When Stella McCartney takes her bow in Riyadh later this month, it will mark more than a first for the British designer. It will signal a shift in where the fashion world turns its gaze. Riyadh Fashion Week, now entering its third edition, returns this week with over thirty runway shows and presentations, making it the Kingdom’s largest fashion gathering to date. The scale alone speaks volumes about Saudi Arabia’s expanding role as a creative capital, but McCartney’s upcoming show has given this year’s program an unmistakably global inflection.
Scheduled to close the week on October 21, McCartney’s presentation will feature a curated edit of recent collections alongside archival pieces that trace the evolution of her sustainable, cruelty-free design language. The choice of Riyadh is intentional. It aligns her long-standing commitment to responsible luxury with a region intent on building a fashion ecosystem rooted in both innovation and identity.
Across six days, the program will unfold as a cross-section of Saudi design today: couture by Tima Abid and Atelier Hekayat, contemporary minimalism from Abadia and Hindamme, and experimental streetwear from 1886. Vivienne Westwood will also make her regional runway debut in collaboration with Art of Heritage by Her Highness Princess Noura Al Faisal.
The Saudi Fashion Commission’s review process for participating labels—assessing both design and production quality—has elevated the event’s standards, making it a credible stage for both established houses and emerging names.
That McCartney will close such a program feels almost poetic. A designer whose name has become shorthand for ethical modernity joins a city determined to define its own. Her debut will crystallize a moment when sustainability, craftsmanship, and culture converge under the desert sky.
ALSO READ: SEVEN DAYS OF STYLE: A WEEK IN MENSWEAR DONE RIGHT.
