Elie Saab traded the glassy light of Palais de Tokyo to create some subterranean drama below the Louvre Museum with a black-carpeted runway, setting the stage for a collection that leaned decisively into after-dark glamor.

The collection was positioned as “a fresh beginning” for the brand’s ready-to-wear, one that reconnects the line with the house’s couture DNA, said chief executive officer Elie Saab Jr.

Perfectly on trend, Saab looked to Nineties New York – but took a sexier, more downtown spin on the decade than indulging in the current minimalist CBK mania. Instead there was attitude.

The message was clear from the first look. Models strode out with power and pace, shrugging velvet puffers off their shoulders with a hint of sass, as if shaking off workaday boredom.

The collection balanced that nightclub spirit with Saab’s signature tailoring, including architectural jackets with rounded shoulders and cinched waists paired with sculpted skirts or tuxedo trousers. Some suits were cut from a brushed denim treated to resemble velvet.

Lace strapless tops flared into peplums, while he played a power game with pockets, placed deliberately on external peplums that added both volume and practicality.

There was still plenty of traditional Saab with sweet bows, and blooms appeared hand-painted on glossy leather like wearable art, echoed again in sheer sequined skirts layered over floral underskirts.

Though a ready-to-wear collection, Saab added sS]moking jackets and sweeping ball skirts too, and a few strategically placed naked dresses dialed up the sexiness.

Saab has been expanding his accessories, and showed most looks with a sharp and high-cut V stiletto, which nearly encased the foot and zipped at the side, as well as slim clutch bags.

Sales in the Middle East are a continuing cornerstone of the brand, but much of its distribution in the region, including Saudi Arabia, is direct through its own brand stores, Saab Jr. said.

The geopolitical tensions coinciding with Ramadan meant there were noticeably fewer guests from the region at the Louvre show, but Saab Jr. said that wholesale clients have maintained appointments for next week’s showroom.

The Lebanon-based brand is “used to unexpected situations, so we are trying to take it one day at a time,” said Saab Jr. “But as you know, the brand is quite resilient.”