Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), earlier known as a strictly conservative country, held its first ever fashion show featuring swimsuit models on Friday, May 17. The show featured the work of Moroccan designer Yasmina Qanzal.
The poolside event showcased a collection by Moroccan designer Yasmina Qanzal, which featured mainly one-piece swimsuits in shades of red, beige, and blue. Many models had exposed shoulders, and some showed a partially visible midriff.
“When we came here, we understood that a swimsuit fashion show in Saudi Arabia is a historic moment because it is the first time to have such an event,” Qanzal told the media.
The show took place on the second day of the inaugural Red Sea Fashion Week at the St. Regis Red Sea Resort on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. The resort is part of Red Sea Global, one of the flagship projects of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 social and economic reform program, overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Since becoming crown prince in 2017, Mohammed bin Salman has implemented a series of social reforms aimed at softening Saudi Arabia’s image of austerity, historically a strict form of Islam known as Wahhabism.
These reforms have included sidelining the religious police, who once enforced prayer times in malls, reintroducing cinemas, and organizing mixed-gender music festivals.
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However, these changes have been accompanied by increased repression of dissent, including a crackdown on conservative clerics who might oppose such a move.
Shouq Mohammed, a Syrian fashion influencer who attended Friday’s show, remarked that the event was unsurprising given Saudi Arabia’s efforts to open up to the world and expand its fashion and tourism sectors.
In 2022, the fashion industry will contribute $12.5 billion, or 1.4 percent of national GDP, and employ 230,000 people, according to a report published last year by the official Saudi Fashion Commission.
