The 1001 seasons of Élie Saab in Riyadh, a global event

Emotion, glitter, glamour, the spectacular, 300 dresses presented in front of 1,200 impressed guests… The evening which took place on Wednesday evening at The Venue in Riyadh brought together international personalities from show business, thus transporting the Saudi capital in a tribute show to the 45-year career of the Lebanese designer whose fame has long crossed borders.

At the entrance to the performance hall, entirely covered with red carpet, a group of young people applauded the arrival of the cars and the stars, projected on a huge screen wall, before the minute-interview, an obligatory passage with the Canadian director Cole Walliser. The appearance of Céline Dion on the arm of her son René-Charles, in a long floral Élie Saab dress obviously, already gave a foretaste of the emotion aroused by her presence.

The atmosphere, initially timid, quickly warmed up with the arrival of Jennifer Lopez on the podium under a dazzling show of lights, hiding her from the public until her first notes.

While the emotion was slowly building and the mapping effects and music left no respite for the senses, Halle Berry, the first woman of color to receive the Oscar for best actress in 2002, made her entrance dressed in a Élie Saab dress, large purple toile petticoat over a transparent floral embroidered top, with which she had received her trophy. A favorite outfit for her as for the designer as it contributed to the launch of his career in the United States.

During an interlude, Élie Saab Jr, on the arm of his wife Christina, in turn answers Cole Walliser’s questions, revealing that this event has been in preparation for a year, in collaboration with Turki al-Faisal, executive director of the Saudi entertainment agency.

Jennifer Lopez, rhinestones and glamour. Hamad I Mohammad/Reuters

Lebanon still present

It is therefore as part of the 5th edition of Riyadh Season, an annual event which takes place from October to March and which attracts 11 million visitors, that this anniversary parade was organized. The dance scenes of the Mayass troupe, the performance of Nancy Ajram, followed by that of Amr Diab and the medley of Camila Cabello, enchanted those present. The parade scenes were designed as a total art where music, projections, special effects, dancers, world stars of pop and haute couture managed to create together an unreal universe.

Nancy Ajram’s performance was highly applauded. Hamad I Mohammad/Reuters

The entrance on stage of Céline Dion, whose last stage appearance dates back to the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, provoked a deluge of cries of joy and applause. At first hieratic, she then moved forward singing, her body delivering almost instinctively, despite the illness, the generous gestures of her unforgettable choreographies.

Finally, it was the arrival of Élie Saab from the backstage which marked the end of a fast and intense show lasting a little over an hour, as he embraced the woman in whom the whole world recognizes the great voices of our time. The Quebec singer wore a sheath dress decorated with veils. “Elie sang with me, in a way, because I have been wearing his dresses and his talent for many, many years,” she confided to Walliser’s microphone, adding that she had never met him before this project.

There was a lack of superlatives to describe this extraordinary event while Lebanon was burning, and which, in addition to raising the Élie Saab house to the pinnacle of fashion, really contributed to placing Riyadh on the brightest point on the world map. world.