one shoulder and there was one outfit that suggested a salwar kameez. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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Elie Saab left behind the cedars of his Lebanon and found a new land to conquer: India. We loved how heat and dust mingled with the British Empire inspire his new styles. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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From the raw and dusty floor to the sun-faded lacy dresses with dewy sparkles, the designer made his collection younger, looser - and gentler. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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“Enter India,” Elie Saab’s program proclaimed. The muse of his new couture collection, the notes went on to explain, was a turn-of-the-last-century Englishwoman on a trip to the subcontinent. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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“India is her backdrop and her inspiration for a new blend of formalism and ease, opulence and elementary lines.” That read like a real departure for the designer, who tends to prefer the reassurance of the familiar. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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Some really different vibes seeped in late in the show when a model rolled out in full rock-star regalia: jeweled pants stuffed into boots, a crystalline camisole, and a matching coat that reached to the ground. The Beatles in India, maybe? (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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His bid for hipness manifested itself most obviously in lace-up combat boots, mini backpacks, and sturdy-looking belt bags—all in metallic leather. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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In general, the collection was a call and response between Edwardian silhouettes, which are not such a great leap chez Saab, and Indian pieces, which are. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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So you’d have a high-neck Edwardian-style dress followed by a cropped jacket with a Nehru collar and softly tailored pants trailing a split train, or a gown with a built-in beaded capelet, and coming up right behind it, a thigh-length number with a saree--like sash thrown over one shoulder. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)

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For daywear, which in Saab’s past might have meant hotel-lunch white pant suits and perky cocktail dresses, there were sporty clothes inspired from the days of the Raj. (AFP/ AP/ Reuters)