Couture collection: Philarmonie Astrale.Photo Credit: Azzi & Osta

Azzi & Ostas spring-summer 2023 collection takes a turn to the planet Mars in a theme called Philarmonie Astrale. If you know the Lebanese duo, they are known for unveiling very unique themed collections, though usually based on a destination location or film theme like 007. With elaborate and shapely silhouettes that fit in line with the goings on of Mars, its a unique, original and trendsetting collection, one where the duo master couture craftsmen romanticize technology by creating for this imaginary cosmic opera.

The theme came from the fascination of how the world is making plans to live in space, as if it is in the near future, says House founders George Azzi and Assaad Osta. With passengers already booked for a trip to Mars and hotels planned to be built in space, the whole idea feels inevitable and actually real. Not Mars specifically, but the one-hundred humans from earth living on Mars is one of the most ambitious space projects in the near future. So, if we imagine life on Mars becoming reality, then fashion and art on Mars will follow.

So, what would Mars couture fashion look like? Azzi and Osta answer this. Its a place of mutant dresses, with romantic, futuristic, organic, and geometric silhouettes. Looks are large and flamboyant with long draping velvet fabric that contrasts to translucent organza that complements a gown. Their use of silk, satin, crystal mesh, and embroidered tulle are on short gowns, tailored dresses, and military inspired shoulders. The duo also incorporates 3D embroidery that create silvery and tactile surfaces that are reminiscent to waves on the moon.

The color palette includes toxic greens, ultra-violet and infra-roses of aurora borealis thats seen in the polar lights. Pink, coral, fluorescent yellow, absinthe green, cosmic blue, deep black, and flashes of gold and silver are etched in the sartorial story that the duo is trying to tell through color.

One might think they were inspired by surrealism, but Azzi and Osta insist not. The work of Surrealist artists was not an inspiration for this specific theme, more as Space itself, the colors, the galaxies, the endless shapes and colors of Nebula is more than sufficient in terms of Surrealism, they say.

Since the woman wearing the collection is going to a cosmic opera, opera gloves are an important part of the looks. One by one, flying vehicles drop the guests on the red carpet. A lineup of huge artists will play Music from Earth, the titles of the Golden Disc launched into the universe by the Voyager probes in 1977, as a testimony to Earth's culture, explain the collection notes.

Its a collection meant for red carpets, a trend that was poignant during the recent Haute Couture Week. Designers this season have gone for the elaborate and the romantic, yet daring. Philarmonie Astrale is a romantic approach to space and futurism, its saying that a romantic will be a romantic anywhere and anytime. The woman wearing this collection is first and foremost a daring woman, eager to make and entrance and turn heads. Shes filled with mystery and surprises like space itself, yet equally romantic and poetic, like a walk under a starry night, says the duo.

From European Riviera coasts, 1950s photography, the canals of Amsterdam, espionage, and now cosmic operas. What will Azzi & Osta dream up next?

With a background in International Politics and having worked for a few years in Washington, DC, I have found myself in a totally different arena- fashion, style, travel, and cultures. I have developed an eye for couture craftsmanship, as well as learning how to put intricate and detailed collections into words.

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Azzi & Ostas Latest Couture Collection Is Futuristic For A World Ready To Live On Mars - Forbes