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Fashion

Elie Saab Captivates Paris Couture with a Fusion of Past and Present

A model presents a creation by Elie Saab during the Women's Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 Fashion Week in Paris on July 5, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
A model presents a creation by Elie Saab during the Women's Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 Fashion Week in Paris on July 5, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
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Elie Saab Captivates Paris Couture with a Fusion of Past and Present

A model presents a creation by Elie Saab during the Women's Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 Fashion Week in Paris on July 5, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
A model presents a creation by Elie Saab during the Women's Haute-Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 Fashion Week in Paris on July 5, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

In the stone cloisters of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs adjoining the palatial Louvre, Elie Saab unveiled his latest collection to a rapt audience of VIPs, including Alicia Silverstone, on Wednesday.

Amid the historic venue, Saab presented a couture show that astounded attendees with its intricate detailing and magnificent silhouettes — and lived up to the venue’s grandeur, The Associated Press reported.

SAAB’S CINEMATIC SIRENS STRUT IN SILK Saab once again affirmed his philosophy: “The code of my collections will always remain the same." Staying true to his glamour-focused ethos, the fall collection saw Saab recraft history’s contours through a modern lens. Drawing inspiration from heroines of period pieces — Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth,” Charlize Theron in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” and more — Saab reinterpreted these timeless figures.

Complex embellishments, intricate textures, and sparkling jewel tones of ruby, amethyst and emerald danced across gowns, paying homage to the regal, cinematic muses. Medieval symbolism came to life through sequined Tudor roses and flowering branches vining their way up the gowns, melding historical reverence with Saab’s sophisticated artistry.

Dramatic capes of crystalized crepe and velvet dentelle layered atop matching gowns, wrapped in an enigma of enchantment and luxury. Touches of whimsy came to life in pearl drops and gilded bees humming through embroidered foliage, and ethereal gowns with near-transparent sequins in playful fantasies.

Saab has shown once more that while his inspirations may travel through time, the core of his collections — an unflinching commitment to glamour and the celebration of feminine beauty — remains the same. It is this consistency that continues to endear Saab to his clientele.

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Fashion

Met Gala Guests from Beyonce to Nicole Kidman Set to Flaunt Fashion as Art

Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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Met Gala Guests from Beyonce to Nicole Kidman Set to Flaunt Fashion as Art

Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Tulips bloom outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art during preparations for the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, along 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 3, 2026. (Reuters)

From beyond the museum walls Monday, works of art will move and take shape as the glitterati of guests from Beyonce, Nicole Kidman to Venus Williams will fashionably ascend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s steps and exhibit their creative interpretations of this year's dress code, “Fashion is art.”

The question of whether fashion is art has long been topic of conversation for fashion insiders, and this first Monday in May the dress code is leaving nothing up for debate.

The dress code for the starry fundraising event calls for guests to “express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form."

Fashion has long drawn inspiration from works of art, leaving guests with no shortage of artistic references to show off.

But will guests pull from the fashion archives on Monday or wear custom artistic creations from fashion houses?

Archival fashion looks have become a red carpet phenomenon with fashion savvy stars wanting to get their hands on some of the rarer pieces of fashion history.

Designer Elsa Schiaparelli famously collaborated in 1937 with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí to design a white silk dress with a lobster printed on the front. Years later, Yves Saint Laurent would design shift dresses filled with Piet Mondrian’s blocks of color in 1965, and more recently, Marc Jacobs collaborated with artist Takashi Murakami in 2002 to add his designs to Louis Vuitton.

Monday’s carpet is also a chance for celebrities to deliver their own performance art.

The late designer Alexander McQueen was heavily regarded by fashion insiders as an artist. He closed his Spring 1999 show with a piece of performance art when machines sprayed Shalom Harlow’s white dress with black and yellow spray paint as she posed on a rotating turntable.

Past Gala dress codes have honored designers and pulled from literature. Last year, the art of tailoring was center stage with the dress code “Tailored for you.” The high-profile event raises money for the museum's Costume Institute, and each year the dress code for the gala takes cues from the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition.

On display this Spring, the “Costume Art” exhibit will “examine the centrality of the dressed body.”

The relationship between fashion and art has not always been embraced. Art historian and author Nancy Hall-Duncan writes in her book, “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art” that in the 19th century, art was perceived as classical and fashion was frivolous.

When Yves Saint Laurent held the Met’s first fashion exhibit in 1983, the exhibit was met with heavy criticism. Since then, the museum has held countless fashion exhibits throughout the years with museums around the world following suit. The Louvre put on its first fashion exhibition “Louvre couture” last year.

The dress code set by Wintour and the Met's Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, is the final seal of approval that fashion is art, Hall-Duncan told The Associated Press.

“Isn’t that a giant step?” she said. “It will indeed change perceptions.”

The red carpet spectacle is available for all to watch online with the Vogue livestream. Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will be hosting the livestream with Emma Chamberlain interviewing guests throughout the night.

The Associated Press will have a livestream of celebrities leaving a pair of New York hotels on their way to the gala on APNews.com and YouTube. It's the first chance to see what attendees will be wearing before they hit the gala's carpet.

Fashion

Estee Lauder Beats Quarterly Sales Estimates, to Cut More Jobs

Estee Lauder beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Friday. (Getty Images via AFP)
Estee Lauder beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Friday. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Estee Lauder Beats Quarterly Sales Estimates, to Cut More Jobs

Estee Lauder beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Friday. (Getty Images via AFP)
Estee Lauder beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Friday. (Getty Images via AFP)

Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Friday, driven by improving sales in China ‌and Europe ‌as CEO ‌Stephane ⁠de La Faverie's turnaround ⁠plan takes hold, sending its shares up 16% premarket.

The company, which has ⁠been in talks ‌to ‌merge with Jean ‌Paul Gaultier-owner Puig, posted ‌quarterly sales of $3.71 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $3.69 billion, according to ‌data compiled by LSEG.

The company ⁠also ⁠revised its job cut target to a range of 9,000 to 10,000 from the previously estimated range of 5,800 to 7,000.

Fashion

Armani 2025 Revenue Fell 2.8%, CEO Hasn't Met Potential Buyers

FILE - Actress Cate Blanchett, from left, designer Giorgio Armani, and actress Julia Roberts pose for photographers upon arrival at the British Fashion Awards in central London, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
FILE - Actress Cate Blanchett, from left, designer Giorgio Armani, and actress Julia Roberts pose for photographers upon arrival at the British Fashion Awards in central London, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
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Armani 2025 Revenue Fell 2.8%, CEO Hasn't Met Potential Buyers

FILE - Actress Cate Blanchett, from left, designer Giorgio Armani, and actress Julia Roberts pose for photographers upon arrival at the British Fashion Awards in central London, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
FILE - Actress Cate Blanchett, from left, designer Giorgio Armani, and actress Julia Roberts pose for photographers upon arrival at the British Fashion Awards in central London, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Italian fashion group Armani said on Wednesday its revenue fell 2.8% at constant exchange rates last year, weighed by a weak performance of its wholesale channel.

In 2025, the company's revenue totaled 2.2 billion euros ($2.57 billion), while total turnover, including direct licensee sales, was 4 billion euros.

"We face a possible structural change in the approach to luxury and fashion ⁠by current consumers ⁠and potential, which must be taken into account," Reuters quoted Armani group CEO Giuseppe Marsocci as saying in a statement.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 3.2% year-on-year to 152.7 million euros, while operating ⁠profit increased 2% to 52.6 million euros.

Trends in the first months of 2026 were in line with the previous year, with unfavorable currency movements weighing on performance.

Giorgio Armani, the group's founder who died last September, instructed his heirs to sell an initial stake in the company to players such as L'Oreal, EssilorLuxottica and French ⁠luxury ⁠giant LVMH.

In an interview with Italy's Sole 24 Ore published on Wednesday, Marsocci said there was no update on the group's shareholding structure, adding that interest in the Armani group remained strong.

"We have not started meetings with the three potential buyers, and there are no tensions among the family members," Marsocci said in a separate interview with WWD magazine.