Luxury fashion designer Basil Soda’s Fall 2012 Couture line made its debut on July 3 in Paris, and it’s clear through several delicate aspects that nature was the main inspiration behind the Beirut-based designer’s latest line. The influences of nature are at once visible through every element of this line, including the chosen color palette, materials, textures, and detailed embroidery. A look into the designer’s past leaves no surprise of the mastery that he has achieved with this line.
At the beginning of his long career, Basil Soda studied architecture, fashion design, and hat making in Beirut before moving to the Arabian Peninsula to study embroidery. All of these fields of study can be seen as areas of strong points in the designer’s latest line, as it is bursting with detail, embroidery, and elements of architecture, which combine to give a mystical look to the collection as a whole.
With architecture being a favorite subject of Soda’s, he often uses it as inspiration from which he bases silhouettes and cuts in his couture collections. In his Fall 2012 line, we see three-dimensional silhouettes, with some pieces that tightly hug the models’ frames while other dresses feature billowing skirts.
Each piece of this collection was created using silk organza, sheen and tulle, closely woven with silk gabardine and gold stitching. Transparency is seen on all of the dresses, either on just the bottom or top halves of a piece, or all of it. The designer’s history in embroidery is evident through the delicate patterns and beading that can be seen on almost every piece of the collection. The elaborate stitching and shimmering crystals and beads add elements of intricacy and detail to the designer’s muted color palate. Consisting mostly of earthly tones like black and dark green, a few Indian red and white numbers add a pop to this collection.
Feathers are another dominating attribute of the collection. Feathered and fringed boots add a final touch to the pieces that feature gold-leaf embroidery, making the models who are introducing this collection look like they’re walking out of an enchanted forest.

To see the full collection, visit BasilSoda.com.