Lights, red carpet, the venue, Riyadh season celebration. The “1001 Seasons of Elie Saab,” taking place in the capital city of Saudi Arabia during Riyadh Season, was an event to celebrate Lebanese fashion designer, Elie Saab, 45th year in his fashion career. The event included many celebrity performances and a fashion show, including Celine Dion, Halle Berry, Nancy Ajram, Amr Diab, Camilla Cabello, Jennifer Lopez and many more wearing Saab’s pieces. The event featured over 300 looks, all created by Saab.
Saab specializes in bridal couture, first creating pieces for the women in his area and neighborhood. Saab now designs everything from bridal dresses to tracksuits. Saab is known for designing clothing for queens, princesses and celebrities. Saab also has a fragrance line, interior design line and a kids clothing line.
The show was first opened up by American singer Halle Berry. This was renowned because Berry wore the same dress Saab designed back from the 2002 Academy Awards when she was the first woman of color to achieve the best actress Oscar for her role in “Monsters Ball” (2001). She reenacted her winning the best actress Oscar from 2002. The dress is made up of a stunning mesh torso decorated with florals and a draped silk-taffeta skirt. Berry is known for wearing Saab’s pieces.
Cabello remixed her famous “Havana” song by starting it as, “Saudia ooh na-na.” Some people felt that this wasn’t appropriate because she’s including a holy land in her lyrics. Ajram sang all-time favorite, “Hessa Beek,” which was released in April 2017. The audience appeared to tear up as Ajram was singing, because of how emotional it was. Diab sang his renowned “Nour El Ain” song remixed. People on social media have been calling Diab’s performance boring, and repetitive since he sings “Nour El Ain” at every event he attends. However, this song should be sung at events that are hosted in the Middle East with a foreign audience because it allows the audience to be immersed in Saab’s culture and mesmerized by Arab music.
While the artists were performing, 90 models were busy modeling over 300 amazing looks. Saab put thought into everything about this show. The clothing that the models were wearing matched the theme of the artist that was performing on the stage as well as the overall color scheme that the artist used for their show. For example, while Ajram was performing, all models were wearing pieces by Saab that were a light blue color to match the emotions of her performance. Cabellos’ lineup was flower-themed and had a pink-and-white color scheme. The lineup didn’t look special or luxurious because the dresses looked basic.
Dion took the stage to finally close the show, her beige dress was breathtaking, making the whole stage sparkle. Dion closed out the show with the ‘Titanic” (1997) song “The Power of Love.” She also performed “I’m Alive,” which had the audience in love with the performance, singing with Dion. The clothing went under notice though, as people were more focused on the singing. The majority of the clothing was stunning and creative. Other looks were basic and could’ve been more creative to match the theme.
Riyadh Season’s purpose was to help diversify the economy in Saudi Arabia, and I think that Saab definitely helped with it. The fashion side of the show was a success for Saab and the Riyadh Season. The celebrities helped Saudi Arabia’s vision in helping bolster tourism to Riyadh. One of his previous fashion shows, “Spring 2024” featured 64 fashion looks without famous celebrities. Saab made this show iconic compared to his previous fashion shows, he had more celebrities than usual and designed more looks.