Ashi, the Saudi-born couturier, has been chosen to design cabin crew attire at Riyadh Air, even as he hopes to stage a major haute couture show in Paris this June.
The connection marks another milestone for the Kingdom's new airline, whose stated goal is to “combine spectacular couture and exceptional design with functionality ahead of its inaugural flight in 2025.”
Funded by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the mammoth state authority, Riyadh Air plans to set new standards in customer service and style, revolutionizing aviation through a digital mindset and attention to detail.
“It is a great honor to collaborate with Riyadh Air to design the airline's first cabin crew fashion line. The airline will play an important role in the future of Saudi Arabia by making Riyadh one of the world's key destinations. “I am delighted to be part of such an important project for our nation… I am looking forward to sharing the cabin crew fashion line with the world and seeing the Riyadh Air team wearing my creations when they make their maiden flight in 2025.” said like that, founder and creative director of Ashi Studio.
In 2023, Ashi became the first couturier from the Gulf region to join the Paris Fédération de la Haute Couture as a guest member, showing an acclaimed collection in the French capital.
“It is a hugely proud moment for Riyadh Air to work with an exceptionally talented designer like Mohammed Ashi for our beautiful cabin crew fashion line. Our cabin crew embody the panache and style that Riyadh Air represents, so it is imperative that we partner with a like-minded innovator who not only understands Saudi culture and hospitality, but also captures the essence of our brand with a bold visual impact.” said Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air.
Born in 1980 in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Ashi moved to the United States when he went to boarding school at age 13 in Burlington, Vermont. Before pursuing a master's degree in marketing at NYU.
“I was in New York when 9/11 happened, which was very shocking. She was on the street on her way to school. Then I went to Paris, and that's when I told my family that I wanted to study fashion and they were horrified. My father said, 'this is a women's job in Saudi Arabia,'” Ashi recalled while she had coffee in her Avenue Hoche studio and workshop.
After becoming largely isolated, Ashi kept to himself. Fortunately, the family's resistance finally subsided nine years ago, when his house began to gain attention and traction.
Leaving the United States, he studied at fashion schools Esmod Paris and Esmod Beirut, before graduating in 2004. After which he did a “great one-year internship in Paris with Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy.” Before joining Elie Saab, where she spent three years, she helped open the Lebanese couturier's ready-to-wear, traveling back and forth between Lebanon and France.
At that time, he opened his own house in Beirut in 2007. Slowly developing his brand, in 2013, he was discovered by the late, great Franca Sozzani, when the editor of Vogue Italia invited him to Vogue Talent to exhibit beneath Tiepolo's frescoes in Milan. Nurture and recognize his talent.
“Franca encouraged me to make ready-to-wear,” Ashi recalls, although after her tragic death in 2016 she returned to haute couture. Furthermore, as political tensions between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon increased, Ashi eventually returned to Paris, where he opened a small studio in the 9th arrondissement, “accompanied by my sewing machine.”
Her first real show was at the Ritz in 2019, just before Covid, which forced Ashi, like so many others, to start hosting video exhibitions. But, after multiple requests, last June the Federation accepted Ashi as Guest member. Allowing him to appear on the Federation's official haute couture calendar, a notable achievement and the first for a Gulf couturier.
“I have a story to tell. A dark romance story. A sad moment can move you more than a happy one. I probably took some of that from Riccardo, especially because he was in that mood when I work with him,” says Ashi, when asked that defines its DNA. “It's more about giving emotions than giving a dress. I don't call what I do dresses, they are objects,” she laughs.
Starting in 2015, she started making a big impact on the red carpet, when Eva Longoria wore Ashi to the Grammys. Flying to Los Angeles to do the testing himself. Later, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé became fans.
He does not consider himself a Middle Eastern designer, but rather a citizen of the world, adapted to whatever city he lives in. Still, last October, Ashi staged a triumphant return show at Riyadh Fashion Week, the opening show of the debut season, presenting her voluptuous forms in a custom-made rockscape outside the King Fahad Library.
“It was a fashion moment for me. But, you know, my first clients were Saudis when I lived in Beirut! Then we spoke in English and they didn't even know where I was from,” laughs Ashi, who visits Riyadh once or twice a year. Today, he is a true pioneer in the Arab world, celebrated for being the first Gulf couturier to break into the rarefied world of Parisian haute couture.
“That was a big deal in the Gulf, in the newspapers and on TikTok. It was really shocking when it was announced that he had been accepted by the French Federation. My family was also happy,” reflects Ashi.
His next step, a show on the last day of haute couture week, Thursday morning, June 27, at the Musée de la Monnaie, on the banks of the Seine, before 250 guests.
“It will be my largest collection, 40 looks. And the most expressive collection,” predicts Ashi, that she will break new ground with black femme fatale dresses made from soft banana leaf jelly fabrics; or raffia and taffeta dresses sculpted in her effervescent style.
Before the release of the full uniform for the fall. A collection of Ashi avionics designed to ensure that Riyadh Air cabin crew not only look immaculate but are also comfortable and able to provide unrivaled, professional and first-class service to their guests. The latest expression of the endless rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, an airline designed to position itself above Emirates. The competition continues, dressed by Ashi, very south.
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