LONDON- Saudi Arabia will host its first fashion week from April 10 whichwill take place at the Ritz Cartlon in Riyadh.
The four-day event will feature local Arab designers and European brandnames including Roberto Cavalli and Jean Paul Gaultier.
“Since the initial announcement made in February, Arab Fashion Week Riyadhhas garnered significant interest from international guests wanting toattend,” said Layla Issa Abuzaid, the country director for Saudi Arabia atthe Arab Fashion Council, the Dubai nonprofit responsible for the event.
Originally supposed to be held in February the event was postponed “toaccommodate all the international guests who had applied to attend,” saidJacob Abrian, the chief executive of the Arab Fashion Council. “We areextremely thankful for all the trust and support that we have received tomake it happen.”
The high-profile, high-stakes plan for a first fashion week in SaudiArabia, unthinkable even two years ago, comes at a time of groundbreakingreform in the country, led by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia is trying to shift away from a reliance on oil and gasrevenues and is repositioning itself as a dynamic place for business,hospitality and leisure.
Saudi officials have gone to great lengths of late to spotlight promises bythe crown prince to let women drive and play a greater role in thecountry’s work force; to expand entertainment opportunities; and toencourage foreign investment.
Change, they say, is in the air.
Arab Fashion Week Riyadh, at which shows will be held in the evening forwomen-only audiences, will come at a time when women have more access thanever to public arts and entertainment: In January, female fans werewelcomed into soccer stadiums for the first time, and a decades-long ban oncinemas was lifted in December.
Now the Arab Fashion Council, which opened its regional office in Riyadh inDecember, plans to position Saudi Arabia as a hub for an emerging regionalfashion industry, appointing Princess Noura Bint Faisal al-Saud as itshonorary president.
Recently it also forged an alliance with the British Fashion Council toprovide support in establishing a sustainable infrastructure for thefashion industry in the Middle East and the 22 countries of the Arab League.
“The first Arab Fashion Week in Riyadh will be more than a world-classevent,” Ms. Issa Abuzaid said when the project was announced.
“It is a catalyst through which we believe the fashion sector will leadother economic sectors such as tourism, hospitality, travel and trade. Ourretail sector is among the fastest growing in the world.”
Fashion shows in Riyadh will come at a time when Saudi Arabia’s rulesconstraining the attire of women outside their homes are showing signs ofrelaxing.
In an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS this month, the crown prince saidthat women should be able to choose what they wear and the traditionalblack abaya—loose-fitting garment—was “not necessary”.
“The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Shariah (Islamiclaw): that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men,” PrinceMohammad said.
“This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black headcover,” he added.
“The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent andrespectful attire she chooses to wear.”