Lebanese couturier Elie Saab presented his eponymous label’s Fall 2021 ready-to-wear collection on Saturday. A celebration of strong women, the over-80-piece offering boasted both daytime and evening options and was punctuated with glamorous, heavily-embellished gowns, pleated maxi skirts, expertly-tailored separates and flared jumpsuits. Some of the looks were paired with bold, over-the-knee leather boots and opera gloves or dangling crystal-embellished earrings. The color palette was largely monochromatic, with bursts of blush pink and lime. Meanwhile, lashings of marabou feathers, tiny sequins, beads and ruffles added an extra dose of glamour. With a global pandemic that rendered virtually every red carpet event redundant and prompted many to cancel special occasions like weddings in addition to the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut, it’s safe to say that 2020 was a difficult year for the Lebanon-born designer. “I think that what the Lebanese people have suffered since the fourth of August and onwards is by far worse than war,” Saab told Arab News. “It has been a very difficult time for all of the Lebanese people. I do not know if sometimes the Lebanese forgot about COVID-19 only to come out of the terrible disaster of the 4th.” However, the designer assured Arab News that the couture collection was not severely impacted by this difficult period. “People were not interested (in couture) and those who had events postponed them,” he said. “But afterwards, the machine started working again all by itself, as it should,” the designer added. “Thankfully, we’re doing very well in couture. We did not feel a difference in numbers between this year and the previous one,” he shared. The couturier has been keeping quite busy. He recently debuted Elie Saab Maison, an elegant lineup of furniture, lighting, rugs and home accessories, and only last month he launched a 28-piece collection of watches comprising stainless steel and diamonds.