Life was just peachy at Elie Saab, with an easy, breezy spring-summer 2011 ready-to-wear collection in dusty shades of orange. The Lebanese designer — whose sequin-soaked goddess gowns have made him the go-to man for the red carpet — toned down the bling, sending out softer silhouettes with less sparkle than usual. Still, Saab's legions of Hollywood fans can breathe easy: There were more than enough high-wattage gowns to see them through the awards season. His palette of muted tangerine, salmon and nectarine hues was unique, and a welcome change for the more vampy shades Saab normally favors, though how flattering it would actually look against the skin was up for debate. Saab's shapes, too, were softer than usual, and it was clear that Saab had come down with a case of the 1970s fever that spread through New York and Milan. His silk jersey gowns, cinched below the bust with gold chains, looked like they would have appealed to Farrah Fawcett, as would a pair of pretty jumpsuits. "These were the colors and shapes of my youth, so they have a lot of meaning for me," Saab told The Associated Press as a bevy of Lebanese clients clamored for a photo with the designer while strains of a medley of '70s hits sounded overhead. The soundtrack had the audience grooving. Throughout almost the entire show, two ladies dressed in head-to-toe leopard print danced in place to the booming tunes.
