A proven favorite of Hollywood stylists and A-list starlets, Zuhair Murad's over-the-top eveningwear demands attention on red carpets. Paparazzi flashbulbs gravitate to his signature flashy beading, see-through lace insets, and body-con silhouettes like bees to honey.

The Lebanese designer's new Spring collection was inspired by Victor Vasarely, who is largely considered to be the father of Op art. "Vasarely was the master at engaging textural effects, perspective, shadow, and light to create dimension within simple planes," Murad said. Keeping Vasarely in mind, he created eye-popping motifs with clustered jet-black crystals on curve-hugging gowns, and incorporated scrolling, baroque-shaped cutouts and graphic mosaic-patterned lace on cap-sleeve sheaths and jumpsuits.

In recent seasons, Murad has successfully expanded his range to include cocktail attire and separates; among these comparatively casual looks, a pair of wide-leg crepe trousers and a snug, tailored jacket with delicate Chantilly accents were the highlights. A knee-length black-and-white number with sheer panels at the sides stood out, too, mostly due to its simplicity.

BRAND: ZUHAIR MURAD  |  ZUHAIR MURAD OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Fifty-five looks for fifty-five operas. The Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were after something new for Couture this season, and they found it in the age-old tradition of opera. The show opened with a nod to La Traviata; Giuseppe Verdi's score was embroidered in black on the long, full skirt of a parchment-colored tulle dress. After that, Chiuri explained, "we wanted to describe the character of each [opera's] protagonist in a primordial way." By the end, they had called out all the greats: Puccini's La Bohème inspired an elegant navy cashmere cape and silk crepe sheath. Bizet's Carmen produced a pleated bronze tulle gown with silver-gray guipure lace embroideries.

Admittedly, the connections were sometimes tenuous, but that didn't detract from the austere beauty of simply draped silk marocain dresses in earthy shades of sienna, green, and mahogany. Or the divine splendor of a gold thread dress embellished with four thousand smoky gemstones that took twenty-five hundred hours to affix. The monastic and the regal are the twin signatures of Chiuri and Piccioli's work chez Valentino. Both sides of that aesthetic presumably appeal to Florence + the Machine's Florence Welch, who was perched near Giancarlo Giammetti in the front row.

The surprise was all the animals—a veritable menagerie of them, or as the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns would've had it, a carnaval des animaux. A swan, a snake, and a peacock made from feathers that wrapped around the waistline of ballerina tutus…lions and elephants on a double-face cashmere dress and a coat (not embroidered, mind you, but built into the fabric of the garments, like a puzzle)…even a gorilla and its baby were spotted tucked amid the leather floral appliqués of an organza cape.

The creativity of the set dressers at the Rome Opera House had a profound effect on the duo this season; Chiuri and Piccioli invited the opera's artisans to paint the show's runway and backdrop. But if theatricality is a virtue onstage, the more realistically the creatures were rendered here, the better off the clothes were. By contrast, a satin tiger practically pounced off the skirt of the finale dress. The workmanship was second to none, but the designers may have overestimated the big cat's charms. All in all though, this was another bravura performance.

BRAND: VALENTINO  |  VALENTINO OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The nineteenth-century Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema painted scenes from the Roman Empire. His subjects always seemed to be reclining amid marble statuary, and there was a good chance that the Mediterranean Sea was shimmering in the background. Elie Saab set out to capture a bit of that idyllic ambiance with his new couture show. His pastel colors—blush pink, hydrangea blue, and lilac—were lifted from an Alma-Tadema canvas, and the collection’s empire waists and gently draped volumes were suggestive of classical dress.

Saab is synonymous with red-carpet sparkle, and there was plenty of that here, as usual. But perhaps sensing that a refresh wouldn’t go unappreciated, interspersed among his signature embroideries and appliqués were a handful of gossamer-light pleated goddess gowns. Strapless, plunge-front, or one-shouldered, the plissé numbers felt of-this-moment. (A quick study of the Golden Globes and the SAGs indicate that awards-show bling is trending downward.) Also pretty: a trio of flower-print gowns that shaded from black near the neckline to white at the hem, with countless colorful blooms in between. The panniers at the hips of the silk gazar number gave it a fairy-tale feel, but we could see either of the other two, in gauze or silk mousseline, turning up on a celebrity. It was likewise nice to see Saab move beyond his monochromatic comfort zone with a pair of long dresses boasting fluid skirts in an ombré of violet, citrine, vivid blue, and coral, like an Alma-Tadema sky.

BRAND: ELIE SAAB  |  ELIE SAAB OFFICIAL WEBSITE

It often takes a while for the rhythm of an Armani collection to get a grip. Tonight's Armani Privé couture show, the fulcrum of yet another of Giorgio Armani's One Night Only spectaculars, was no exception. The beginning was casual, tentative: little silk tops with plissé pants or skirts, a silk jacquard blazer paired with a gazar skirt.

Then a new dimension kicked in. The models—heads wrapped in scarves, with dangly earrings, in full skirts and low-heeled shoes—began to evoke the gypsy spirit of arch fashion icon Loulou de la Falaise. That is hallowed ground for any designer, given de la Falaise's goddess/muse status with Yves Saint Laurent. You have to be a titan to take it on. Armani clearly has the cojones to claim the look.

He did it with his default position: navy blue. It's nonsense that this man is permanently damned with greige. It's North African navy where he has found his sweet spot—the midnight blue of a velvety desert sky, untroubled by ambient light, alive with stars.

And if this is the way he exorcises his demons, then all power to him.

BRAND: ARMANI PRIVE  |  ARMANI PRIVE OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Vionnet's Goga Ashkenazi had big news last week: Hussein Chalayan is designing a demi-couture collection for the house that will have its debut in Paris later this month. The chance to see Chalayan apply his avant-garde sensibility to Madeleine Vionnet's legacy will make the label's couture week show a must-see. He'll have the good fortune of being able to focus primarily on eveningwear, which is where Vionnet made her mark. Ashkenazi and her design team, in contrast, have had to build a full ready-to-wear collection around the codes of bias-cut dresses.

That's not necessarily an easy task, but it's one that Ashkenazi has embraced with gusto. If her experiments for Pre-Fall didn't always hit the mark—the Amazon pants, with their extra squares of fabric at the hips, were probably a shade too exuberant—there were others that connected.

She took plissé, a Vionnet signature, as a starting point, and she pleated just about everything. A glossy bottle-green leather dress pleated two ways and a black leather coat with pleats that she likened to origami were among the collection's best pieces. Elsewhere, a charcoal coat and poncho embellished with a royal blue cave-art design looked subtle and smart.

Occasion dresses, for the most part, were de-emphasized here. A missed opportunity, perhaps. We don't necessarily need a logo sweatshirt or a fisherman's sweater from Vionnet. But a draped black jersey gown with a pleated pink back? That could have legs on the red carpet.

BRAND: VIONNET  |  VIONNET OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Rita Ora rocked the closing number from Alexandre Vauthier's July Couture show at the MTV Video Music Awards last month.

Whether it's the power of the red carpet or something else, Vauthier reports that he has forty new buying appointments on the schedule this season.

That's not nothing for a small brand like his. There wasn't anything on the scale of that crystal and feather extravaganza in Vauthier's showroom presentation today, but the designer doesn't shy away from flash, whether in the gold bars that decorated the cuffs on his suit jackets, the second-skin fit of a black and white sheath, or the icy blue and black print he lifted from a photograph of the lighting setup at his Couture show back in January.

Vauthier makes fit a priority, and that will eventually set his collections apart, but because this one comes solely in black and white with that touch of light blue, it might have a hard time rising above the fray on the shop floor. He'll need to work on developing some distinguishing characteristics as the line matures. In the meantime, sporty white track pants with gold and black stripes down the sides and a matching tank and bomber jacket stood out from the rest.

BRAND: ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER  |  ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER OFFICIAL WEBSITE