Elie Saab Couture Show

A cleaner, minimalist setting for Elie Saab's Spring couture made a welcome change: The fancy gold ormolu of the Grand Hotel (his usual venue) coupled with all those chiffons and Swarovski crystals could feel suffocating. This season, the more modern framework of the Palais de Tokyo showcased some of his better points, starting with a palette of pale beige to nude and dusty, barely there tints of violet, pastel blue, and oyster. As a Lebanese designer with a big business in Beirut and Paris, you'd think Saab might have fewer worries about sales, but rumor has it that Middle Eastern consumers are also exhibiting caution, so perhaps the relatively restrained colors reflect that.