Zuhair Murad is on a roll. Fresh from designing tour outfits for Jennifer Lopez, the Lebanese designer is also making inroads on the red carpet, dressing celebrities like Blake Lively.
His couture collection opened with the kind of pretty cocktail dresses that are sure to please twentysomething starlets. With their nipped waists and full skirts, the sheer lace numbers — some embroidered with colorful blooms — had a Fifties allure. Murad skillfully wove transparency effects into his eveningwear, floating embroideries on a nude mesh so fine it was nearly invisible to the eye.
But the show floundered with a sequence of staid evening gowns that were no doubt aimed at the more conservative end of his traditional clientele. In trying to be all things to all people, Murad ultimately failed to make a clear statement.