Syrian couturier Rami Al Ali made history Thursday as the first fashion designer from his country to feature in the official Paris Haute Couture Week calendar in a new landmark for Arab representation in the luxury business.
After years of showing his tailored evening dresses on the sidelines of Couture Week, he was invited this year by France's Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to join the program.
He sent out models in long pleated dresses in pastel colors, making elaborate use of silk, rolled crepe fabric, embroidery and beading in a collection that reflected his optimism about the future of his war-ravaged country.
"We called the collection the 'Guardian of Light', and it came at a time that is very hopeful, very promising," the 53-year-old told AFP beforehand.
The fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December led to the rise of opposition-turned-transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, which has brought a fragile end to nearly 14 years of civil war.
Al Ali, who grew up in the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor before moving to Dubai, where he founded his brand more than 20 years ago, was holding back tears as he spoke to reporters afterwards.
He told AFP he had been feeling "nervous, excited, tired, happy" about his breakthrough moment, which follows years of dressing A-listers and royalty including Beyonce and Oscar winner Helen Mirren.
- 'Bolder, braver' -
After decades of Syria being a byword for violence and political oppression, Al Ali hopes that artists will now help highlight the country's rich history and design culture.
"I think now we have much more freedom in expressing ourselves in all different aspects, political, humanitarian, creative. We have a lot to say, and definitely we are bolder, braver in the way we express it," he said.
Haute Couture Week is separate from the ready-to-wear Paris Fashion Week and is dedicated to handcrafted, one-of-a-kind creations made for red carpet events, galas, and other high-profile social occasions.
The program this week included two designers from Lebanon -- Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad - as well as Cameroon's Imane Ayissi, the sole sub-Saharan African label included in the calendar.
Saudi Arabian designer Mohammed Ashi's brand Ashi Studio was also in the program.
Ayissi, who joined the Couture calendar in 2020 at the same time as much-hyped Indian designer Rahul Mishra, paid tribute to the increasing diversity on the Paris fashion circuit.
"It shows that things are changing, that things are moving forward," former model Ayissi told AFP this week after his show, which made elaborate use of traditional African textiles.
