Source: AFP
Saudi designer Tima Abid started out at a time when fashion shows were taboo and tourism, apart from religious pilgrimages, was almost non-existent in the Gulf kingdom.
So she was as surprised as anyone to see models dressed in her latest couture collection gliding down an overwater boardwalk that connects beach villas that cost nearly $2,000 a night.
Thursday’s sunset show kicked off the first Saudi Red Sea Fashion Week, billed by organizers as a landmark for both Saudi fashion and a burgeoning tourism sector whose growth is key to diversifying the economy the world’s largest exporter of crude oil.
Abid’s collection of two dozen “resort wear” dresses featured flowing white and beige fabrics and only the occasional revealing midriff.
A second show on Friday was billed as the first to focus on women’s swimwear, a development that pushed the envelope in a conservative Muslim country that less than a decade ago required women to wear body-covering abaya robes.
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“You might say it’s daring, but I see it another way: keeping up with globalization,” Abid told AFP while surrounded by models and hurried show producers wearing headphones.
“Borders and restrictions that used to exist have been removed and this has given us the opportunity to show our creativity in a more beautiful way.”
Source: AFP
Thursday’s crowd included designers, fashion journalists and Saudi celebrities such as Lojain Omran, best known abroad for her turn on the money-laden Netflix show “Dubai Bling.”
The range of designs on display demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s seriousness about competing not only with Dubai but also with other fashion capitals, Omran said.
“If you want to reach a global audience in fashion, you have to reach all types of people — conservatives and conservatives,” he said.
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“something very new”
The setting for Red Sea Fashion Week, the St Regis Red Sea Resort on Ummahat Alshaikh Island off the west coast of Saudi Arabia, is only accessible by charter boat or seaplane.
It is part of Red Sea Global, one of the so-called giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 social and economic reform program overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
As doubts grow over the feasibility of the most significant giga project — a planned futuristic mega-city known as NEOM — officials involved in the Global Red Sea stress that they are making progress, opening two resorts last year and preparing to launch 14 more hotels until the end of next year.
Source: AFP
Since launching a general tourist visa in 2019, formerly closed Saudi Arabia has sought to dispel the notion that it is a giant desert, featuring mountains in the south and securing hosting rights for the 2029 Asian Winter Games in an area of NEOM known as Trojan.
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Beachfront developments are seen as major potential attractions, and Red Sea Fashion Week was partly intended to highlight what already exists, said Burak Cakmak, chief executive of the Saudi Fashion Commission.
“Obviously logistically we’re trying something very new. We’re on a remote island that takes half an hour by boat to get to… There are a lot of limitations to being able to do a show here,” he said.
“I would like everyone to not (only) explore Saudi Arabia’s plans, but explore Saudi Arabia as a destination.”
In preparations for Abid’s show, Saudi designer Alanoud Badr of Lady Fozaza compared the kingdom favorably to a more established island location.
“It’s something you would never expect, and honestly all I can say is, what Maldives?”
Image crashes
Source: AFP
Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with investments in fashion and tourism, even as the war in Gaza limits economic growth prospects for the wider region.
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In a recent interview with AFP, Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said attacks on Red Sea ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels — intended to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza — did not pose a threat to the new resorts.
In addition to security fears, Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry must overcome ongoing criticism of the kingdom’s human rights record, including a crackdown on dissent under Prince Mohammed.
Those who flocked to the St Regis paid no attention to such matters.
Model Beatris Resende said that growing up in Brazil, she often saw the Middle East as a unique place that was not portrayed very flatteringly.
Only through traveling and modeling in the region has she been able to appreciate the differences between the countries.
Source: AFP
“I’ll be honest. I really want people to stop seeing countries as a stereotype and really get to know the places,” he said.
“It’s much more than what we hear.
Source: AFP