As archetypes go, you can do worse than a goddess, I think as the final hook-and-eye closure is clasped. I turn to take in the metamorphosis. Enveloped in soft reams of delicate, pale gray silk chiffon layered with georgette, I am transformed from a 21st-century androgynous drone into Aphrodite. A Boticelli vision sprung straight from Zeus’s head, an Athena for the new age, diaphanous in feminine glory. Such is the power of an enduring silhouette and classic pedigree – it is not so much about the look as it is about how it changes not only our perception of ourself, but that of the world. It’s easy to see why the goddess dress has remained a favorite across time, beloved of both starlets and brides. Witness Lebanese actor Razane Jammal in a pleated Dior gown at the 2022 Ball of Arabia, with Jordanian actor Saba Mubarak resplendent in Hassidriss Official at the 2022 Red Sea film festival, and Tara Emad in Harithand at the same event. The profile has history on red carpets the world over: Margot Robbie in a billowing Chanel gown at the 2019 Los Angeles premiere of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Lupita Nyong’o accepting her 2014 Oscar in pale sky blue Prada, and Zendaya in rich brown Giambatista Valli haute couture at the 2018 Academy Awards. It is a dress that invites an exploration of your site strength – the power to enthrall, mystify, and enchant, all without saying a word.
Margot Robbie in Chanel at the 2019 premiere of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
“I call this silhouette a chameleon,” says Lebanese designer Georges Chakra. “It’s really passe-partout. No matter what collection you are doing, or what your inspiration is, as a designer, there will be an essence of this silhouette embedded in the collection somewhere.” Fashion has again looked towards divine goddesses for this season, albeit with a new-year twist for some. At Saint Laurent Resort 2023, pleated and draped dresses were put through the distinct Hedi Slimane prism, rendering them in inky black and sterner silhouettes. Olivier Rousteing at Balmain SS23 ready-to-wear riffed on Renaissance prints for his off-the-shoulder gowns, while Alberta Ferretti draped models in molten metal velvet.
Tara Emad in Harithand at the 2022 Red Sea Film Festival
This most feminine of silhouettes is beloved in the region, with designers returning to its sheer loveliness season after season. For his SS23 Couture collection, Georges Hobeika showcased a moss green, solo-shoulder goddess gown, as well as a pale pink version with embroidered goat heads across the chest, a billowing cape sealing the duality of the look. Zuhair Murad sent swirling creations in refreshing aqua and startling silver down his SS23 Couture, while Elie Saab remains a master of the form, with his goddesses floating down the couture runway in bejeweled designs in shades of light olive green and fawn. And for his Bridal Fall 2023 collection, Saab turned to Polyhymnia, one of the nine muses of Ancient Greek mythology. As the goddess of poetry, hymn, dance, and eloquence, Polyhymnia embodies the eternal creativity and fluidity of the arts. “Statuesque silhouettes are sculpted with noble materials and refined detailing that elevate classical virtues into contemporary moments,” the Lebanese brand says about this Grecian-inspired collection. With its draped tulle creations recalling the allure of marble statues, the Elie Saab bride is a muse in her own right.
A model wearing the Mariano Fortuny-designed Delphos Gown circa 1920
It is an anomalous trait of fashion that a dress at once age-old can still be so modern. The Ancient Greeks wore long, rectangular cloth draped around their bodies from shoulder to ankle, while elite Roman women wore silk or linen stola because of its comfort and ease. Artists entrenched the look, from the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre to Boticelli’s Primavera and Rossetii’s Proserpine. A goddess dress can – like its namesake – have many iterations, all of which imbue both the silhouette and the wearer with a sense of ease and an ethereal sensibility. Regency England threw off the stiff corsets to embrace softer dresses which – scandalously, for the time – sometimes even showed off the body underneath the flowing fabrics. With their empire waists and cap sleeves, the dresses were flattering to all figures.
The 20th century saw a haute revival with the celebrated creations of French couturier Madame Grès. Known as the “master of wrapped and draped dresses,” the Parisian Grès had a background in sculpture, which informed her shapely creations. She perfected her goddess designs in the 1940s, with some dresses taking up to 300 hours to create – Grès hand-draped each pleat to ensure it enveloped the body just so, influencing generations of couturiers after her. Later decades produced their own spin on the goddess gown, with Bianca Jagger bringing Studio 54 to a standstill in a bronze lamé halterneck dress in 1970 and Kate Moss showing off a mini Marc Jacobs version at the 2009 Met Gala. “Of all the historic fashion eras and clothing styles, I keep coming back to the Greek goddess look, some times even unconsciously,” Chakra concludes. “There is a uniformity and balance to the look, no matter what outlook you take to represent it, traditional or contemporary. It resonates with people and creates an effortless, feminine aura.”
Originally published in the April 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia
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