Riyadh Fashion Week 2025: a new chapter for Saudi fashion
For its 2025 edition, Riyadh Fashion Week confirmed a major shift: the calendar is now open to international brands for the first time. Arab News reports that the event, run by the Saudi Fashion Commission, will feature more than 25 runway shows, 10 designer presentations, a curated showroom and citywide activations between 16–21 October.
The Fashion Commission’s CEO Burak Cakmak described the week as a “gateway for those looking to understand and participate in the future of Saudi Arabia’s fashion industry,” stressing that welcoming international labels is about building connections between global leaders and local buyers, media and consumers, while still keeping the spotlight firmly on Saudi talent.
In parallel, Visit Saudi highlights that Riyadh Fashion Week now gathers Saudi brands alongside international designers, consolidating the city’s position on the global fashion calendar.
Vivienne Westwood at Riyadh Fashion Week 2025: a historic Middle East debut
One of the most talked-about moments of Riyadh Fashion Week 2025 was the opening show. Scoop Empire reports that the week began with a milestone: Vivienne Westwood presented its first-ever runway show in the Middle East, held at The Palm Grove in Riyadh.
According to Scoop Empire, the British house unveiled a capsule collection created in collaboration with Saudi organisation Art of Heritage. The gowns were adorned with gold embroidery crafted by Saudi artisans, merging Westwood’s rebellious British codes with local craft traditions. Colour stories ran through lilac, emerald and silver, with sharply tailored suits providing contrast.
The show was framed as a “global meets local” moment: Westwood’s archive-informed drama set against a Saudi landscape, interpreted through heritage motifs and handwork from Art of Heritage.
Runway highlights: Saudi and regional designers at the centre
While Vivienne Westwood drew global headlines, Saudi designers anchored the narrative of Riyadh Fashion Week 2025. Scoop Empire’s runway report singles out several standout collections:
Tima Abid – “Fawda” (“Chaos”)
Saudi couturier Tima Abid showed “Fawda”, a collection shaped by personal grief after the loss of her mother. The article describes it as one of the week’s most emotionally charged shows, where each fold and silhouette translated sorrow into resilience. The focus was on couture that carries lived experience, proving that Saudi eveningwear can be both technically intricate and deeply human.
Atelier Hekayat – “A Ticket to the Theater”
Sisters Alia and Abeer Oraif of Atelier Hekayat presented “A Ticket to the Theater”, a tribute to the behind-the-scenes workers of fashion and performance. Their looks featured flowing silhouettes, sculpted cuts and ornate embellishments, with a mood likened to a cinematic story and references to theatrical fantasy.
Abadia – heritage and sustainable luxury
Label Abadia, founded by designer Shahd Al-Shehail, closed the second day with a collection inspired by her grandfather’s coming-of-age journey at sea. According to Scoop Empire’s account, the show combined heritage storytelling and sustainable luxury, using fabrics like silk, velvet and wool in earthy browns, creams and burgundy tones.
Waad Aloqaili – “Yamal” and the pearl divers
Designer Waad Aloqaili looked to the legacy of Saudi pearl divers in her collection “Yamal”. The pieces used soft, structured silhouettes that echoed waves in motion, presenting heritage through a calm, minimal, contemporary lens.
Ashwaq Almarshad
In “Authenticity“ , Ashwaq Almarshad drew from Saudi landscapes, blending soft desert tones and sea-inspired hues. Delicate embroidery and fluid tailoring underlined a modern, romantic Saudi femininity that still honours tradition.
Across these shows, the through-line was clear: heritage, emotion and storytelling are central to how Saudi designers are presenting themselves to the world.
Stella McCartney to close Riyadh Fashion Week 2025
Riyadh Fashion Week 2025 is also set to feature Stella McCartney. Scoop Empire notes that anticipation is high for McCartney’s first-ever show in Saudi Arabia, scheduled as the closing event of the week, promising a mix of innovation and global flair.
Separate coverage in international media, including The Times of India, frames McCartney as one of the headlining British designers at the event, known for her emphasis on sustainable luxury.
What Riyadh Fashion Week 2025 means for Gulf fashion power
1. From national platform to global hub
Opening the calendar to international brands for the first time is a clear step towards positioning Riyadh as a regional fashion hub with global relevance. Arab News quotes Burak Cakmak emphasising that by “welcoming the world to Riyadh,” the event creates a platform for global-local collaboration while keeping the focus on Saudi designers.
This aligns with broader analyses of the Gulf fashion calendar, where titles like Vogue have listed Riyadh Fashion Week alongside events such as Dubai Fashion Week and Red Sea Fashion Week as key cultural moments for international brands.
2. A new template for “global meets local”
The Vivienne Westwood x Art of Heritage collaboration is a specific, documented example of what this new phase looks like: a major British house building a collection around Saudi craftsmanship and embroidery, presented in a Saudi setting.
Importantly, that partnership sits on a schedule where Saudi names like Tima Abid, Abadia, Waad Aloqaili and Ashwaq Almarshad remain central, suggesting a model in which international brands are guests—rather than replacements—within a Saudi-led fashion week.
3. Strengthening Gulf fashion’s narrative voice
The runway stories documented by Scoop Empire—grief, theatre, sea journeys, pearl divers, desert landscapes—show that Gulf fashion is increasingly narrative-driven, using local histories and emotions as core material.
By placing these collections on a schedule that now also includes headline shows from Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney, Riyadh Fashion Week 2025 signals that Gulf designers are ready to share that narrative on equal footing with global names.
