“The body has to breathe,” said Rabih Kayrouz—and he meant it. The breathtaking opening look of his collection, a suit in a clear shade of red made using a crispy paper-like cotton, featured a near-weightless jacket constructed of just three pattern pieces. “It’s completely free on the side, and on the shoulder there is a ribbon that holds the pieces together,” the designer explained on a call. His drawings reveal that many of the items were magicked up from rectangular cuts of cloth. Patterns and form, rather than themes and decoration, make this designer tick. “I’m a couturier. I’m not an art director,” said Kayrouz. “I am here to work a collection; to create cuts and to create volumes.”
Along with breezy tailoring, the designer offered flou in the form of liquid satin pajama-style pants, and volume in bubble-hemmed dresses that were more buoyant (in shape and attitude) than the horizontal, classical chic of a one-shoulder draped dress (which also came as a top) in royal purple. What Kayrouz referred to as his metallic jacquard “mermaid” dresses were fanciful in fabric only; the simple-seeming construction of Look 30, for example, was arrived at through exactitude.
Adapted from a previous couture collection was a knit dress with spiraling cording; it was impressive but felt more consciously considered, stiffer, and formal in comparison with pieces like the elegant slip-on-and-go shirtdresses, generously cut khakis, and a strapless dress in a shade of orange that is guaranteed to brighten your mood. “We must create joy ourselves,” said Kayrouz. “I mean, we can look at the world, especially nowadays, especially in my country, things are not fine. To do my work and to do it rightly, to do it correctly and honestly, this is what brings me joy; it’s kind of a refuge.”
