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DUBAI: Saudi influencer Nojoud Al-Rumaihi, who is also a fashion consultant, has been spotted at a number of runway shows during Paris Fashion Week.

Al-Rumaihi attended Lebanese couturier Elie Saab’s Spring/Summer 2026 showcase, as well as shows staged by Hermes, Valentino, and Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika.

She has been sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of her time at fashion week on social media, with insights on her favorite runway looks as well as her own outfits.

Al-Rumaihi shared a series on Instagram Stories about Hermes designer Nadege Vanhee’s latest show in Paris, in which Vanhee sent out a collection of brassiere tops, quilted silk coats and racer-back dresses.

Models marched around the space in tall riding boots, their silky ponytails swishing. They wore sandy-colored shirts, skirts and brassiere ensembles, cinched snugly with leather straps and lacework. Racer backs revealed shoulder blades, while leather bra tops held silk fabric in place, covering the chest, Reuters reported.

The color palette was dominated by muted beige and khaki tones, with a few touches of bright red — a leather trouser set, a handbag and motifs on scarves.

Al-Rumaihi also attended Italian label Valentino’s showcase in Paris, during which creative head Alessandro Michele’s latest collection Fireflies was put on show.

Prim retro silhouettes — bows, ruching, velvet skirts — set a mood at Paris Fashion Week of controlled nostalgia, Associated Press noted.

The high point was a draped gold gown with a feathered white collar, evoking myth and Valentino’s Roman past. A polka-dot shirt, satin skirts split with bright yellow panels, and occasional colorblocking kept the eclectic spirit alive, though without the exuberant force Michele had deployed before.

That was the story of the show: less spectacle, more editing. Where Michele’s early collections for the house, and his Gucci tenure before that, thrived on sheer overload — tassels, turbans, ruffles, references piled high — here he cut cleaner lines and pared styling back. The result felt more wearable, but also less astonishing.

Valentino’s identity is rooted in beauty and polish. Under founder Valentino Garavani, the house meant jet-set elegance and “Valentino red.” Under designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, it leaned into couture-like refinement. Michele entered with a different tool kit: maximalist nostalgia, gender-fluid styling, and deep archive mining. He has said the job is to “manipulate the past to make it now,” balancing modern maximalism with relevance so the brand does not freeze in time.

For her part, Al-Rumaihi billed it as “a magnificent experiential show” on Instagram, where she shared a video of models traversing a spotlit runway.

DUBAI: Montenegrin Egyptian actress and model Tara Emad has been named among the newest inductees to The Business of Fashion (BoF) 500 Class of 2025, which recognizes individuals shaping the global fashion industry, alongside Saudi designer Ahmed Hassan, co-founder of streetwear label KML.

The BoF 500 is an annual index by the London-based platform The Business of Fashion, founded by Imran Amed, that celebrates designers, creatives, models, executives and entrepreneurs redefining the global fashion landscape. Each year, 100 new members are selected based on their impact, industry nominations and extensive editorial research.

Emad, who serves as a Cartier ambassador, is best known for her roles in the recently released Arabic action-comedy “Darwish,” the Arabic adaptation of “Suits,” Netflix’s family drama “Catalog,” and the film “Siko Niko.”

A fixture on red carpets across the region, she has become one of the Arab world’s most recognizable faces, championing regional designers while maintaining a strong international presence.

Meanwhile, Hassan’s inclusion reflects the continued rise of ������Ƶ’s creative scene and its expanding presence in the global fashion industry.

As co-founder of KML — known for its bold streetwear aesthetic infused with local cultural influences — Hassan, together with his brother and business partner Razan, has helped to bring Saudi design to the international stage.

In 2022, the brand was a semifinalist for the prestigious LVMH Prize — an annual award for young fashion designers run by the eponymous fashion conglomerate.

The Fashion Commission also recognized their potential, providing support that led to KML showcasing its collections at fashion weeks in Paris, Riyadh and Milan.

“Paris was a wonderful experience,” Ahmed previously told Arab News. “People found our clothes rebellious — especially the skirts for men. But it was rebellious to wear pants in ������Ƶ 200 years ago! Men everywhere here wore skirts — there were different names for them.”

This year’s BoF 500 Class of 2025 includes 100 new names from 30 countries, spanning 40 nationalities. Among the inductees are musicians Kendrick Lamar and Tems, designers Giambattista Valli and Michael Rider, and models Hailey Bieber and Mamour Majang.

Past Arab members of the BoF 500 include Saudi couturier Mohammed Ashi, founder of Ashi Studio, who became the first designer from the Kingdom to join the index in 2023.