Zuhair Murad is a Lebanese fashion designer who debuted his designs in 1999 on the catwalks of Rome. In present day, his lavish gowns can be seen on many major celebrities including the likes of Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera.
Yesterday afternoon, the Starplaza was ablaze with draping dresses and bejeweled bags in the first ever Zuhair Murad Tribute store. Read on to hear my thoughts on the collection...
(Both floors of the Zuhair Murad Tribute store. Click to enlarge)
I must start by saying that I was thrilled to hear we were getting a tribute store with garments by a unique and innovative designer, makes a change from the, in my opinion, drab Chanel and Versus Versace tributes we get. Nonetheless, when I first laid my eyes on the store, I was left sourly disappointed.
There are various sleek and modern pieces designed by Murad that would tie in perfectly with the running theme of late Starplaza collections, but unfortunately Stardoll failed to include any of them in the tribute. Instead, they chose to poorly execute some of Murads less inspiring designs.
Graphically speaking, the garments were drawn to a sub-par standard. Most pieces fit the doll incredibly sluggishly and widen even the smallest frame available. The busts of both the Kristen Red Carpet Gown (5th look) and Lisa Couture Dress (13th look) are unflattering and unsupported. Many other pieces lack shape and sophistication, I find it hard to imagine even the finest of styling could make up for the ruin of said garments. Whilst on the topic of the graphics, a few pieces, including the Golden Pumps (3rd look) and Faux Croco Resort Jacket (14th look) appear pixelated in some areas when zoomed in to.
Moving on now to prices - which range from 15SD to 50SD - are quite reasonable considering the ever growing average price of clothes in the Starplaza. The cheapest item at 15SD is a pair of Golden Pumps (3rd look) which, as I previously mentioned, are severely pixelated. It is shocking and disappointing when we are expected to pay almost double the run-of-the-mill price of approximately 7 or 8 Stardollars for a pair of basic stilettos that don't even meet an acceptable aesthetic standard. The most expensive item of the collection is the Lisa Couture Dress (13th look) at a whopping 50SD. Dull in colour, and seemingly unfinished (those upper ruffles are a shot away from abomination), I would not pop 50 Stardollars from my purse for this dress.
The one piece that I actually liked was the White College Shirt (2nd look), but racking in at 24SD, it was unaffordable for me. Luckily a friend was kind enough to gift it to me and I look forward to styling the piece in the future.
Ending with a few honorable mentions, some pieces that deserve recognition:
Overall, the Zuhair Murad Tribute had mediocre potential but failed to live up to the small hype. The pieces were, for the most part, poorly executed and lacked in uniqueness and flare.
I rate the 2014 Zuhair Murad Tribute store 2/5 stars.
What are your thoughts on this store?
What are your favourite/least favourite pieces?
Leave us a comment!
Everybody seems to love that cutout tan dress and I actually really dislike it, I think the way the sheer panels are placed and the way its shaded makes it look cheap, it doesn't look like fabric whatsoever just flat plastic on top of my doll, I do however really enjoy both sheer tops and the college shirt they fit easily into my closet and I can wear them with a very wide range of style considering that I usually go to one extreme or the other its fabulous that it fits in both approaches I have to fashion!
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