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High fashion: Saudi label Ashi Studio unveils Riyadh Air cabin crew uniforms in Paris

High fashion: Saudi label Ashi Studio unveils Riyadh Air cabin crew uniforms in Paris
 Riyadh Air is on track to make its maiden flight in 2025. (Supplied)
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Updated 28 June 2024

High fashion: Saudi label Ashi Studio unveils Riyadh Air cabin crew uniforms in Paris

High fashion: Saudi label Ashi Studio unveils Riyadh Air cabin crew uniforms in Paris

PARIS: Saudi designer Mohammed Ashi, founder of the Paris-based label Ashi Studio, has unveiled the inaugural cabin crew uniforms for the Kingdom’s new airline, Riyadh Air, which is on track to make its maiden flight in 2025. 

The glittering event took place after the couturier’s Haute Couture Week show in the French capital on Thursday.

“What we’ve done is, we’ve taken the golden age of aviation and we are representing it in the current day; it’s a relevant collection,” Ashi said at the grand reveal of his collaboration with Riyadh Air on Thursday evening.




The designer created uniforms for Riyadh Air. (Supplied)

“It’s not cabin crew ‘uniforms,’ it’s cabin crew fashion,” Tony Douglas, the CEO of Riyadh Air, told the crowd at the runway show.

The luxury line is comprised of timeless cashmere outerwear, elegant dresses and trousers made of fine wools, custom leather footwear, amethyst earrings, and pillbox hats, all of which were inspired by 1950s airline fashion, widely considered the “golden age” in aviation - but with an Ashi twist.

For the uniforms, Ashi created an entirely new color tone — Electric Amethyst for womenswear and Dark Amethyst for menswear. The unique amethyst shades pay homage to Ƶ’s lavender fields and are rooted within Riyadh Air’s bold color scheme. The process of creating the color alone took six months, according to show notes.

The fashion collection will be worn by Riyadh Air cabin crew, pilots, concierge agents and airport staff. They will be changed seasonally to keep the looks fresh.




Ashi unveiled the uniform design concepts at Haute Couture Week in Paris. (Supplied)

“We feel that he has actually done an incredible job of connecting back to those halcyon days of commercial aviation, the kind of Pan Ams the TWA used (from the 1950s), the “Catch Me If You Can” — with a real modern twist,” Douglas shared, referring to the hit 2002 film.   

“What Ashi and his studio have created brings back glamor,” Douglas added.

Ten womenswear looks were shown on the Paris runway, each of which were accompanied by accessories such as shoes, purses and hats. Five menswear looks were also unveiled, with the rest being kept under wraps.

Ashi included distinctive Riyadh Air elements within the concepts, such as adding the canopy twist found in the Riyadh Air brand logo into the silhouettes of some of the pieces.

There were some modest options, including a turban for women, as well as trousers. The skirts were below the knee and embodied a sleek clean design with some high collars on show. 

“For a start-up airline to be showcasing our new fashion collection during Haute Couture Week in Paris shows what an impact Riyadh Air is having globally,” Douglas told the crowd to mark the launch. “Working with Ashi on these designs has been a tremendous experience for all of us and we’re all very proud to be able to show off the creations and the full range early next year.”




 Riyadh Air is on track to make its maiden flight in 2025. (Supplied)

He was quick to point out that the elegant and chic designs will soon be recognizable in airports around the world.

“The designs will leave a lasting impression on our guests by the proud team members that wear them. When you get up close to the garments you can see the level of detail and intricacy that Ashi has included, which is in complete alignment of our values and attention to detail at Riyadh Air,” Douglas added.

“Designing for the new national airline from Ƶ has had a big impact on me knowing that we are making a mark in history,” Ashi said. “Fashion and aviation have seen collaborations in the past, but its pinnacle was over 50 years ago, and I was keen to be inspired by that time. This is an amazing collaboration where fashion is helping to make an airline modern with completely unique looks. It shows that Riyadh Air has no limits and that luxury and attention to detail is key across every aspect of the experience.”

Riyadh Air will take its maiden flight in mid-2025, connecting the Saudi capital to more than 100 destinations by 2030. Ashi — or at least his creations — will be along for the ride.


Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event
Updated 20 January 2025

Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

DUBAI: Lebanese couturier to the stars Elie Saab took to Instagram to give a shoutout to model Camila Alves McConaughey, who wore the label to the recent concert “Life is a Dream,” led by Hollywood giant Anthony Hopkins in Riyadh.

“@camilamcconaughey attended the ‘Life Is A Dream’ concert composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra alongside her husband Matthew in an ELIE SAAB Spring Summer 2025 look,” the label captioned the Instagram post.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Alves McConaughey, who attended the event with her actor husband Matthew McConaughey, wore a striking yellow gown to the event, with flowing caped sleeves and a plunging neckline.

Meanwhile, US pop sensation Christina Aguilera, who performed at the Joy Awards ceremony over the weekend in Riyadh, also opted for an Elie Saab creation for the first part of her performance.

Aguilera took to the stage in a dramatic burgundy gown from Elie Saab’s Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2024 collection. The glittering gown saw Aguilera channeling old-school 1920s Hollywood glamour. The dress flowed into a feathered train, and she completed the look with a chiffon scarf, draped over her head and shoulders.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The same event saw Alves McConaughey opt for another yellow gown, this time from Oscar de la Renta.

As for the symphony concert, in a captivating blend of art and humanity, Hollywood icon Hopkins graced the Bakr Al-Shaddi Theater in Boulevard City, Riyadh, with a performance titled “Life is a Dream” as part of the Riyadh Season festivities.

Introduced by fellow actor Morgan Freeman, Hopkins opened his speech with the Arabic greeting, “As Salaam o Alaikum,” setting a tone of cultural respect and unity.

Hopkins shared his reflections on life and art, drawing from the words of Edgar Allan Poe: “I have always believed that all we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

Reflecting on his life, he described the path from “the son of a simple baker” in South Wales to a world-renowned composer and actor.

“My life, to me, is a profound mystery,” he said. “It’s impossible to understand or take credit for the blessings I’ve been given. That’s why I believe life is a dream, and this piece, ‘Life is a Dream,’ was inspired by my dreamy childhood in South Wales, my wonderfully supportive mother and my father, who was larger than life and worked tirelessly throughout his life.”


Italian sculptress Ariana Palmieri contemplates world’s cyclicity at Tuwaiq Sculpture 

Italian sculptress Ariana Palmieri contemplates world’s cyclicity at Tuwaiq Sculpture 
Updated 20 January 2025

Italian sculptress Ariana Palmieri contemplates world’s cyclicity at Tuwaiq Sculpture 

Italian sculptress Ariana Palmieri contemplates world’s cyclicity at Tuwaiq Sculpture 

RIYADH: With the theme “Then and Now: Joy in the Struggle of Making,” the sixth edition of the Tuwaiq Sculpture symposium has brought together 30 sculpture artists from around the world.

Among them is Italian artist Ariana Palmieri, whose piece “Motion of Revolution” was inspired by the movement of the solar system around the sun. Depicting the inevitable cycles of birth and death, the work contemplates the notion that birth is conditioned by assured fatality. 

Adriana Palmieri at her Tuwaiq Sculpture symposium booth. (Instagram)

“It’s all about the circularity of life — you are born, you are a child, then you are an adolescent, then you grow older, and then you die. But your life will continue after this, and we give life to other things. So it’s more about how everything is connected and a circularity of life; as humans move within the planets, the planets are moving around the sun,” Palmieri told Arab News. 

Originally from Milan, Palmieri moved to Carrara, a town known worldwide for its white marble, to study sculpting. She graduated in 2023 and the 26-year-old is one of the youngest artists amongst the group at the symposium.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

She says it is an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist. 

“It’s like a dream. I didn't think they would choose me because I am so young,” she said. “The last edition was more about people that had experience. This edition, they tried to concentrate more (on) the artwork and the background of the artist,” she said. 

The finished works will be exhibited from Feb. 12-24 and moved to various locations across the city as part of Riyadh Art’s initiative to beautify the capital.

“Public art is the main thing that our sculptures can achieve because you can do big stuff and they will be like a journal in some way. I’m really, really happy that I can do something so big that will stay there so much longer than me,” she said. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Palmieri’s work is not merely a reflection of planetary movement but contemplates the existence of the human race and its role within a larger picture. Her work itself is a representation of this thought: As every human diminishes, remnants of them and their work on earth will be set in stone — waiting to be discovered by another. 

“I thought about nature a lot, and all of humanity. I hope at least that my art can get through this idea, to connect all the people,” she said.


Review: ‘A Man on the Inside’ – comedy series on Netflix

Photo/Supplied
Photo/Supplied
Updated 19 January 2025

Review: ‘A Man on the Inside’ – comedy series on Netflix

Photo/Supplied
  • Dressed in impeccably pressed suits and armed with plenty of trivia about architecture, he saunters in, shyly at first, then begins to find his footing

“A Man on the Inside” is an eight-episode comedy series that premiered on Netflix in 2024, blending humor, heartfelt storytelling and a touch of mystery.

After retired professor and widower Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson of “The Good Place”) speaks to his concerned only daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), he decides to make a change. A year after her mother’s death, Emily encourages her father to find a new purpose; to take a class or try a new hobby.

With a love of newspaper cutouts (he would often clip and mail interesting articles to Emily), Charles finds an intriguing yet vague job listing in the classified section.

He is soon recruited by Julie, a private investigator (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), who reluctantly enlists his help to uncover the whereabouts of a stolen necklace in a local San Francisco retirement community.

At its heart, the series explores the evolving father-daughter relationship between Charles and Emily, along with her husband and three teenage sons.

It also shows Charles making friends and trying out new things at an age and stage in his life when he thought life ended with his wife’s death.

Dressed in impeccably pressed suits and armed with plenty of trivia about architecture, he saunters in, shyly at first, then begins to find his footing.

“He’s like if a podcast wore a suit,” one staff member aptly describes him.

Then another valuable item is stolen from the community. Then another.

Stephanie Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) co-stars as Didi, the sharp and determined managing director of the retirement community, bringing her trademark wit and charm to the role.

The whodunit-style show examines coping with grief, lost love, and the excitement of new beginnings from the perspective of seniors.

Whether you’re here for the mystery, the comedy, or its effortless charm, the series delivers a family-friendly binge-worthy viewing experience.

 


Andrew Garfield says tear-jerker film ‘We Live in Time’ is everyone’s story

Andrew Garfield says tear-jerker film ‘We Live in Time’ is everyone’s story
Updated 19 January 2025

Andrew Garfield says tear-jerker film ‘We Live in Time’ is everyone’s story

Andrew Garfield says tear-jerker film ‘We Live in Time’ is everyone’s story

DUBAI: It is no secret that Andrew Garfield’s latest movie, John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” now in cinemas across the Middle East, is a tear-jerker that will pull at your heartstrings from Scene 1.

Beginning with the cancer diagnosis of co-main character Almut (Florence Pugh), the story then follows her back and forth through time to tell the story of her relationship with Tobias (Garfield), from their first encounter after a road accident to the birth of their daughter at a filling station and more.

Grace Delaney, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh in ‘We Live in Time.’ (Supplied)

“I think the point of this film is that it is everyone’s story,” Garfield told Arab News. “I think after any human being lives a certain amount of time, if they’re lucky, they get to experience terrible loss. And I know that that’s a strange way of phrasing it, but I do see it as a privilege to love deeply and therefore to lose terribly, to lose each other, whether it’s a partner or a mother or a father or a friend.”

While over the past few years Garfield has been on an on-and-off break from filming in an attempt to know himself better, the script from Justine Wright lured him back to set.

“I was in a very peaceful, contemplative place in my life, and reflecting on everything and wanting to be creative, but not necessarily wanting to be on a film set. But then, you know, reading the script, I thought, ‘Oh, this will be a very natural creative process,’” he said.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

“There was a certain amount of letting go, but it was a letting go of a different kind. It was a letting go of too much overthinking. It felt like a very natural letting go, getting out of the way of not working too hard, letting the moment define the moment, letting myself be filled up, and trusting that the moment was enough,” said Garfield, who lost his mother to cancer in 2019.

His subsequent journey of self-discovery has further helped his craft as an actor.

“This is one of the privileges of being an actor, I think, being an artist, but particularly about being an actor is that, depending on the roles you get to play, you’re accessing and finding and inhabiting parts of yourself that you didn’t know were there and capabilities that you didn’t know you had. Dark and light, expressive, expansive and destructive and shady. So, yes, I’m definitely drawn to knowing myself as thoroughly as possible,” Garfield said.

“And yeah, I’m definitely seeking out as much of being in authentic relationship to myself, and therefore others, and therefore the world, and therefore my work as possible. And sometimes it’s really, really painful, because there are aspects of myself that I wish I didn’t have, like all of us. But the danger is, I think, if we try to exile those parts of ourselves, we end up being in denial of what we’re capable of, and then we end up really doing damage and electing the wrong people to lead countries, etc.

“So, yeah, it feels important to me to find all of those different parts and own them and welcome them; and therefore be able to govern them and not be governed by them, because they’re just unconscious drives.”


Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble perform at Riyadh’s Joy Awards

Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble perform at Riyadh’s Joy Awards
Updated 19 January 2025

Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble perform at Riyadh’s Joy Awards

Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble perform at Riyadh’s Joy Awards
  • Joy Awards are Ƶ’s largest event honoring the Arab world’s leading artists and their achievements
  • Winners were selected based on public voting through an application launched by the General Entertainment Authority

RIYADH: The annual Joy Awards honored Arab talent with musical performances that serenaded a star-studded guest list at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday.

The award show opened with a concert by Christina Aguilera, who performed “The Voice Within” and her hit song “Genie in a Bottle.”

Tunisian model and actress Azza Slimene at the Joy Awards. (AN Photo/Jafer Saleh)

Musical icons Mohammed Abdo and Andrea Bocelli performed together, blending Gulf and Italian sounds.

Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury and Canadian artist Michael Buble collaborated on a striking rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” performed in both English and Arabic. (X, formerly known as Twitter)

Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury and Canadian artist Michael Buble collaborated on a striking rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” performed in both English and Arabic.

Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey were among the international and local celebrities who showcased their dazzling ensembles on the ceremony’s iconic lavender carpet on Saturday.

Morgan Freeman with business partner Lori McCreary at the Joy Awards. (Getty Images)

As a tribute to her first visit to the Kingdom, US actress Kate Siegel attended the ceremony wearing a pearly white dress with black drapings by Saudi brand Abadia.

“I picked it because I wanted to represent Ƶn designers and fashion, especially here in Riyadh, which is such an upcoming hot spot for Ƶn fashion,” she said.

As a tribute to her first visit to the Kingdom, US actress Kate Siegel attended the ceremony wearing a pearly white dress with black drapings by Saudi brand Abadia. (Getty Images)

Lebanese actress Nawal Kamel arrived in a black and silver studded gown designed by her go-to Lebanese fashion designer, Joelle Nemnum.

“I can’t believe I’m here. I’m very excited to meet the (Saudi) people up close. I know many people from Lebanon but being here and seeing the locals, who are so different and incredible, is amazing. They (Saudis) are so kind and welcoming — they truly lift you up and take care of you. I’m so grateful to be here and to witness the Joy Awards,” she said.

Amanda Seyfried arrived in a fiery red Valentino gown. (Getty Images)

Held at the Kingdom Arena, the Joy Awards are Ƶ’s largest event recognizing and honoring the Arab world’s leading artists and their achievements. The event is part of Riyadh Season and is co-organized by MBC Group.

Lebanese actress Bernadette Hodeib. (AN Photo/Jafer Saleh)

The winners were selected based on public voting through an application launched by the General Entertainment Authority. The list included candidates across various categories. The nominees were carefully chosen by specialized committees based on their efforts and achievements over the past year.