Princess Rajwa stuns in Elie Saab as Queen Rania wears Dior at Jordan’s Royal wedding

Princess Rajwa stuns in Elie Saab as Queen Rania wears Dior at Jordan’s Royal wedding
For her bridal look, Princess Rajwa wore a classic white gown from celebrity-loved Lebanese couturier Elie Saab. (Reuters)
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Updated 02 June 2023
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Princess Rajwa stuns in Elie Saab as Queen Rania wears Dior at Jordan’s Royal wedding

Princess Rajwa stuns in Elie Saab as Queen Rania wears Dior at Jordan’s Royal wedding
  • Full-sleeved gown featured a dramatic veil that trailed for several meters behind the bride, while the neckline stood out for its chic draping

DUBAI: After weeks of speculation, the new Crown Princess of Jordan Rajwa Al-Hussein unveiled her wedding gown as she married Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II in Amman on Thursday. 

The bride, formerly Rajwa Al-Saif, wore a classic white gown by celebrity-loved Lebanese couturier Elie Saab. The full-sleeved gown featured a dramatic veil that trailed for several meters behind her, while the neckline stood out for its chic draping. 

She accessorized the look with a glittering tiara and matching diamond earrings, along with white strappy shoes, as she held a bouquet with white flowers.

For his part, the crown prince donned a suit that drew inspiration from the design worn by King Abdullah II on his wedding day in 1993. The suit’s sleeves paid homage to the style favored by both King Abdullah II and King Abdullah I.

The reveal follows weeks, if not months, of speculation about what label the royal family would pick for the Saudi national to walk down the aisle in. Luxury labels Dior and Bruce Oldfield were floated by celebrity stylists and fashion magazines around the world, with some industry insiders throwing British designer Sarah Burton’s name into the ring.




Jordan’s ever fashionable Queen Rania wore a gown by French label Dior. (Royal Hashemite Court)

Jordan’s ever-fashionable Queen Rania wore a gown by French label Dior that hailed from the luxury label’s fall 2022 couture collection.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Princess of Wales was among the high-profile royal guests at the ceremony.




Kate, Princess of Wales, and William, Prince of Wales, were among the high-profile royal guests at the ceremony. (RHCJO)

For the highly anticipated occasion, she wore an elegant Elie Saab gown from the brand’s fall/winter 2017 couture collection.

The pastel piece featured a high neck, full bell-shaped sleeves, as well as embroidery and lace detailing.




Princess Beatrice, who attended with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, wore a long-sleeved sequined dress by British brand Needle & Thread. (Courtesy of Royal Hashemite Court)

Also from the Britain, Princess Beatrice, who attended with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, wore a long-sleeved sequined dress by British brand Needle & Thread. She matched the black belt of the dress with a black bow adorning her flowing locks.




US first lady Jill Biden, accompanied by her daughter Ashley Biden, wore a light purple gown by Lebanese designer Reem Acra. (Courtesy of Royal Hashemite Court)

US First Lady Jill Biden, accompanied by her daughter Ashley Biden, wore a lilac gown by Lebanese designer Reem Acra. She was also spotted wearing the dress in April during a state dinner at the White House.

Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary, accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik, wore an Erdem cream gown with blue floral print. The luxury label was founded in London by Canadian Turkish fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu.




Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary, accompanied by Crown Prince Frederik, wore an Erdem cream gown with blue floral print. The luxury label was founded in London by Canadian-Turkish fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu. (Courtesy of Royal Hashemite Court)

Earlier, the bride stayed true to her Saudi roots at her May 22 henna night by wearing a custom-made gown by Saudi designer Honayda Serafi. 

The designer took inspiration from the Al-Shaby thobe of the Najd region in Saudi Arabia, home to the bride’s family. 

“The brief was that she wanted to wear something very modest and something from Saudi Arabian culture, but with a modern twist. She wanted the piece to be very elegant, and she also wanted it to be white,” Serafi previously told Arab News. 

Apart from the references to Al-Saif’s Saudi heritage, the dress also featured nods to Jordanian culture.

Serafi included the seven-pointed white star that is present on the Jordanian national flag, which symbolized the seven verses of Surat Al-Fatiha in the Qur’an.

Other details in the dress included Saudi Arabia’s palm trees, which symbolize life and vitality, as well as a verse by famous Tunisian poet Aboul Qacem Echebbi — “When my eyes see you, life becomes right” — etched into the dress in Arabic lettering.

“My intention behind designing this dress was to document the eternal love and the history of the royal wedding. And, of course, I have used traditional threads and it is all hand embroidered,” said Serafi.


Saudi creatives team up with Adidas on new promotional campaign

Saudi creatives team up with Adidas on new promotional campaign
Updated 26 September 2023
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Saudi creatives team up with Adidas on new promotional campaign

Saudi creatives team up with Adidas on new promotional campaign
  • Collaborators include filmmaker Ali Kalthami, artist Noura Bin Saidan

DUBAI: Saudi talent is once again at the forefront of global culture. Sportswear giant Adidas has just launched its new global brand platform featuring 17 creatives from the fields of food, fashion, art, music and film.

Titled “We Gave the World an Original, You Gave us a Thousand Back,” the campaign enlists several of the Kingdom’s brightest stars, including movie director Ali Kalthami, muralist Noura Bin Saidan and fashion designer Mohamad Bajbaa.

Kalthami’s debut feature film “Mandoob” received rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival and is set to open in theaters across the region in December.

His work with Adidas is his fist with a global fashion brand.

“I’ve been approached several times and I’ve always felt like it was the wrong moment and held myself back,” he told Arab News.

“I was conservative and didn’t want to show my face. Now, I’m hitting my 40s. On my last birthday I told myself to have more fun, and Adidas is such a fun brand to work with.

“Growing up in Riyadh, Adidas was always such a part of our everyday, even in our elementary school days. For me, it stands for being original and innovative, as well as healthy, and all of that is something that’s integral to my life and the lives of so many people here in Saudi Arabia. I didn’t ever expect this to happen, but I’m proud to be a part of it,” he added.

The campaign, held under the Adidas Originals imprint, centers on a number of the brand’s heritage sports shoes, including the Samba, Gazelle and Superstar. Adidas earlier teamed up with Dubai favorite Ravi Restaurant, founded by Chaudary Abdul Hameed, to produce a shoe based on its Superstar brand, which was a worldwide hit.

Saidan said sneakers had become an inadvertent extension of her art, as the pair she wore while making her creations had become splattered with paint.

“Shoes are part of my artwork,” she said. “Especially because every time I complete piece, my shoes transform and get stained as if I’m wearing different shoes.”


Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan to talk sustainability at XP Music Futures 2023 in Riyadh

Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan to talk sustainability at XP Music Futures 2023 in Riyadh
Updated 26 September 2023
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Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan to talk sustainability at XP Music Futures 2023 in Riyadh

Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan to talk sustainability at XP Music Futures 2023 in Riyadh

DUBAI: Princess Mashael Saud Al-Shalan, the founding partner of Saudi think tank Aeon Strategy, will take part in MDLBEAST’s XP Music Futures 2023 conference in Riyadh.

The princess will join a session titled “Sustainable Futures: Music for Climate Action,” which will discuss sustainable event planning, carbon emissions balancing and the power of music to inspire environmental activity.

Her research mostly focuses on climate policy, global governance, carbon emissions and the impact of climate change. She has been involved in various international events and conferences, including side sessions at the UN Climate Change Conferences in Glasgow in 2021 and Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022.

XP Music Futures is an annual music conference dedicated to accelerating the development of the music scene in the MENA region through various initiatives while creating opportunities for the global music community.

Past attendees include Mathew Knowles, Amy Thomson, David Guetta and Elyanna. This year’s conference runs from Dec. 7-9.
 


Baz Luhrmann to head Red Sea Film Festival jury

Baz Luhrmann to head Red Sea Film Festival jury
Updated 26 September 2023
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Baz Luhrmann to head Red Sea Film Festival jury

Baz Luhrmann to head Red Sea Film Festival jury

DUBAI: Australian director Baz Luhrmann has been chosen to preside over the Red Sea International Film Festival’s features competition jury this year, organizers announced on Tuesday. 

The third edition of the Saudi festival is set to take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9 in Jeddah. 

Luhrmann will head the jury that will be bestowing awards to a competition of 17 titles from filmmakers from the Arab world, Asia and Africa.

Mohammed Al-Turki, the festival’s CEO, said in a statement: “As we work towards our third edition, we are delighted to welcome legendary award-winning director Baz Luhrmann as the head of the jury.” 

Luhrmann said: “As a child in the local cinema that we ran near the tiny country town where I grew up, I was mesmerized by the powerful historical and physical landscapes of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. 

“Since that time, I have had an abiding passion for the Arabian world, but after visiting Saudi Arabia, I felt truly inspired by the remarkable young filmmaking talent coming up across the region and to see how they are now capturing the attention of the global film community.” 

The Academy Award-nominated auteur is known for being a master storyteller across film, opera, theater and music, as well as his critically acclaimed filmography, including double Academy Award-winning “The Great Gatsby,” “Strictly Ballroom,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Elvis” and “Australia.” 


Review: Be prepared for deep story and complexity in ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’

Review: Be prepared for deep story and complexity in ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
Updated 26 September 2023
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Review: Be prepared for deep story and complexity in ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’

Review: Be prepared for deep story and complexity in ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
  • Latest incarnation of the 1998 series creates very human experience despite outrageous fantasy world

LONDON: The “Baldur’s Gate” series dates to 1998 and this latest incarnation (available for both PC and PS5) allows gamers into a vast and hugely complex fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons, with hundreds of customization options as you weave your story from the depths of the Underdark, to the glittering rooftops of the Upper City.

For those unfamiliar with the series, adjusting to this world, its history and lore, as well as the practical aspects of turn-based role-playing game, or RPG, combat, can be difficult. But, if you are willing to persevere, you are rewarded with a story of incredible depth all shaped by your choices.

The story begins — following significant time choosing your character’s class and appearance — with you trapped on a nautiloid ship where you witness an Illithid also known as “mind flayer” place a tadpole into your brain. One dramatic air battle with dragons later and you are free and desperate to cure this contagion.

As ever with RPGs, you balance a central quest alongside a steadily increasing number of side quests. There is a fair amount of dialogue but the choices within it, which often involve going to the role of a dice, feel substantive and the silky tones of the narrator give you greater immersion into the impressive world that you find yourself in. 

Combat is turn-based and akin to a game of chess with each of your four-person team possessing certain skills and strengths that need to be knitted together for success. Again, the pace of this style of game is very different from the quick reactions of other more conventional fighting fantasies like “Elden Ring” but again after a time complexity becomes familiarity.

Movement around the battle space is limited, jumping becomes an important attribute and enemy spells or actions like throwing grease can force some of your party to miss their turn, sometimes with lethal implications. Leveling up is a serious affair offering a host of new skills, but patience is required to read and understand each. 

The dice mechanic can seem a bit arbitrary at first but once you get to grip with the logic of a character’s developing strengths it can reinforce the sense that your choices matter. Charismatic characters can persuade non-playable characters to do what they want, whilst stronger ones can try and use intimidation to get to a similar outcome. Again, it is worth spending time slowly understanding the menus, dialogue histories and item effects to really get the most out of the game. 

The world is varied and can be fast-travelled. Music and atmosphere are both solid but one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is the relationship between your tadpole-infected group of four. It is your choices that determine who you travel with, and the world’s history will mean some companions will not get on with each other. Time spent resting in the game’s “camp” facility offers further dialogue and the chance for your characters’ relationships to become stronger. This all means that “Baldur’s Gate 3” creates a very human experience despite the outrageous fantasy world in which it is based. 


Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini walks for Boss

Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini walks for Boss
Updated 26 September 2023
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Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini walks for Boss

Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini walks for Boss

DUBAI: Syrian Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini this week walked the Boss runway during Milan Fashion Week.

The athlete wore a grey shirt, an oversized black blazer, a knee-length skirt, leather boots and a white clutch.

She walked alongside US-Dutch-Palestinian catwalk star Gigi Hadid, Russian model Natasha Poly and Senegalese-Italian media personality Khaby Lame.

This is not the first time Mardini works with the German fashion label.

In March, Mardini, whose story of fleeing her homeland alongside her sister Sarah was made into a BAFTA-nominated film by Netflix called “The Swimmers,” walked Boss’ runway in Miami.

She also starred in the brand’s digital campaign that month, which featured a long list of Arab and international stars, including DJ Khaled, Hadid, Demi Lovato, Paris Hilton and Bella Thorne.