
The Arab Designers Turning Heads On The Cannes Red Carpet
The biggest red carpet of the year had a distinctly Arab touch. These are the Arab designers who made Cannes 2025 unforgettable
As we all know, Cannes is more than just a celebration of cinema, it's one of the most anticipated red-carpet stages in the world, where fashion stars alongside film. Each year, we look forward to the glamour, the jewels, and the unforgettable looks that define the season.
This year's Cannes red carpet was a proud moment for the region, with some of the most talked-about celebrities dressed in designs that hailed from the Middle East.
Here, we round up the standout looks from Cannes 2025.
Eli Saab
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Eva Longoria
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Halle Berry
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Youssra
Zuhair Murad
Maria Borges
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Alessandra Ambrosio
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Anna Andres
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Chloe Lecareux
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Rami Kadi
Youssra
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Amina Khalil
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Atelier Zuhra
Farhana Bodi
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Harpers Bazaar Arabia
8 hours ago
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
'Find What You're Good At And Unleash It…' Ola Farahat Is The Harper's Bazaar Saudi Summer 2025 Issue Cover Star
The style star on social media pitfalls, striving to live a simple life and her love for Saudi Arabia 'The Ola Farahat on Instagram is different from the real me – the one my friends and family know,' the 35-year-old tastemaker tells Harper's Bazaar Saudi. 'I wouldn't say I have two different personalities, but at the same time there's a difference.' When asked what advice she'd give others who see her 1.4 million-strong, impressively monetised following on Instagram and strive to emulate her, she urges, 'Start. Get that post up.' She adds, 'You have to stay true to yourself. And it can be challenging. Especially when working with huge brands and trying to do the best that you can. Make sure what you are offering is different and unique – and is you. A lot of times nowadays I feel like so many personalities have the same style across the board, especially when something is trending. But it adds value when you put your stamp on it. Find what you are good at and unleash it.' 'I started visiting Saudi shortly after I met my husband and got engaged,' she says. 'I feel a real sense of connection with the community and with his family and friends. I feel like I have a really great insight into Saudi culture thanks to them. My fondest memories? When I took Lily for the first time. It was really special. We went to the mall, and we were getting spotted, and so many people recognised and loved Lily. It was really cute, because they referred to Lily as 'their girl', because she's fully Saudi like her dad. My daughter knows her culture really well. We always talk to her about it. It's really important. Also, there's a very strong influence from her dad and his side of the family. She sees them a lot, and I think she's just picking up on everything that she needs to know from them.' Sage advice from someone who has collaborated with the likes of Gucci, Swarovski and Estée Lauder, and is known for her consummate professionalism; a broken toe didn't deter her from getting on her flight to shoot this story in Jeddah. The fact that we photographed her in the Kingdom was also a huge draw, as Ola feels very much at home there, given her other half, Hashim Said Hashim – whom she first met in the summer of 2018 – is Saudi, as is her three-year-old daughter Lily. It seems like Lily is getting used to being in the limelight, like her high-profile mother. A constant on front rows of catwalk presentations, and at the hottest fashion parties, Ola's status in the style scene has been cemented over the years. It's not something she takes for granted; 'Just the access that I get is super exciting,' she smiles excitedly. 'Sometimes it's surreal being at a show of a designer that I love – just seeing the collection first hand – most of the labels that I work with are actually my dream brands since I was a child. Being at shows is a major highlight. Or just even being gifted a new drop, like a bag. You see a bag drop, and then suddenly you get it in the mail! I feel like, wow, this can't be real.' Like in any career, there are major highs that it feels validating to reach. 'A major milestone would have to be my Harper's Bazaar Junior [S/S2023] cover. That was huge. I couldn't believe I was shooting the cover – and with my daughter! Omhigosh! This cover is another milestone,' she gushes. Not bad for someone who fell into this role, while working a desk job in strategy and finance. 'There were just four or five of us at the time. I guess it was easier then as there weren't that many people sharing as much,' she recalls, thinking back on how she got her start just by having a profile on an open setting. Ola is being modest of course. What attracts fans is the fact that she puts her own spin on things. 'I always like to add that bit of oomph,' she says, smiling. 'My style is timeless, but I like to spice up a look. So if I am wearing an all-nude outfit, I will add a pink heel for a pop of colour. I like to spice it up.' It is no wonder she was handed the Arab Fashion Influencer of the Year gong at the recent Emigala Fashion & Beauty Awards. And like all jobs – though she admits, 'It doesn't feel like one. When you really love something it doesn't feel like a job' – there are always challenges. 'Sometimes I do get exhausted. I think every creator feels pressure at one point or another. Sometimes I go off the grid and want my peace. But the algorithm doesn't help. It is clear that the more you share the more you grow. I am not immune to it but I have gotten better.' She also touches on the fact that it is tricky to portray the perfect, luxury-filled life when there are so many conflicts in the world at large, and the Middle East in particular. 'Considering what our region is going through, it's challenging to talk about things like fashion, or material things when so many more important things are happening in the world.' Many in her field expand their portfolio and diversify, moving away from concentrating purely on their feeds. That's something Ola is definitely considering too. 'In my industry I admire Negin Mirsalehi,' she name-checks the former Bazaar Arabia cover star who launched her own extremely successful hair-care line Gisou. 'I like how she founded her own brand, managed to scale it and make it her passion. It is such a success story. Now she is competing with huge international brands. That is something to admire. It makes me feel like I should focus on building my own brand. It takes a lot of dedication to get to where she is. I would definitely consider expanding into other roles. As time passes and as I get older, my interests evolve so I would love to get into new spheres, maybe health and wellness as I am really passionate about that. Time will tell!' In the meantime, she's balancing her current schedule with motherhood. Having a daughter has made her even more acutely aware of the dangers faced by those in her industry. Would she want Lily to follow in her online footsteps? 'Yes and no. I think kids these days are on social media way too soon. I started pursuing it in my mid-twenties and I still found it difficult. It affected my mental health, especially in the beginning. I was still finding myself and who I was. I want her to live her life away from social media. To have friends and live in the now rather than in this digital world. But when she has built her character outside of the internet, and has a good head on her shoulders, then I would love for her to follow in my footsteps. There is so much external noise, and so much criticism; you have to have a lot of confidence to keep going and be true to who you are. Sometimes you can fall into the trap of wanting a platform but not being authentic to yourself, or copying another creator or just not being who you are. I want her to know who she is and to love herself.' Starting a family is a deeply personal decision, which is why it was perhaps surprising that Ola was so candid about the difficulties she had conceiving – even talking about the miscarriage she suffered. 'I was very honest when it came to my IVF journey,' she says. 'I had reached a point where I was tired of sharing the most perfect parts of my life. I wanted to show people that this pregnancy didn't just happen. People often look at my life and think: like she just happens to get married, she just happens to get another designer handbag, she happens to be on another vacation. For the first time in my life I thought to myself, 'I don't just want to announce this and pretend that it is just another thing that has happened seamlessly in my life.' I wanted people to see that I struggled. I struggle every single day. I wanted them to relate to me. I am someone who specialises in luxury and fashion – honestly, it is not the most relatable thing to do – but in this instance I felt that a lot of women would relate. And they did. It was something I was so scared to share but it was crazy how positive it was. It was crazy how I suddenly joined so many other journeys as people shared their own paths to IVF, told me about their miscarriages and birth stories. Everyone was messaging me. I tried to be there for as many women as I could. I have absolutely no regrets about that.' The response also led to her knowing, that 'I would share my motherhood journey.' Having a child fundamentally changed everything, and Ola laughs that it wasn't something she had braced for. 'Oh boy did it change my path! My brain rewired. I am a new person. People don't talk about this this enough – no one warns you – my friends changed, my interests changed, how I had fun changed… I went back [to work] to do all these trips and things I used to before having Lily and it just didn't feel good anymore. I wasn't prepared for that. It took me a while to adjust. I changed completely. The way that I spend my time now is so selective. I would rather spend all my time with Lily if I could choose.' Luckily, her husband 'has been supportive since day one. Honestly we are very choosy about what we share. We love to share bigger moments, birthdays and things like that. We don't share the little moments, our day-today details. But 100 per cent he has been very supportive.' Given all the glamour that surrounds her, Ola, who grew up in Ontario, Canada is remarkably grounded. She doesn't flinch when asked what she hopes for for her family, saying instantly: 'A simple life. I think simplicity is so valuable. I want Lily to have that slow life. Real friends. I don't want her to feel that pressure that kids are feeling a lot these days when it comes to their appearance, to what they own… I wish her a slow, simple, nice life.' And with a mother like Ola guiding and protecting her, it seems like Lily has a very powerful role model to follow. Lead Image: Long Sleeve Fading Flora Print on Georgette Maxi Dress in Green and Pink with Contrast Cuffs, Self-tie Bow and Detachable Tonal Lining; Mary Jane Ballerinas in Beige Ebony Original GG Canvas with Bow and Light Gold Horsebit Detail; Earrings in Gold Toned Metal with Shell Motif, POA, all Gucci Group Editor in Chief: Olivia Phillips. Group Managing Editor: Natasha Faruque. Photography: Ben Cope. Styling: Nour Bou Ezz.


The National
10 hours ago
- The National
Plestia Alaqad published her Gaza diaries 'for children of a free Palestine'
Plestia Alaqad doesn't want her readers to believe that anything in her book, The Eyes of Gaza, really happened. And even more so, she prays you'll never be able to relate. 'I don't want to live in a world where people are relating to the book,' Alaqad tells The National. 'My target audience is the upcoming generations who will read this book in a free Palestine, and they will be in disbelief. They'll be like, 'how is that possible? How did this happen? How was that OK?' 'I'm hoping when they read it, the world will be a better place – so much better that they won't even believe what I wrote really happened to us, or that such an evil existed,' Alaqad continues. But as her book – which collects her diaries from October 7 through the day she was forced to flee her home and the months that she watched the tragedy continue from afar – hits shelves across the world, it's still all too real to ignore. 'We say the Nakba happened in 1948 but in reality it never stopped. Today, we're in 2025 and the Nakba is still continuing. There is still a genocide that is unfolding in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians are getting killed – are getting starved. And we don't know when the killing will stop,' says Alaqad. Alaqad was 21 when the war began, living with her family in Gaza and just beginning her career as a journalist. She dreamt of one day becoming a writer – not of tragedy, but of beauty. 'I was always thinking that my first book would be poetry, or a novel. Something with positive vibes,' says Alaqad. But overnight, she became one of the most essential voices reporting from inside the besieged enclave, publishing short, emotionally raw Instagram videos that reached millions. For many struggling to process what they were seeing or to parse conflicting narratives – Alaqad was not just the eyes of Gaza, but its heart and soul. 'In Gaza, I feel we always take on jobs that can help our homeland, that can help our people. The reason I wanted to become a journalist is to show the world through my eyes – to cover what was happening and to humanise us,' says Alaqad. As vital as her videos were in the first days of the catastrophe, the words she wrote when she put her camera down are quietly more devastating. In her first few entries, her instincts are more logical and immediate – where to go, what to carry, how to keep herself and her loved ones safe – but as the violence grows harder to fathom, her dispatches grow more internally complex and scattered. For Alaqad, that was the intention. 'I want the reader to feel all sort of emotions – to feel sad at a point, to feel hopeful at a point and then to feel hopeless. Because if you're going to see Gaza through my eyes, that is the way I truly felt about it. You start your day feeling like, 'Oh my God, I'll get killed today. There isn't food, there isn't anything. Oh, my God, what is this life?' Then five minutes later, a little child is being kind to you, and you start feeling optimistic. For me, this is Gaza.' At times, the horror she describes is interrupted by humour, such as children worrying about donkeys left behind in the rubble, or friend clutching a houseplant while fleeing. Alaqad understands the dissonance. 'Humour is a coping mechanism,' she says. 'We don't laugh because it's funny. We laugh because it's the only way to survive.' 'It's part of who we are. I met a Lebanese comedian several months ago, and my friends and I were telling him stories and laughing. He said to us, 'I'm confused, am I allowed to laugh with you? Will that be offensive?' I told him: 'yeah, you can laugh – not because it's funny, but because that's how we get through it,' says Alaqad. And that tension – between reporter and refugee, storyteller and subject, urgency and uncertainty – defines not only the book, but also Alaqad's life since. Since leaving Gaza with her family on November 22, 2023, the young writer has struggled to move forward with her life, or even find time to be Plestia the young woman rather than Plestia the platform for peace. 'Whenever I try to move forward in life, it feels like what's happening in Gaza pulls me backward. Even if I'm physically outside, with access to food, clean water – I can't help but be in Gaza in my heart,' says Alaqad. As a result, she's paused her master's studies, turned down full-time jobs, and refuses to commit to long-term projects. 'How can I plan anything when I don't know when the genocide will stop?,' she asks. 'Earlier this year, when they announced a ceasefire, I thought the moment the borders opened, I'd go back. I even started talking to different organisations that can help me enter Gaza, but of course, none of them were able to help,' Alaqad explains. Alaqad holds on to one guiding hope – that when the violence ends, her real work will begin. 'I want to go back to report on the rebuilding of Gaza, and that's holding me back from doing a lot of things. In the back of my brain I'm like, 'maybe in two days, maybe in one week, the genocide will be over.' So I can't commit to this or that, to sign a contract, because I need to be able to go back the moment it's possible. 'I've always wanted to start a podcast, but now is not a good time. What if I start talking to guests, and it ends, and I'm able to go back? Then I'll have to drop everything, and that wouldn't be fair to everyone, and so on. So I just don't do it. I can't just plan my life minus Gaza. I'm always holding on to the hope that the genocide will be over.' In the meantime, as she takes speaking engagements across the world, works freelance and continues to raise awareness about the death and starvation where her home once stood, she's spending her free time reading. She's reading a lot of bestsellers new and old – Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and various works by Agatha Christie. 'I think it helps me understand how the world works. I stick with bestsellers, because I want to know why these books resonated with millions of people. Because when you understand this, you understand what people are interested in. 'There are many books, in my opinion, that should sell millions of copies, and they don't. I think it's because people don't want to know this truth. It will make them feel bad about the world we live in. 'People want easy truths. Everyone wants to feel better about themselves. No one wants to feel like, 'Oh my God, there's a lot happening in Gaza, but I'm helpless. There's nothing I can do. That's an ugly feeling that no one wants to pick,' says Alaqad. In many ways, Alaqad has become disillusioned with the world outside of Gaza. Each day, as she posted the day's tragic updates, a part of her hoped that the world would come to the rescue overnight – waking up each day to find the blaze only growing greater. 'When I started writing, I was 21 years old. Now, I'm 23, turning 24, and I feel I've grown up a lot. I was naive. I no longer have a lot of expectations for the world because of what's happening. I now know it isn't only about Palestine. I have realised and understood just how ugly the world can be.' But each day, rather than sink into despair, Alaqad finds the strength to stay positive. It's a hope that's defined her people since the tragedy began nearly 80 years ago – and a light that she will never let extinguish within her. 'I'm always thinking, 'what's the impact you're going to leave on people? What's the message or purpose behind the work you're doing? Like, if you were to die today, would you be satisfied with what you're doing?' I live for truth – that is my purpose.'


Harpers Bazaar Arabia
13 hours ago
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
Emily Ratajkowski's Monogram Era Is Here
Cannes, canvas and quiet confidence: the GG gets its groove back with Emily Gucci is having a major monogram moment – and Emily Ratajkowski is the face of it. The new GG Obsession campaign, shot by Daniel Arnold in the inimitable Cannes sunshine, captures the intimate rhythm of ultra-luxe life – all woven together by the unmistakable glimpse of the Gucci monogram. Emily does what she does best: makes everything look effortlessly cool. She floats through the scenes like its just another day in the life – a beach moment here, a city corner there – all with the GG monogram front and centre. She debuts the new Gucci Giglio bag (first spotted at the Cruise May 2026 show in Florence), a sculptural piece that's equal parts vintage and now. The campaign also revives the Ophidia line with new shapes – mini GG canvas duffles and shoulder bags. Think: vintage vibes, bold web stripes and that classic double-G hardware we all love. The whole campaign feels like a love letter to Gucci archive- but reimagined for now. With a mix of classic codes and laid-back styling, its proof that the monogram isn't just back, it never left. Whether you are dressing up or dressing down – there's a GG piece to match the mood. And with Emily as the face? Consider us obsessed.