KABUL: Amid tight security, over two dozen young models, including six women, strutted down the catwalk in the garden of a private Kabul villa, proudly displaying the traditional clothing and costumes of Afghanistan’s many ethnic groups.
The audience, about 100 men and women, tightly packed the small space on a recent afternoon, but the mood was as bright as the models’ embroidered tunics and scarves — a scene that would have been unimaginable under Taliban rule.
For the organizer, 22-year-old model and fashion designer Ajmal Haqiqi, putting on the show was worth the risk — despite daily threats of militant attacks in this war-weary capital.
Haqiqi says he was motivated by the desire to show off Afghan culture through the nation’s dazzling abundance of traditional garments and regional costumes. If Afghans regain an awareness of their rich heritage, this could help unite them, he said.
“I told myself, if a suicide bomber attacks us, even if I lose my hands and feet, I will continue on the way that I have chosen,” an exuberant Haqiqi told The Associated Press after the event.
Kabul has seen few fashion shows over the past years, mostly catering to international audiences. Haqiqi’s show was the first all-Afghan enterprise: Afghan models showing Afghan traditional clothing to an all-Afghan audience.
However, the idea of women on display remains mostly taboo in Afghanistan, more than 16 years after the 2001 US assault that ousted the Taliban from power after a repressive five-year reign.
Some women still don’t go outside without wearing blue burqas that cover them from head to toe, leaving only mesh over the eyes. Violence against women is still common, and there are reports of women being stoned, executed in public or imprisoned for having affairs with men. Women have even set themselves on fire to escape domestic violence.
Haqiqi’s group, the Haqiqi Modeling Agency, is a relative newcomer on the country’s small fashion scene but he has appeared on national television on various occasions, such as Independence Day, the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, and the Muslim holidays of Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr.
The agency sells the designs under its own “Haqiqi Brand,” with about 70 percent of the sales going to foreigners and Afghans living aboard.
Atefa Fasihi, 21, joined Haqiqi’s team two years ago and the show was her debut before a live audience. She acknowledged feeling uneasy as heavily armed security guards protected the villa in a western Kabul neighborhood.
“Everybody is scared, but ... we are working to promote our Afghan culture, so I foresee a good future,” Fasihi said.
Husna Sadat, who was in the audience, said the prospect of more such shows is exciting. “If we can change the mentality of our people from all these years of fighting, then I am sure the people can be ready for a better future,” she said.
Kabul has been battered by attacks over recent months, most claimed by the Taliban but some also by an Islamic State affiliate.
Last month, a Taliban suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the same western Kabul neighborhood where Haqiqi’s show took place, an area that is home to several private schools and where many politicians reside. The rush hour attack killed 24 people and wounded 42 others.
And on May 31, the city saw its worst suicide bombing since the Taliban collapse — an attack that killed 150 people and wounded scores.
But it was all smiles at the fashion show.
The male models showed off Afghan variants of the shalwar kameez, the men’s long shirt and pants also known as perahan tunban, with turban, pakul or karakul hats. The women wore colorful gand-e-Afghanis, made from softly flowing and intricately embroidered materials, some with matching scarves.
For Amina Sherzad, also in the audience at Haqiqi’s show last week, the mix of the ethnic garments held a message of acceptance.
“It shows that we can accept each other, a model can be a Tajik or a Hazara but can wear the other’s ethnic clothing,” she said, referring to two prominent ethnic minorities. “We are the same.”
Kabul catwalk: Afghan models show off traditional clothing
Kabul catwalk: Afghan models show off traditional clothing
Rawdah Mohamed promotes Dolce & Gabbana eyewear campaign
DUBAI: Somali Norwegian model Rawdah Mohamed took to social media to celebrate her latest campaign with Italian label Dolce & Gabbana.
The model took to Instagram to share a video of the marketing materials, on show in an eyewear outlet in the UAE’s Dubai Mall. Mohamed posed for the Italian luxury label’s latest eyewear collection and can be seen showing off sunglasses while wearing various patterned hijabs.
“What a moment! Thank you to the @dolcegabbana team and @nimabenati for always capturing my beauty,” Mohamed captioned the post, highlighting Italian fashion photographer Nima Benati’s role in the project. She now walks the runway for storied brands and stars in luxury fashion campaigns, but Mohamed’s early years were marked by upheaval as her family fled Somalia’s civil war for the safety of Kenya when she was just a baby. Alongside her parents and nine siblings, including an adopted sister, she spent her childhood in a refugee camp before relocating to Norway at the age of eight.
Mohamed previously told Arab News that she “sort of stumbled into modeling” after a mutual friend put her in touch with her manager while she was at university studying for a degree in behavioral analysis and healthcare.
Mohamed said: “I went to a fashion show in Oslo at the end of 2018 where I met my manager. He told me about what they were doing and I went to his office for a meeting and I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a model but I wanted to work in fashion.”
Fast forward to 2024 and she is fast becoming a recognizable face in the industry, working with brands like Boss and H&M.
Mohamed walked the Roberto Cavalli show in Dubai in September, wearing an all-black three-piece suit consisting of a structured blazer, a fitted vest, and wide-legged trousers, all crafted from a subtly textured fabric. The outfit was completed with a dramatic wide-brimmed black hat that was styled over a black hijab.
“A privilege to walk the runway of @roberto_cavalli show. Sublime collection,” she later wrote on Instagram.
She was also spotted on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2023 and 2024.
Guerlain perfumer talks Arab perfume traditions in Riyadh
RIYADH: Thierry Wasser, the in-house perfumer of French luxury beauty brand Guerlain, sat down with Arab News on a recent visit to Saudi Arabia to talk all things fragrance at the reopening of the flagship Guerlain boutique in Riyadh Park.
The perfumer shared his insights on the differences between typically Middle Eastern scents and their European counterparts and even touched on his previous visit to Taif in the Kingdom, which is famous for its distinct roses grown at high altitudes.
“When you go to each one of these countries, you try to discover what sent speaks for that country,” Wasser explained of his globe-trotting agenda.
“For example, in Saudi Arabia, I think it's myrrh and I also think it's agarwood. In France, for some reason, I think it's lavender,” he added.
The perfumer shared his experience of visiting Taif’s 1,800-meter-high Al-Sarawat Mountains, home to the Taif Rose variety, saying “It's a zig zag when you go … sometimes you have a place you don't expect the altitude to be so high.”
With more than 200 perfumes to his name, the perfumer revealed his favorite scent as Habit Rouge by Guerlain, an oriental woody perfume with notes of earth, warm leather, and the forest, launched in 1965 by the iconic Jean-Paul Guerlain.
“It's like a shining armor. It was a disguise of a man, a manly, masculine disguise. It shaped me. My attitude changed … I kept it all my life like a lucky charm,” he said.
Wasser's journey with the brand began in 2008, when was appointed as the first non-Guerlain family member to be the in-house perfumer of the storied house founded in 1828.
“When you manufacture and source it, you get intimate with the formula and the fragrance from your predecessors and you are responsible for the integrity of them,” he said.
“I want to talk about the Middle East and about how perfume is expressed in the Middle East. They have a deep, intense love for very strong fragrances,” he noted, adding that he quickly learned fragrance is typically applied on clothing in the region, as opposed to directly on the skin, which is common practice in Europe.
“So I changed my approach and I made all my trials on cotton handkerchiefs,” he explained.
The fragrance house's iconic bee emblem reflects a commitment to sustainability. In 2021, Guerlain became one of the first luxury houses to join the Union for Ethical BioTrade and initiated a verification process for 50 natural ingredients.
“Sustainability is not exactly a marketing tool or communication tool, it is a state of mind,” Wasser said.
Keke Palmer shows off vintage Azzedine Alaia look in New York
DUBAI: US actress and author Keke Palmer made an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in New York this week wearing a vintage look by late Tunisian couturier Azzedine Alaia.
Hailing from his Spring/ Summer 1986 ready-to-wear collection, the denim power suit featured a cross-body zipper, oversized sleeves and statement lapels.
Based in Paris, Alaia shot to international fame in the early 1980s and was quickly dubbed the “King of Cling.” Alaia won the Designer of the Year and Best Collection of the Year prizes at the Oscars de la Mode by the French Ministry of Culture in 1985.
Palmer showed off the look as she promoted her new book, “Master of Me.”
The “Nope” actress released the book in November and has been promoting the title at various media appearances, including on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
In a conversation with Barrymore, the pair connected about the experience of being child stars, with Palmer stating “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor” after she praised her parents for supporting her career, which began with 2004’s “Barbershop 2: Back in Business.”
“In her own raw and intimate words, Keke talks about everything from her struggles with boundaries to unconditional love, forgiveness, and worthiness,” the book’s description reads.
“Throughout the book, Keke also poses readers with the questions needed to get them through their own challenging times by sharing personal stories and lessons she’s learned along the way,” the blurb adds.
Palmer also sat down with US Iranian actress Yara Shahidi to discuss the book.
She took to Instagram shortly after the sit down, saying: “One of my favorite girls @yarashahidi discussed the themes of my book ‘Master of Me’ this past week. We had a great conversation in Boston around her old stomping grounds at Harvard! The excitement around the Many Masters Tour and the people I get to speak to is that we learn there are so many unique paths that lead to self-mastery and the exciting part is in creating your own path.”
Bella Hadid guest stars on ‘Holland’s Next Top Model’ alongside her mother
DUBAI: US Dutch Palestinian model Bella Hadid shared a series of images from her experience as a guest judge on “Holland’s Next Top Model,” the reality series where her mother, Yolanda Hadid, serves as one of the judges.
The post features a carousel of photos and videos, including moments with her mother, the show’s judges and contestants, as well as behind-the-scenes shots from various photoshoots.
In the caption, the runway star expressed her excitement about her fragrance brand, Orebella, being featured on the episode, describing it as “a dream.”
She said: “Thank you @hollandsnexttopmodelnl for having me on as a guest judge! To have @orebella be shot, on a show so dear to my heart, in my most beautiful Holland, was a dream.”
Hadid also reflected on her admiration for her mother. “To watch my mama work and be a second mama to a new generation of young creative human beings is such a blessing to me! Things that my mom can teach, she wasn’t taught. It’s part of who she is,” she said. “Her talent, nurturing ability, maternal instincts, confidence in hard work and success, faith in people and love for fashion is what makes her so special, especially on a show like this. I am so proud of you, mama.”
The model described the transformative journey of the contestants on the show. “This was just an incredible experience to watch these young women and men push themselves but also grow to know themselves better than when they arrived,” she added. “I saw so much of myself in every one of them, and I am proud of each one for getting through a competition that I know for sure is mentally and physically exhausting.”
Hadid launched her brand in May with three fragrances: Salted Muse, Blooming Fire and Window2Soul.
In August, she expanded her collection with the launch of a new scent called Nightcap, described as a “warm and spicy” fragrance featuring notes of ginger, cardamom and vanilla.
For the launch, she hosted a party in West Hollywood, where she wore a dusty-pink gown with delicate embroidery and bow detail from Lebanese couturier Zuhair Murad.
Part-Saudi model Amira Al-Zuhair fronts Balmain’s Resort 2025 campaign
DUBAI: French Saudi model Amira Al-Zuhair this week shared pictures from her latest campaign with Balmain, showcasing the brand’s Resort 2025 collection.
In one of the images, Al-Zuhair donned a strapless denim mini dress paired with two matching denim handbags and calf-high black boots.
In the second image, she wore a black sequined two-piece outfit, featuring a crop top and a high-waisted skirt. The design incorporates gold and silver embellishments, with the top featuring the word “L’aime,” meaning “loves” in French. The setting, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, tied the look to the brand’s Parisian roots.
This is not Al-Zuhair’s first collaboration with Balmain. She previously walked for the brand during Paris Fashion Week in September.
She showcased a structured gray blazer over a classic black T-shirt, complemented by vibrant red suede over-the-knee boots that added a bold pop of color. Her ensemble was completed with a neutral-toned shoulder bag and a striking gold pendant necklace.
The model has been spending the week in Dubai and shared a moment on Instagram featuring an advertisement she spotted for Maison Alaia in Dubai Mall. “Casually shopping in Dubai Mall … and look who I found,” she said in the caption.
Al-Zuhair also shared a photo of herself having lunch with a friend at Al Mandaloun, a Lebanese restaurant in Dubai.
