Fall 2014 Zuhair Murad Runway Look 44 Black Sequin & Tube Bead in Nude Netting Dress

Zuhair Murad is a Lebanese fashion designer who is based in Beirut. He studied in Paris and in 1997 he opened his first atelier in Beirut. He made his international debut at the Alta Roma Fashion Week in 1999 and three years later he presented his first couture collection. The twin of this dress was Look 44 for the Fall 2014 collection. Its twin was worn beautifully by Shakira at the Echo Awards that year and it was shot for Tatler Hong Kong that year as well. It is a stunning and well documented example of his work.

The base of the dress is a nude silk netting that has that extensive sequin pattern done directly onto the net. Through the body it has an extra layer of the nude netting in parts so that it is a bit less transparent so that you can wear it. All of the work on the dress is a combination of machine work with tons of hand finishes. The sequins are done in little curving and abstract rows to create the design that you see. Many of those are then edged with tiny black tube beads to help define the pattern that runs over the entire body of the dress. I love that the pattern itself has been laid out over the dress in the most deliberate manner to help to create and give you curves and shape. I love how when it hits the hips there is a bit of a seam there and then the skirt flares out below that to be quite full. The back of the skirt falls longer than the front so that you get a bit of a trained effect behind you. The neckline is set high across the front but wide. The sleeves are long and the pattern runs down them as well so the continuity is not broken. At the back there is a bit of a V so you have a bare expanse of skin there. The V sits above a chunky zipper that is meant to be seen and becomes a design element of the dress itself. It's gorgeous. Excellent condition with a minor note below

The main body of the dress is backed in a double layer of the nude netting and it closes with the zipper at the back. Each sleeve closes with a hidden set zipper. Hand finishes inside. I see the occasional row of sequins missing on the sleeve and some here and there around the edge of the hem. Very minor but mentioned for accuracy. 

Sleeves: 23" and 11" around the upper arm
Shoulders: 13.5"
Bust: 15-16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 11.5-12" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 14" from top of shoulder to waist
Total length: 63" from top of shoulder to front hem and 72" to the back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS- XS

Item# DD4586

Reference Photos: (1) Fall 2014 Zuhair Murad, Look 44.  /  (2-3) Shakira at the Echo Awards, 2014.  /  (4) Zhanna Brass for Tatler Hong Kong, August 2014.

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