Ivy Reviews Tony Yaacoub SS 2013 Fashion Show

I got invited to the hot mess that was Tony Yaacoub’s Spring/Summer 2013 fashion show Monday along with every single other blogger in town. The card said 9pm so I was there 9 sharp. Bad idea, the show didn’t start until 10 something. So my friend and I fidgeted around, sipped on champagne and hors d’oeuvres and watched the models rehearse. Until one of them took a tumble in those sky-high heels and made a scene. She refused to get up. She just mumbled in her heavy Eastern European accent placed her head between her knees and chilled on the catwalk. No one reached out to give her a hand. People were just staring at her like she was some creature from out of space. In fact, two women practically climbed on top of her to get to their seats. Let’s just say it wasn’t her day. She would experience some major nip slips that night. Or at least I think it was her.

Every girl loves Haute Couture. It’s true, no matter how much we try to deny it, there’s something about Haute Couture that makes us feel little tingles in our tummies. Or perhaps I was hungry. But when the show finally got around I remembered why Lebanese designers made a name for themselves in the world. They always manage to take it to the next level. You want shiny- they’ll rob the market off every single embellishment and stick them on one dress, you want big and puffy- they’ll make Cinderella feel under-dressed, you want over-the-top you got a model parading around in feathers, nets and a terrified little doggie.

The theme was fabulous. As though you had entered the backstage boudoirs of 50’s flapper girls. It looked like a fairytale on acid with floor-sweeping dramatic gowns, enough sequins and tinsels to make you flinch while your eyes adjusted, big hair and of course no Lebanese show is complete without some tulle, lace and lots and lots of skin. It looked like a collection only a few could pull off, Lady Gaga out to dinner, JLO on the red carpet, mothers-of-the-brides, Arab singers and a Christmas tree.

But that’s what I love about Haute Couture, it’s bursts of creativity, designers get to really let out their inner imaginative beasts, kinda like what a little infant would do if you give him some paint and tell him to use his hands on the walls. And Tony Yaccoub did not hold back. He out-shined the models in his ridiculous metallic outfit as he gloriously pranced around the packed venue waving triumphantly at the audience accompanied by two men in suits adorned in gold elephant masks. You missed out.