< Previous“It was a Saudi moment that really shed light on Saudi designers because this is not an event where international brands are present. The fact that we have local brands getting full visibility on the red carpet is so important, and we are building the momentum,” Burak notes. A Ramadan retail pop- up on Riyadh Front followed in April 2023. “It was unthinkable a year ago that we could gather 160 brands in a 9,000sqm space for a full pop-up for four days, and most of the brands would be almost sold out,” he laughs. Next stop? Paris Fashion Week Men’s and Paris Couture Week, where, across the most prestigious venues, from Place Vendôme to La Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, in Burak’s own words, “I can safely say we took over Paris across 10 days of activations across Men’s, Pre-Seasons Women’s, and Couture, with three catwalk shows, two showrooms, our fi rst ever international pop-up in Le Marais, and a big strategy roadshow launch of The State of Fashion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2023 report.” Not to be outdone, Milan Fashion Week featured the fi rst ever runway show of 30 Saudi brands at Palazzo Serbelloni, and a showroom in collaboration with WHITE Milano on Via Tortona in the fashion district, plus a pop-up at the iconic concept store 10 Corso Como, retailing women’s ready-to-wear. Back in the Kingdom, Riyadh Fashion Week in October 2023 closed the circle, followed by a reimagined iteration of Fashion Futures with “a focus on our engagement, with knowledge sharing and B2B engagement with the industry,” states Burak. “From 3-7 November 2023, we partnered with Hia Hub to not only learn, but also to engage and entertain, link to retail, experiences, fashion, and food across the week of activations in Jax District.” Finally, the year ended with a partnership with the Visual Arts Commission for the second edition of RSH Festival, a vibrant celebration of street culture from 15 November to 6 December 2023, calling on the creativity of 30 street artists from Saudi and beyond with a full retail experience featuring the streetwear stars of the Saudi 100 Brands programme. Despite the dizzying world tour of the past 12 months, Saudi Arabia’s adventures in fashion are only just beginning. “In 2024, we’ll be opening our fi rst ever product development studio, The Lab at City Hub in Riyadh, providing a space for designers for product sampling and prototyping,” shares Burak. “So for the fi rst time ever, we’ll be manufacturing in Riyadh itself, from design to fi nished product, with the ‘Made in Riyadh’ logo. So we are very excited about fi nishing pieces with the most advanced machinery, technology and expertise to foster the development of the fashion design community. All of this is testament to Saudi fashion’s limitless potential, fueled by creativity, ambition and aspirations.” He reveals, “With the nascent domestic industry already contributing 1.4 per cent to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and the demand for fashion products predicted to increase to US$32 billion by 2025, fashion is directly supporting Saudi Arabia’s ambitious transformation under Vision 2030. We look forward to seeing Saudi brands fi nd their vital place in the sector, which will continue to grow. Riyadh Fashion Week is a stepping stone in that journey we are taking together.” In fact, the Kingdom’s fi rst edition of what promises to be an annual gathering turned out to be far more than a stepping stone – it visibly and irrevocably moved the needle on culture and society in Saudi Arabia. “Riyadh Fashion Week was beyond just fashion,” Burak agrees. “It became a cultural moment and an evolution of the cultural norms and lifestyle for all the local population. For the fi rst time, it gave the community a chance to showcase its identity in a public way, linked to the idea of fashion, and it really pushed the boundaries for a new way of self-expression in a country where it has never happened before.” Beyond its borders, it has a role to play in challenging perceptions and what Burak describes as “a new perspective on what happens in Saudi – not just the perceived notion of what Saudi creators might do”. He continues, “I think Riyadh Fashion Week is demonstrating that the country has a very diverse understanding of design culture, and its different communities are very happy to share publicly what their ways of dressing and lifestyle represent.” On this exciting new emergence of fashion subcultures in the Kingdom, Burak recalls, “We have seen audiences at the menswear, womenswear, and couture shows embracing the moment, and showcasing their engagement with these categories in a very personal way as customers of these brands, creating their own communities, but coming together to celebrate them all together in front of the world.” And long after the last model had left the runway, refl ecting on what has become his life’s work, the Fashion Commission CEO acknowledges, “This inaugural event is just the beginning of a long journey where we are building a cornerstone of the manufacturing industry in Saudi. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Riyadh Fashion Week.” 238 232-239_VISION_VOL2_BURAK-MS.indd 23819/04/2024 11:25YASMINA Q 232-239_VISION_VOL2_BURAK-MS.indd 23919/04/2024 11:25240 240-241_VISION_VOL2_SHOWS_OPENER.indd 24019/04/2024 11:26241 THESHOWS 240-241_VISION_VOL2_SHOWS_OPENER.indd 24119/04/2024 11:26242 The opening ceremony of Riyadh Fashion Week was a return to the Kingdom for renowned designer Mohammed Ashi, who brought his iconic label Ashi Studio back to his homeland. The 8pm in Riyadh collection was a celebration of the Paris- based couturier’s roots and the heritage of the capital. The show manifested the beauty of the city by night, the luminescence of moon glow, the shimmer of stars, and the dunes’ graceful curves into a self-assured suite of looks. Oversized organza carnations appeared like heavenly clouds on long and lean silhouettes, fabric draped mysteriously across shoulders with a complexity which could only work in couture. The palette was simple yet powerful: ivory and soft gold gave way to carmine and crimson. A corseted column dress, adorned with a garland of deep red peonies was the runway’s standout piece. A-list fans of Ashi’s elevated elegance include Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Hudson, Penélope Cruz and Beyoncé. From the arrondissements of Paris to the deserts of Arabia, Ashi Studio is making the world a more beautiful place for royalty, rockstars and the residents of Riyadh alike. ASHI STUDIO 242-245_VISION_VOL2_RFW_ASHI-MS.indd 24221/04/2024 20:28243 242-245_VISION_VOL2_RFW_ASHI-MS.indd 24319/04/2024 11:27244244 242-245_VISION_VOL2_RFW_ASHI-MS.indd 24419/04/2024 11:27245 242-245_VISION_VOL2_RFW_ASHI-MS.indd 24519/04/2024 11:27246 246-273_VISION_VOL2_RFW_COUTURE-MS.indd 24619/04/2024 14:06247 246-273_VISION_VOL2_RFW_COUTURE-MS.indd 24719/04/2024 14:06Next >