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‘Hia Hub’ in 3rd Edition in Riyadh with more Diverse Program

The five-day event will take place in Riyadh’s JAX District
The five-day event will take place in Riyadh’s JAX District
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‘Hia Hub’ in 3rd Edition in Riyadh with more Diverse Program

The five-day event will take place in Riyadh’s JAX District
The five-day event will take place in Riyadh’s JAX District

Fashion lovers, makers and influencers are set to meet at ‘Hia Hub’, one of the largest and most sophisticated fashion forums in the region, between November 3 and 7. The 3rd edition of ‘Hia Hub’ in Riyadh is hosting brilliant figures from the worlds of fashion, art and design, as well as regional and international experts and brands.

The five-day event will take place in Riyadh’s JAX District. Curated in partnership with “Fashion Future”, the event includes a variety of discussions, seminars, masterclasses, workshops, interactive exhibitions and live performances.

Among the prestigious names partaking in the event are iconic model Kate Moss, Lebanese actresses Nadine Njeim and Stephanie Atalla, Co-Creative Directors from Oscar De La Renta, entrepreneur and brand consultant Nojoud Al Rumaihi, Maison Future Bedouin and more. They are set to take part in inspiring discussions and dialogues highlighting the latest trends in fashion, beauty, art and design.

Hia Hub, in partnership with Fashion Futures, the Saudi Fashion Commission’s annual event, have curated a dynamic program of insightful discussions, seminars, masterclasses, workshops, interactive exhibitions and live performances.

Over the course of 5 days, Hia Hub will explore the transformation taking place in the international fashion, beauty and creative industries with global icons and brands, such as YSL Beauty; Jimmy Choo; Hindash, celebrity makeup artist; Yoon Ahn, creative director for Ambush and Dior Homme Jewelry, and Global Women’s Curator for Nike; Karla Welch, celebrity stylist and creative director; Dexter Navy, filmmaker and photographer; Elizabeth von der Goltz, CEO of Browns and chief fashion and merchandising officer at FARFETCH; and Johan Lindeberg, founder of J. Lindeberg and JAY3LLE.

The program will also explore the trends driving the fast-growing local and regional fashion and design industries with the top entrepreneurs, designers and personalities, including Designer Andrea Wazen, Hia Magazine’s Fashion Director Jeff Aoun, CEO and Founder of Yataghan Jewelry Sarah Abudawood, and Actress Stephanie Atalla.

Mike Fairburn, managing director of SRMGx, said: “This year, we have an exciting and dynamic program that is bigger and bolder than previous years. Hia Hub will explore the latest trends and topics, connecting fans with our industry’s leaders who are redefining fashion and beauty. We are excited to introduce the new shopping hub, the Billboard Arabia live music stage, pop-up art installations, immersive luxury brand experiences, as well as a whole host of dining and lounge spaces. We have introduced a simplified range of ticket options, as Hia Hub is a conference for everyone. So, whether you’re interested in mastering the art of influence with leading digital entrepreneur and luxury consultant Nojoud Al Rumaihi, learning about the latest techniques and trends from Celebrity Makeup Artist Hindash, or looking to spend an evening with friends exploring our many experiences, Hia Hub will truly have something for everyone.”

Hia Hub is also focused on inspiring the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs and creatives by providing a platform to learn and interact with leading global fashion and design institutions. The conference will feature masterclasses and talks with Dr. Leyla Neri, head of the Master of Arts Programs at the French Institute of Fashion, Paris; Dr. Andrée-Anne Lemieux, head of IFM-

Kering Research and Chair on Sustainability at IFM & Kering; Adrien Roberts, international director of Education Accademia Costume & Moda, GFF Trustee, GFWi chairperson; Flavia Collatina, senior leather goods designer at ACM; Sonia Veroni, CEO Modateca Deanna and director CKD Master; and Ozlem Cakir, professional image and communication consultant.

Burak Çakmak, CEO of the Saudi Fashion Commission, said: “The Fashion Commission is proud to partner with Hia Hub on this year’s Fashion Futures event. Together we are bringing leading academics and experts from regional and global fashion institutions to foster insightful conversations on how the next generation of entrepreneurs and creative talents can chart a new path, owning their stories and fusing purpose with creativity. At Fashion Futures, our core mission is to educate, facilitate discussions, foster global exchange and create opportunities in our industry. Hia Hub is the perfect platform to do just that.”

“Hia Hub is an amazing opportunity to bring our industry together. Now in our 31st year, Hia Magazine has continually developed new ways to engage and interact with our audience. From regional and global fashion icons and visionaries to the top influencers and leading brands, Hia Hub is a chance to connect with industry leaders and exchange ideas on how to foster the industry’s growth for the better,” said editor-in-chief of Hia Magazine Mai Badr.

“Fashion has a profound influence on every aspect of our lives – art, lifestyle, culture, identity, personal expression, and history. This year, Hia Hub will explore these different and important areas, and showcase the power of fashion.”

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Fashion

In Bolivia's Scrappy Highlands, Proud Indigenous Cholas Take the Runway by Storm

A woman models a creation by a local designer at a Chola fashion show, promoting the Andean style and beauty of Aymara a woman, on Viacha, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A woman models a creation by a local designer at a Chola fashion show, promoting the Andean style and beauty of Aymara a woman, on Viacha, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
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In Bolivia's Scrappy Highlands, Proud Indigenous Cholas Take the Runway by Storm

A woman models a creation by a local designer at a Chola fashion show, promoting the Andean style and beauty of Aymara a woman, on Viacha, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A woman models a creation by a local designer at a Chola fashion show, promoting the Andean style and beauty of Aymara a woman, on Viacha, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In the huddled markets, sprawling farms and pulsing parties of Viacha, a town southeast of Bolivia’s capital, it's typical for women to sport bowler hats, tiered skirts and fringed shawls.
What's less typical is for the fashion spotlight to turn to these outfits — worn by “Cholas,” Indigenous women from the highland Altiplano.
But late Friday in Viacha, some 22 kilometers (13 miles) from Bolivia's capital of La Paz — over 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) above sea level — awe-struck teenage boys and proud mothers throbbed the main square as the town’s dirt roadway was briefly transformed into a runway, The Associated Press said.
One by one, the girls from Viacha — mostly students between 15-25 years old — strutted down the catwalk to a surprising soundtrack of early 2000s American pop music. Street vendors hawked hot dogs and empanadas. Supporters cheered in Spanish and the Indigenous Aymaran language.
Wearing glittering shoes and brightly colored, bunched-out skirts called “polleras,” the amateur models of all heights and sizes twirled, tipped their hats and threw sultry glances at the crowd.
“Years ago, people would associate these skirts with the fields, they'd look down on us as rural peasants,” said Rogelia Canaviri, 42, who couldn't stop smiling as she watched her daughter, Carolina, stride down the runway in dangling pearl earrings, the sequins on her layer-cake red skirt catching the stage lights.
“It's something I'm proud of, to see my daughter and her friends enjoy what I've worn for work my whole life," she said, pointing to the wool shawl, velvet hat and lower-key beige pollera she had on — the same clothes, she said, she still wears to milk her cows and sell her cheese at open-air markets. Her own mother did the same.
Generations ago, the Aymara were subject to waves of conquest and dispossession, first by the Inca, then by the Spanish, who forced the Indigenous communities to abandon their traditional way of dressing and adopt the style then-popular in the court of Seville.
Legend has it that the jaunty felt bowler hat became critical to the get-up after being introduced by British railway workers in the 1920s.
Bolivia's whiter, more affluent population has used “Chola” — and its diminutive, “Cholita” — as dismissive racial epithets. But in recent decades that stigma has dissipated, with Indigenous Aymara proudly reclaiming the word and younger Bolivians rediscovering the charm of their mothers' and grandmothers' vibrant garments.
“I think the ‘Cholita’ has become something very interesting, very exciting in our current context,” said Brittany Cantuta Valeria, 21, a first-time model, her hat brimmed upward and cheeks flushed a reddish gold.
“We’re now at the point of being respected because of everything that’s been implemented, so I wear this to have fun, to show off, to go to parties and dances. I have nothing to do with working the fields.”
Most of the girls parading onstage Friday, in the show organized by the Viacha municipality, grew up during the tenure of former leftist President Evo Morales (2006-2019), the country’s first-ever Indigenous president whose championing of Bolivia's Indigenous majority earned him fervent support across the cinderblock and adobe homes of the Altiplano.
Morales instituted a new constitution, which, among other things, expanded recognition for Bolivia’s 36 ethnic groups. He promoted the teaching of Indigenous languages and boosted state funding for folkloric arts. More Chola runway shows and beauty contests cropped up, widening the reach of Bolivia's native highland culture.
But fashion fanfare was largely limited to La Paz, the seat of the government. Before Friday, the town of Viacha, like most of the other villages across these austere mountain-rimmed plains, had never taken its turn on the runway.
“I was really nervous but I realized this is the first time for all of us,” said 15-year-old Tomasa Ramirez. “I feel so pretty. Now I know it’s my dream to be a Cholita model.”
With Bolivia's economic crisis closing like a vise on families whose money has diminished in value while the cost of food has doubled, many girls said walking the show was no easy feat.
Top-notch velvet hats and shawls made from vicuña wool with silk fringes can fetch thousands of dollars. Polleras cost a few hundred dollars. Then there's the jewelry — ideally made of real gold, pearls and diamonds when worn to these kinds of formal events.
“This year there was no way I could have real ones,” said Julieta Mamani, 16, pointing to her gold-colored earrings. “I hope things will be different next year.”
Watching her 24-year-old daughter pose for selfies in her elaborate skirt, Canaviri, the dairy farmer, has another hope.
“I hope she doesn't like wearing pants,” she said of her daughter. “I tried on pants once in my life, and I felt naked. Never again.”