Beauty and Fashion Dubai

Out of the gilded chambers of New York’s social swans, through glittering dressing rooms filled with bob-haired showgirls and swathes of pearls, comes a bristling energy and unbridled opulence to characterise the Agent Provocateur Autumn Winter 13 Soiree Collection.In what must be the most decadent Soiree collection yet, no expense has been spared in creating pieces that evoke the unabashed luxury of past eras, when girls ‘came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.’

The lavish sentiment of the collection is epitomised by the ‘Mariami’, a gown that makes a couture statement in nude tulle and siren red silk, with Chinoiserie-inspired French Leavers lace motifs twisting upwards over your curves for a peekaboo effect. Just as suited to a gala ball as to an evening spent stretched out on a velvet chaise longue, it proves that luxury is above all else an attitude.

The spirit of the 1920’s flapper girl is continued in pieces like the ‘Lulie’; a delicate playsuit of stretch black rouleaux, bedecked with dazzling Swarovski crystal and gunmetal chain fringing to flutter in. The ‘Lottus’ is a range that belongs in the boudoirs of twilight beauties with diamonds in their eyes: a kimono made of softest burnt salmon silk, adorned with hand cut appliquéd black French Leavers lace, to throw on over a matching slip and full lingerie set.

Fabrications carefully sourced from all corners of the globe make for dizzyingly beautiful pieces. The fiery ‘Liu-Liu’ is a complex creation with a dual personality: double-layered black silk-satin sculpts the curves, whilst a flicker of flame red French Leavers lace comes detachable from graphite-hued faceted buttons, to create a coquettish extra layer. Equally laboured with love is the ‘Samarra’ set, an ethereal confection of delicate blue feather-edged French Leavers lace with copper lurex yarn layered over the softest stretch

Luminous creatures of the night need outerwear to break from the boudoir, and so this season’s Soiree collection has a number of show-stopping gowns to help with that transition. The ‘Lenara’ is a sweeping dinner-jacket style gown, with bronze crystal droplets and bugle beads cascading down the lengths of twirling black tulle for an almost mythical effect as you sweep through the room. The ‘Emie’ is an enchanting creation made of inky silk georgette and French Leavers lace, while the ‘Mei’ collection is a midnight confession of matt black and blue French Leavers lace with lurex yarn.

The Soiree AW13 collection is not simply a range of pieces based on a story, a fantasy, or a simple idea. Each piece in the collection is a story in itself. Painstakingly sourced fabrics, hand-sewn constructions, laboured over and lusted over: each piece evokes a kind of luxury that most of us have consigned to the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald books.