Zuhair Murad’s Fall-Winter 2025/26 couture collection, titled “A Sheer Desire”, draws inspiration from the glamour and transformation of Hollywood’s golden age.
Paying homage to screen legends Barbara Stanwyck and Rita Hayworth, the Lebanese designer reimagines the narrative arc of the classic heroine. The collection presents a vision of women who rise and triumph, rather than falter.
The designs reference the 1930s and 1940s, an era when female characters began to assert power both on screen and in appearance. Figures like Stanwyck and Hayworth are cited for embodying strength and sensuality, despite stories that often stripped them of control. Murad responds to this legacy by offering a collection in which the heroine does not fall but instead shines, rises and reigns.
Murad’s approach reclaims glamour through structured tailoring, sculpted shoulders and rich embroidery. The collection features a palette of warm browns, velvety beiges, ivories, blushes and blacks, accented with gold and bursts of light and shadow. Each colour is used to convey a distinct emotion, with each dress designed to take on the role of a character.
Textures and materials are a key element. Velvet, tulle, mousseline and charmeuse interact throughout the collection, with transparency used to create both drama and structure. Ball gowns in draped georgette contrast with ceremonial-style embroidered jackets. The designer also includes ethical synthetic furs, embroidered to resemble gemstones.
Embroidery takes centre stage in the collection, reaching what Murad terms a “baroque pinnacle”. Pearls and cabochons feature prominently, including strands of pearls that coil around the body. Lace appears sparingly, limited to damask patterns intended to evoke vintage studio set mouldings.
The collection acknowledges the legacy of costume designers such as Edith Head, Jean Louis Berthault and Adrian Greenburg, while reframing their influence for a modern context. Murad positions the collection as a conversation between past and future, masculinity and femininity, cinema and couture.
This season’s muse does not escape a tragic fate, nor is she silenced by outdated narratives. Instead, she is presented as powerful and in control, choosing her own conclusion. The designer’s vision challenges the patriarchal constraints of classic Hollywood and seeks to restore a sense of glory and agency to its icons.
