It’s the first time he has introduced the fabric in his couture collection. While denim has appeared on couture runways before, often as jeans or a jacket, and Saab shows jeans in his ready-to-wear, he did away with the formality of couture.

The sounds of spring—babbling brooks and birdsong—set an almost surreal tone on Wednesday as Elie Saab unveiled his latest Haute Couture collection inside the soaring Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The tranquillity was punctuated only by the rhythmic clicking of cameras and the occasional cheer as Eva Longoria swept in,