The Reviews
Joseph
It's a fitting match that Joseph's co-creative directors Anna Lundback Dyhr and Frederik Dyhr took cues from American minimalist artist Donald Judd for their fall 2024 collection that spans across three seasons, a signature move across all of their collections, where they combine three seasons.
The collection, like Judd's work, mainly plays with patterns and stripes, a Joseph motif and solid colors such as Hass green; bright ginkgo, and merlot red.
“It's been two months of people watching, sitting in a café in Paris talking about what people are wearing and different patterns — so it's coffee and wine inspired,” said Lundback Dyhr, pointing to the tweeds and jacquard knitwear.
The design duo decided to slim the silhouettes as a result of fatigue with the oversize look. The fabrics are lighter in weight and follow the contours of the body.
Frederik and Anna were fed up with witnessing long sleeves that were cut badly in the name of fashion.
“It's so cute when the sleeve is a little bit shorter,” said Lundback Dyhr, reiterating the focus they've put on sharp tailoring — the Joseph stripes make hidden cameos as pleats on the side of trousers that can only be noticed in motion.
The roomy outerwear offerings compliment Joseph's central ethos of building a wardrobe.
“We always want to root things in the real world. It's not just about imagining and projecting an ideal version of a person,” said Lundback Dyhr. — Hikmat Mohammed
Elie Saab
Elie Saab looked to Diana Vreeland for his pre-fall collection, but not just as a muse who brought zebra prints and opulent floral touches, he was quick to say.
The designer also wanted to channel the unfussy coolness she and her successors brought to fashion, which he described as a carefully studied balance between high fashion and basics.
He went on to say that he too felt quite American in his approach. “I don't tell a lot of stories; I go straight to the point,” he said.
Saab's point is always offering plenty to his well-heeled clientele, here dipping into the ‘70s for simple yet flattering shapes.
This time, the options included asymmetrical tops, peplum jackets, tailored jumpsuits, midi dresses galore and a pleated shirt and trousers combination he anointed the “Elie Saab pajama.”
Although offering a wealth of options for daywear was his intention, the collection leaned into Saab's couture glamour with its materials.
Tweeds were dappled with tiny sequins, satin was given a leather-like finishing treatment and laser cut to look like eyelet embroidery. Elsewhere, the wave design on a sporty blouson and shorts turned out to be a gradient of fil coupé embroidery.
And it's not just Vreeland's style Saab has been taking on board. “It's not about the dress you wear, but about the life you lead in the dress,” she once said. With a new perfume and some 15 hospitality projects, including the recently announced branded residences in Saudi Arabia, Saab seems intent on offering his client everything she's looking for — and then some.
— Lily Templeton
Zuhair Murad
Zuhair Murad's collection was infused with an air of dark academia, as the designer toned down his usually wildly inventive use of color with a lineup built on black.
Murad has played with a more monochrome palette in recent seasons, notably in his couture collection presented last July. All that inky drama seeped its way into pre-fall.
Lace dresses were topped with crisp white collars for a look that would not be out of place on Wednesday Addams. There were also Gothic references, relayed in patterns that recalled the sacred details of 16th-century cathedrals rendered in intricate lace patterns on blazers, or punching up a white poplin shirt dress or tunic.
Prints took flight in the delicate patterns of magnified moth wings, blown up to create gauzy blur and subtle shading in moody shades of gray. Elsewhere he pulled in sunnier references in butterflies, both in patterns that played with delicate symmetry as well as 3D embroideries that lifted off the garment.
Color was not obscured, with amethyst, emerald and royal blue to ensure plenty of red carpet play as awards season ramps up, as well as his traditional intricate beading, again playing on the butterfly wings in patterns on gowns.
After debuting a new monogram in his resort collection, Murad has emphasized the design's importance as an emerging symbol of the house as a subtle print on silk dresses, suits and trousers, as well as on belt buckles and an expanded range of handbags that now includes small clutches. The emphasis on accessories will also play well during awards season.