Zuhair Murad Couture

Photo: Getty
Taylor Swift has once again championed an Arab designer on her highly successful Eras Tour. One of her concerts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium saw the American popstar adorned in a custom-made midnight blue bodysuit by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad.
On Instagram, the couturier posted a video of the evening with Swift looking stunning in the couture creation. “Taylor Swift wore for The Eras Tour in Los Angeles a custom #ZMCouture midnight blue bodysuit adorned with shimmering crystal embellishments, cascading intricate beaded fringes, and accompanied by a coordinating garter,” read the caption.

This is not the first time that a design from Zuhair Murad has been spotted in Swift’s tour wardrobe. Earlier in March, for the second night of her sold-out concert in Glendale, Arizona the 33-year-old opted for a romantic ball gown from the designer featuring sequins in a starburst pattern. Mere days later in Las Vegas, Swift was seen in another bejeweled number from Zuhair Murad, a  shimmering with embellishment and fringe detailing.
Throughout the Eras tour, Swift has supported Arab designers on several occasions. From Elie Saab to Azzi & Osta and Yousef Al-Jasmi, regional talent found itself being celebrated across her concerts in North America. More recently, the Grammy award-winning artist wore a lilac tulle gown from Reem Acra reminiscent of the original cover of Speak Now for the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) cover shoot.
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There is no arguing against the sartorial excellence of Zuhair Murad which is why it comes as no surprise that mere days into her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift has opted for another look by the Lebanese designer – a bejeweled number perfectly encapsulating the energy of Las Vegas.
Photo: Instagram.com/zuhairmuradofficial
On the opening night of another sold-out stop across America, the Grammy award-winning artist had the audience mesmerized with her performances. Of course, it helped that she looked stunning in her bespoke midnight blue Zuhair Murad bodysuit. Delicately crafted by hand, the outfit is a testament to the savoir-faire of the Lebanese couturier with 20,000 sequins and crystals embedded individually. The embellishment seems to overflow with richly beaded fringes and a matching garter. Her look was completed by a pair of knee-high boots and the quintessential Taylor Swift red lip with winged eyeliner.
The label shared a video on Instagram showing glimpses of how the sparkling number was created, adding that it was “crafted in over 350 hours of atelier handwork.”

From custom Louboutins in every show to her first look from Zuhair Murad – a romantic embellished ball gown – and every other ensemble that has appeared on stage, it is apparent that fashion plays an important role in this tour. For the 33-year-old singer who tends to be meticulously detail-oriented about everything from her shows to her music videos, this has been a chance to use as a conduit for expression, a means to highlight different eras of her music and the unparalleled growth she has been through.
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Giambattista Valli. Photo: Courtesy
When best actress nominee Cynthia Erivo stepped out for the virtual golden Globe awards in February wearing a luminous neon Valentino SS21 Haute Couture gown, towering silver platforms, and white leather gloves, she made it clear: while red carpet season might have changed, post-pandemic glamor had arrived. Pierpaolo Piccioli delivered another showstopper in April at the Oscars for best actress nominee Carey Mulligan, whose golden couture gown, embroidered with thousands of sequins, took 350 hours to create and further heralded the triumphant return of wide-skirted, OTT glitz.
1930 Screen Star Jean Harlow. Photographed by G. Rosson
After more than a year of WFH leggings, Zoom tops, and face masks, there has been a renewed appetite for joyful, optimistic, and event dresses that evoke a sense of occasion, says Libby Page, senior market editor at Net-A-Porter. “Bestselling brands include Zimmermann, Chloé, Valentino, and Alex Perry, all of whom showcased vibrant gowns and prints that are meant for a sense of occasion,” she adds. “We believe it is a result of the incredible optimism among our customers as they fall back in love with the joys of dressing up.” Buoyed by the global vaccine rollout and countries slowly opening up again to travel and socializing, audacious dressing is back in rotation.
Carey Mulligan at this year’s Oscars. Photo: Getty
A return to glamour after times of despair is nothing new – culture always responds to trauma, with fashion usually leading the way. The horrors of the first world war and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic – collectively killing an almost unfathomable 70 million people – was followed by the Roaring Twenties, as if so much sadness could only be washed away with fringed flapper dresses, a daring bob hairstyle, and jazz. Everything came crashing down in 1929, followed by the Great Depression – which Hollywood answered with fur, diamonds, and sultry starlets like Vivien Leigh and Jean Harlow. In 1947, Christian Dior bid adieu to the austere fabrics and designs that characterized the 1930s and 1940s with his lush New Look, its acres of fabric signifying an end to rations and restraint.
Chanel Spring 2021 Couture. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
The 2000s, however, have seen glamor slowly slip away in favor of street style and athleisure, reaching a fleece-lined nadir during the 2020 lockdowns. forget putting on a ballgown – the entire planet was barely putting on deodorant anymore. What even was the point? But fashion is about the future, even when it references the past. And the point is this: life, and hope, and beauty will always return. Those tracksuit bottoms might be cashmere but they can never compete with the sheer fantastical thrill of being enveloped in an unreasonable amount of tulle, silk, or taffeta. Where would Cinderella be without her gown? Still scrubbing the hearth, probably. Gowns are transformative and restorative – and our post-vaccine future is nothing if not full-on dazzling, with ballgowns taking center stage.
Menna Shalaby at the 2020 El Gouna Film Festival. Photo: Amina Zaher
For her recent ninth wedding anniversary celebrations, Lebanese fashion entrepreneur Karen Wazen Bakhazi stepped out in a neon yellow jacquard Dior gown, the classic silhouette punched up with a vivacious 2021 hue. “I wanted to wear something special to mark the occasion, with a feminine, princess-inspired mood,” she says. “I miss dressing up, and this was such a nice opportunity to wear a dress like this again! I love wearing gowns, they’re always my favourite thing to wear to mark special moments.” Designers both regionally and internationally have also started stepping away from passionless practicality to show revived ballgowns, including Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Schiaparelli, and Dior. Zuhair Murad and Elie Saab, too, have returned with live couture shows featuring fantastical creations. For his SS21 collection, Lebanese couturier Rami Kadi included a show-stopping pearled ivory ballgown embroidered with crystals and ostrich feathers, as well as a jacquard gown with Disney fairies whimsically embellished across the asymmetrical skirt. “I want women to feel the best of themselves, as if this is their favorite version: strong, confident, feminine, and fierce,” Kadi notes. “After the pandemic, we are seeing a return to authenticity. Owning a couture piece is like owning a master painting; a piece that you will forever sustain and cherish and that your children and grandchildren can inherit.”
Viktor and Rolf Spring 2021 Couture. Photo: Team Peter Stigter
For those of us not willing to go full Met Gala at brunch and completely forgo the ease of wear we’ve become accustomed to this past year, the ballgowns of this new era masterfully blend glamour and comfort. At Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon showed dresses in cotton, without boned bustiers, while Wazen chose her Dior frock partly because “it was cut to a midi length, so not only did it feel special, but it was ultra comfortable to wear.” This season’s gowns are not just for weddings and the red carpet; they are made for movement, with the full skirts also handily providing a built-in social-distancing mechanism. “Overall, designers have demonstrated a positive outlook for the season as they move towards more sophisticated fabrics and standout details in their collections,” reflects Page about Net-A-Porter’s occasion wear. “One of our bestselling gowns continues to be the exclusive Oscar de la Renta strapless metallic brocade gown retailing for £10 845 (about AED 48 600) – we sold multiple units in just one day earlier this year. In terms of occasion footwear, Amina Muaddi is the queen.”
Oscar de la Renta. Photo: Courtesy of Oscar de la Renta
Times have been bleak – but take a peak underneath and you’ll see a slip of gown waiting to be unleashed. We want to dress up and celebrate, not continue as if nothing happened. We want to bask in the gloriousness of life; take urgent pleasure in the moment; go from effortless to effort-full. And what could be a better dress to do that in than a ballgown?
Rami Kadi. Photo: Supplied
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Originally published in the July/August 2021 issue of Vogue Arabia

Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad‘s fall 2021 couture collection is an expression of unapologetic splendor. After year of lockdowns, staying indoors, and the absence of social events, the collection of evening gowns is a heartfelt tribute to cities and cultures of bravery.
Here, five things you must know about Zuhair Murad’s fall 2021 couture collection.

The collection is an ode to the designer and his hometown’s resilience
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
Murad’s atelier, an archive worth 20 years of work, was shattered in the August 4 Beirut port explosion last year amid the pandemic weighing down the fashion industry. The collection pays a tribute to the perseverance entrenched in his country’s culture. Working on his couture line made Murad feel happy and alive, despite the hurdles 2020 brought.
The collection’s muse is the city of Venice
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
Murad looked to the Serenissima, another city of resilience that has suffered invasions and diseases but has re-emerged every time. From “fourreau” capes borrowing from Italian artist Vittore Carpaccio’s paintings to scoop necks and puffed cap sleeves inspired by the Venetian Carnival, the collection is wrapped in historical references of the City of Doges. The embroidery takes from stained glass windows and Murano chandeliers in Venetian architecture.
The collection combines gigantic volume with thin silhouettes
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
The gowns’ silver and gold crystal fringe, along with draped ballooning taffeta capes, juxtapose enormous proportions and slender silhouettes.
The collection’s color palette draws from tones of precious jewels
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
Pieces further down the line had a palette of deep black offset with tones of emerald, ruby, and sapphire, and winding embroidered numbers shimmering in diamonds.
The collection revisits Renaissance outfits
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad
The combinations of crystal garlands, long dresses of patrician hostesses, and oriental princess kaftans represent Renaissance-inspired chiffon, taffeta, faille and metallic organza outfits. However, silver lurex and shoulders and curves revealed through slits and asymmetries bring a modern note.
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Photo: Courtesy of Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

Zuhair Murad is the latest designer to pull out of the Paris haute couture week schedule, which started on January 25. The Lebanese couturier was set to present his spring/summer 2021 collection on January 27.
Citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as a reason for not presenting the collection, he said, “The devastation caused by the pandemic and the drastic restrictions taken worldwide, the safety of our community and especially the wellbeing of our employees, who have participated in spreading beauty through various collections, remains our top priority. Therefore, Zuhair Murad has taken the decision to postpone the 27 January showcase of its Couture Spring Summer 2021 collection.”
Photo: Courtesy of Zuhair Murad

The news doesn’t come long after fellow Lebanese couturiers Elie Saab and Georges Hobeika also announced that they would forego presenting their latest haute couture collections. Hobeika and Saab’s decisions, like Murad’s, were also made in light of the pandemic, and to ensure public safety. “As the pandemic of the coronavirus remains strong, health restrictions are being put in place around the world: they are needed to help healthcare workers and researchers that save precious lives,” Hobeika said in a statement.
Murad continued his statement: “We thank you for your kindness, support, and understanding as we look forward to scheduling the show in a near and peaceful future.” Hobeika and Saab are also expected to reschedule their respective shows during safer, peaceful, and happier times.
The past couple of weeks have seen Lebanon a new record for daily infection rates, with more than 78,812 cases being recorded in the past 20 days. On Wednesday, January 20, the Lebanese Health Ministry’s Scientific Committee on Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic also advised extending the country’s national lockdown by two weeks
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