'We want to be more mindful': Rami Al Ali will not release new couture collection

The Syrian designer has announced he will not release a 2020/21 line in order to be more sustainable

Rami Al Ali will not present a new couture collection in July. Courtesy Rami Al Ali

The fashion calendar has, undoubtedly, been disrupted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Shows have been cancelled, entire fashion weeks moved online, and boutiques shuttered in recent months.

Among the designers rethinking their approach to the season-led industry is Rami Al Ali.

The Syrian couturier, whose atelier is located in Dubai, has announced he will not release a new couture collection for the autumn / winter season.

The designer, who typically showcases his couture collections at the biannual Paris Haute Couture Week, would have unveiled his latest in July.

However, Al Ali has decided to forgo this season's collection, citing a desire to reduce the brand’s environmental impact.

"We took the decision to not create a new collection this season, as we want to be more mindful about our production," he said in a statement. "Fashion is the most adaptable industry, and very much the mirror of the society."

Al Ali's spring / summer 2020 couture collection will, however, be extended, meaning the window in which shoppers can view it and make orders has been widened.

See the collection in the gallery below:

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  Intricate folds cut into a short dress by Rami Al Ali spring 2020 couture. All photos courtesy Rami Al Ali

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  Pointillist flowers cover a gown made of hand-cut ribbons of tulle.

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  A turquoise beaded gown

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  A couture gown covered in hand-cut silk petals

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  Plisse folds cling to the body in a coral bandage dress with exposed corset

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  A full skirted gown in softly folded nude duchesse satin

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  An architectural mint green duchesse satin dres

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  A fitted rose gown

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  Precious handwork in the designer's spring 2020 couture collection

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  Lime green plisse folds covered in gossamer flowers

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  A classic column gown with a fiendishly difficult folded neckline

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  A tailored strapless blush jumpsuit, with beaded folds radiating from the waistline

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  Perfect for Beyonce? A beaded body under a sleeved cape

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  Dense gold sequins on the hips of lime capri pants

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  The finale was clouds of tulle, caught to create a hanging garden with gold tendrils

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  Silk tulle cut into three-dimensional millefeuille

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  Dramatic turquoise, with folds fanning from the hip

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  The cut-away back of a bias-cut gown

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  A sculpted bias green sleeved gown

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  Tone on tone flowers on a coral plisse gown

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  Gold petals caught in layers of tulle

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  Shorts covered in metallic beading

The 22-piece collection, unveiled in Paris in January, explored the glamour and mystique of the orchid.

The move also allows more time to produce future collections, the brand added, though a release date for its next couture line is yet to be confirmed.

"[This] will allow the designer’s creative process to not be affected by time constraints," a spokesperson for the brand said.

Al Ali, who has dressed the likes of Beyonce, Chanel Iman and Helen Mirren, revealed in April that he was still deliberating what to do about the upcoming couture season as the pandemic raged on.

The Syrian designer has an atelier in Dubai. Courtesy Rami Al Ali

"I don't believe designing a fully fledged collection will be a practical decision to many, as much as we all want to keep this industry and all its suppliers alive," he told The National.

Al Ali also welcomed the industry's embracing of digital formats, adding that the focus now is "mainly on the experience".

"Fashion has always been, and will always be, the mirror that reflects the transformations of society and the human race, so probably the near future will be about what you show and how you show, not where you show."