Elie Saab Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2012-2013 Collection

Elie Saab’s Fall 2012 haute couture collection may appear identical to past collections with the lace, sparkles, and safe color palette. Recycled or not, the collection was nonetheless astonishing and strikingly romantic.

The blacks then gave way to a typical Saab palette of champagne, pink and sky blue. And the money-shot came at the end: an embossed organza bridal gown with gold brocade leaves.

Saab’s program notes said the patterns had been “lifted from a palace along the banks of the Bosphorus” — and the glimmering decorative effects did endow the show with a certain Imperial element.