Yara Shahidi stars in new Jean Paul Gaultier campaign

Yara Shahidi stars in new Jean Paul Gaultier campaign
Yara Shahidi is the face of Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest “Divine” campaign. (Instagram)
Short Url
Updated 24 August 2025
Follow

Yara Shahidi stars in new Jean Paul Gaultier campaign

Yara Shahidi stars in new Jean Paul Gaultier campaign

DUBAI: Part-Middle Eastern actress Yara Shahidi is the face of Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest “Divine” campaign for the luxury brand’s new elixir.

 The French brand released its Divine eau de parfum as an elixir — a type of concentrated perfume — this week, with Shahidi starring in the campaign alongside model Raphael Diogo.

Crafted by perfumer Quentin Bisch, the scent has floral and marine notes and was first released as an eau de parfum in 2023.

The fragrance is vegan, cruelty free and made with 90 percent “natural origin ingredients responsibly sourced,” according to the label.  

In a new set of images and clips shared on social media, Shahidi can be seen posing in a gold-hued sequinned gown while clutching the new product. The actress also showed off a velvet black top edged with gold baubles in another image.

In the original 2023 campaign, Shahidi appeared alongside Spanish actress Lola Rodriquez, South African catwalk star Thando Hopa, US actress and model Tess McMillan, Lagos-born model Janet Jumbo and Brazilian runway model Ana Elisa de Brito.  

The “Grown-ish” star was also included in the casting decisions and creative aspects of the launch, which aimed to celebrate women. 

“Actress, model, activist, social justice advocate and feminist, she was one of Time Magazines’ Most Influential Teens of 2016. Harvard graduate and creator of Eighteen x 18, a platform to encourage young US people to vote, Yara Shahidi has many different faces,” the brand wrote in a statement at the time.

The collaboration came after Shahidi was spotted wearing a custom-made, bronzed look by Jean Paul Gaultier at the 2023 Met Gala.

 Shahidi is also a global ambassador for the Dior’s fashion and beauty lines and was named among National Geographic’s list of 33 “visionaries, creators, icons, and adventurers” from across the globe earlier this year.

Part-Middle Eastern star Shahidi, whose father is Iranian, was named on the list in the “Creators” subsection that celebrates “out-of-the-box thinkers developing innovative solutions.”

The “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” actress was highlighted due to her podcast “The Optimist Project.”

Shahidi, 25, launched the podcast to explore how to live a more fulfilling life with various special guests hosted on each episode.

Shahidi, a Harvard graduate, says she was inspired by the dynamic conversations she has with members of her diverse family. 

 


Roksanda Ilincic on Gulf fashion and dressing global celebrities

Roksanda Ilincic on Gulf fashion and dressing global celebrities
Updated 03 November 2025
Follow

Roksanda Ilincic on Gulf fashion and dressing global celebrities

Roksanda Ilincic on Gulf fashion and dressing global celebrities

DUBAI: Designer Roksanda Ilincic visited the Gulf recently with pitstops in Dubai and Riyadh to show off her latest collection and mark her collaboration with the UAE’s Jumeirah Marsa Al-Arab, where she created towering floral arrangements as the hotel’s first artist-in-residence.

Having dressed the likes of Catherine Middleton, Michelle Obama, Blake Lively, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway, the designer’s creations have also been flaunted in the Middle East with Saudi-born Jordanian royal Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein showing off a canary yellow look by Roksanda in 2023.

“(I) have to consider that those women are really under (a) magnifying glass … everything needs to be not just perfect, but also needs to last,” she said of dressing high-profile women.

The London-based, Serbian-born designer also spoke to Arab News about her Spring/Summer 2026 collection, which marks her eponymous label’s 20th anniversary.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ROKSANDA (@roksandailincic)

The collection was partly inspired by British artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, who is known for her modernist work and her method of piercing the block. According to Pace Gallery, she created her first pierced sculpture in 1932, “introducing emptied space as an element in her compositions.”

To mirror that, Ilincic introduces organic holes into her upcoming collection, appearing on lapels and bodices across the line.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ROKSANDA (@roksandailincic)

“At a time when female voices were not necessarily heard, she created an incredible body of work that is still very modern, very relevant today,” Ilincic said of the artist, who died in 1975.

“I started with her cutouts and dresses that were inspired by nature,” Ilincic said, adding that Hepworth’s distinct use of metal rods was reflected in her fashion collection through fringe detailing.

It will probably be a hit in the Gulf, where the designer says “women … love to experiment with fashion. I think they’re very, very passionate about fashion

“They love to show off their personalities, but at the same time they appreciate the art and craft behind it,” she said of her customers in the region.

When it comes to sharing advice for up-and-coming designers in Saudi Arabia, Ilincic stressed the importance of staying true to one’s creative vision.

“I think it’s very important to find their own voice … having that authenticity, uniqueness, very particular point of view, I think that’s probably the starting point.

“People may not immediately respond to it, but I think it’s important for them to (stick) to their original vision and something that is very true to them, not (try) to follow something that is already out there.”