If I would use one word to describe the Saudi fashion commotions Ramadan Pop-up of 100 Saudi brands event it would be: 'REINTERPRETATION.'
There has never been a place where fashion has been positioned center stage and used seriously to achieve a government vision, and the commission is reinterpreting what a fashion scene is in its own Saudi way; The support programs, development of talent and skills, collaborations, funding and promotion of the existing designers is unequivocal. Not least with the program of 100 Saudi brands, which has been shown & presented in New York & Milan (not sure about Paris yet ).
In terms of the brands and the designers, the diversity of brands and styles is impressive, from modest to experimental, couture to loungewear, street to stiletto, and Thobes (the Saudi male dress) to robes, jewelry, cosmetics, perfumes, and accessories, it’s overwhelming but very exciting! And All reinterpreted to fit our new Saudi style! The crowd & attendees were equally exciting and excited, I certainly was! What would you wear for such an event?!
Well! I had to reinterpret my style to suit this Ramadan Saudi event! For me and what I want to communicate to the brands and attendees I had to be creative, luckily I had a Robe from the spring/summer 2020 men’s Saint Laurent collection, very Ramadan, Arabic, Very me! Teamed with a basic Zara white T-shirt ( from the ladies' collection) skinny blue distressed jeans from Dondup, and the chunky platform Celine boots that solved problems I didn’t know I had!
The look is Berlin skinhead, with curly hair in Ramadan, In Riyadh. Me.
Back to the crowd, everyone reinterpreted their style to fit the occasion, from the colorful abayas to the modified Thobes, cropped Thobes, or jambiyas, or just cool Fashion & stylish clothes. What’s important to recognize here is that these garments are not just items for special events like the Saudi Cup, they are everyday day clothes owned by the public, modified, personalized, and reinterpreted to their lifestyle. Now the main stars of the show are the designer, representing the zeitgeist of this Saudi fashion moment, there is so much to choose from, but I loved the easiness of Chaldene loungewear, the coolness of RBA New York, the sexy T-shirts of USCITA, the Elegance of Alanoud Alsalem, the pioneering Fawziah Alnafea and the edginess of Torba Studio, and the Rich minimalism of KAF by KAF.
Eman Joharjy’s cuts and fabrics blend the line between men’s and women’s, transitional and futuristic to a new silhouette for all of us.
The colors of Nouf Al Sudairi against the elevation of the Lumar client were beautiful. Noble & Fresh was simply, noble and Fresh! Nakhlah’s bold Abayas, Sara Al Twaim, Aram, Hindamme Cool prints, and finally Derza’s jalebi vail cocoon dress was just heart worming and with its quite an elegance, so much more brands to talk about, 160 to be exact…. But 1000s of possibilities and reinterpretations of what Saudi Arabia is now.