Riyadh Fashion Week highlights: Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and the best in Arab design

Riyadh Fashion Week has wrapped up another season, drawing to a close with the Saudi Arabia debut of British designer Stella McCartney.

The event has shone a spotlight on the emerging strength of regional names, while demonstrating the pulling power of the Saudi market, with its ability to get Vivienne Westwood to open Riyadh Fashion Week, and Stella McCartney to close it.

Closing day

For her debut show in the kingdom, Stella McCartney sent out a striking line-up of slinky metallic dresses, a fitted high-low gown with a flowing train, an animal-print trench paired with thigh-high boots, and relaxed masculine tailoring cinched at the waist.

Evening glamour came through sequins, metallic fabrics, glossy fringe and fluid 1930s-style slip dresses, alongside a boxy off-the-shoulder mini. It was a fitting finale to a standout week marking a milestone for Saudi Arabia’s fashion industry.

Regional labels also impressed. 1886 presented a sharp, co-ed collection blending menswear attitude with contemporary flair – oversized knits, glossy jumpsuits and double-breasted pinstripe suits for women, and high-shine bomber jackets for men.

Saudi streetwear label Eleve11 delivered a concise, logo-driven collection that felt both fresh and polished.

Qormuz, meanwhile, reimagined traditional Saudi dress for modern life, turning Bedouin face tattoos into bag motifs; thobes and bisht into sweeping overcoats; and embroidered farwas coats into clutch-worthy dusters.

The standout piece: a winter farwa crafted from dense patchworked sheepskin.

Hindamme reaffirmed its status as one of the kingdom’s most exciting names, with boxy jackets in gold or silver for men and bold red for women, and glossy chocolate-brown farwas worn by both.

Calligraphy – long part of the brand’s DNA – appeared as spirals across fit-and-flare dress bodices, and as sequinned lettering spelling “Mermaid” on the veil of an all-pink bride.

Days 2 and 3

On day 2, ethical luxury label Abadia delivered refined tailoring and impeccable construction in the form of bias-cut and button-front dresses in crisp stripes, dropped-waist silhouettes and a waisted jacket over a full mulberry wool skirt.

Saudi brand Leem leaned into languid shapes – a petrol-sheened kaftan that shimmered with each step, and an asymmetric navy top paired with camel apron trousers – while Rebirth explored texture through a bomber jacket smothered in folded chiffon petals and cream trousers edged with glossy fringe.

Elsewhere, Italian label Amen revealed its first collection under new creative director Valentina Nervi, adding a dose of cool with trousers covered in loose-edged embroidery, and worn with oversized draped shirts, or as a pair of green brocade trousers so cleverly cut, a giant gold buckle is twisted into the front.

All the looks were immediately available for purchase, a practice that is not common during fashion weeks, with clothes usually materialising much later in shops and online.

Closing the day, Waad Aloqaili offered sleek evening wear: column dresses in silver lame and curved beadwork in soft tones of eau de nil, pink and purple.

Day 3 moved outdoors to a rooftop runway framed by Riyadh’s neon skyline – a fitting reflection of the city’s energy. Here Femi9 combined sharp tailoring with feminine ease: caramel leather corset belts over pleated skirts, a flawless red bias-cut gown with a cowl neckline, velvet dresses and slouchy cable knits.

Aram went nautical, sending out stripes in red and blue, accessorised with fins, suitcases and lifebuoy-inspired bags.

Elsewhere, Razan Alazzouni played with contrasts, shifting from caped evening looks to bohemian ease, with peasant blouses, appliqué headscarves and voluminous sleeves.

Rounding out the weekend, Mona Alshebil revealed an edgier side: a pistachio bomber jacket with broderie anglaise sleeves, a blue paillette-covered skirt that moved like water, and a sheer pink trench coat layered over a fitted light green dress.

Opening night

British label Vivienne Westwood made its debut in Saudi Arabia, delivering a blockbuster show on the opening day of Riyadh Fashion Week.

During the annual event, which has been running since October 2023, kingdom's fashion crowd turned out to celebrate and support global names as well as emerging regional designers.

In a sign of the growing influence of the event, Vivienne Westwood showed a collection created in collaboration with Art of Heritage, an organisation committed to the preservation and conservation of Saudi cultural heritage and training the kingdom's craftswomen, the collection centred largely on evening wear – fitting for a dressy clientele.

The show was marked by Westwood’s unmistakable DNA, most notably corsetry, seen in the Galaxy dress: a burgundy silk gown hand-embroidered in orange, red and gold, finished with artisanal bridal techniques from eastern Saudi Arabia. More corsetry appeared as a minidress and floaty green chiffon piece, both echoing the label’s signature mix of structure and fluidity.

Designer Andreas Kronthaler, who has led the brand since Westwood’s death in 2022, also revisited her famous tartan, rendered in leg-of-mutton-sleeved draped dresses and sharp jackets, while fine tailoring swept past with three-piece trouser suits for women and men.

For the finale, Kronthaler sent out a parade of glamorous gowns, closing with Lebanese model and entrepreneur Jessica Kahawaty in the Bird of Paradise taffeta gown – a full-skirted, Baroque-inspired silhouette hand-embroidered in silver and gold metalwork, a nod to the northern Zabon region.

Elsewhere, Saudi designer Tima Abid presented a show brimming with the occasion wear for which she is known. Richly constructed, one look was entirely covered in white fabric flowers – down to the gloves and a high collar that obscured the face – while another was sculpted from a circular expanse of black cloth framing the torso. A third, high-necked design in sheer caramel tones, was intricately boned to stand proud from the hips.

Also showing on the opening day, Atelier Hekayat unveiled a grand, Alice in Wonderland-inspired collection. A harlequin print cloaked a tiered bubble dress, while a Queen of Hearts-style neck ruff topped a long black gown and another dress was sprinkled with tiny black hearts. Elsewhere, a baby-blue high-low dress was paired with striped leggings and a trailing train, while a kick-flare skirt and shirt were cut from fabric printed with sketches of dresses.

Vibrant, theatrical and full of movement, it was a bolder direction than clients might expect – but one that showcased the cutting prowess and imagination for which the Saudi house is known.

Spotted front row at the Palm Court venue were Thai actors Win Metawin and Faye Peraya Malisorn, who were sitting next to Burak Cakmak, chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Fashion Commission.