Sabah & The Honey Dress

In 1973, on the stage of the Martinez Theater in Beirut, the lights in the play (Arts are Madness) change to become dim, tending to the color of twilight, and crystal beads hang around the stage and lights glow like stars, and to the tunes of the late musician Baligh Hamdi, the great late artist Sabah enters and sings (Like Honey), whose lyrics were written by the late poet Muhammad Hamza, and as usual Sabah shines in an impressive outfit.

It is a traditional folklore costume that combines elegance and beauty in a modern way. This dress quickly became a fashion among society ladies who searched to buy something similar to it. It happened that one of them went to a fashion designer in Beirut and said: “I want a honey dress.” He said to her: “Do you mean a dress for the honeymoon?” She replied: “No, I want a dress like the one Sabah appears in in the play “Junun Funun” when she sings 'Like Honey'.” The designer was forced to attend the play and designed what she wanted. The designer of Sabah’s dress is the famous fashion designer William Khoury, who says that he was inspired by Sabah herself, who previously appeared in a village dress in the movie “Paris and Love.” He wanted to add innovative and luxurious touches and details, so became… the honey dress.

This image has been converted from the original medium format film, resulting in a sharp and detailed image.

By May Serbey Chehab, from the Book "Boulevard of Stars: The Golden Age of Arab Entertainment".