The BBFS (The Best of Britain Fashion Show)

THINK STELLA MCCARTNEY. Alexander McQueen. Victoria Beckham alone. These are just few of the respected brands in fashion history and they are first and foremost, grandiosely British. 

The recently held Best of Britain Fashion Show was a first of its kind for the British Embassy, as part of the Best of Britain Saudi Arabia 2013 Exhibition and Workshops. Sponsored by Harvey Nichols and other local enterprises, the event marked yet another step for the thriving fashion scene here in Riyadh. We were invited as one of the press people to cover the groundbreaking event and Sundrenched and I were more than happy to attend. 

The garden area of the Ambassador's residence was transformed into a chic, yet charming atmosphere fit for a catwalk. There were flowers, lights and mannequins dressed in selected designer wear, featuring of course, the best of British designers under the Harvey Nichols' line. Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails were flowing along for the guests while the house music composed of Bee Gees, Freddie Mercury and The Beatles, definitely putting us in a Great Britain state-of-mind. 

Harvey Nichols' goddie bags for the special guests. :)

The catwalk.

Since the press people were allowed first dibs on the venue, I was able to take a lot of photos before the rest of the guests arrived. Meanwhile, Sundrenched was going around meeting our fellow bloggers who also graced the event (Special shoutout to Danya Ismail, HudaAlsomali, FashionLocator and RubaFahhd).

A figure-hugging Alexander McQueen piece.

A maxi tube dress with dragonflies. Perfect for a sunny day.

Is your style simple and classy? This may be for you.

Another flowy, maxi dress with a beige belt for accent.

Fringe on cream by Stella McCartney.

Empower your wardrobe with color. And mean business.

Very casual chic.

Maybe abstract is more your style? 

I love the dresses on display because they all catered to different kinds of women. From the carefree, to the business-minded to the ultra-feminine. While waiting for the show to begin, I was able to get a sneak peek at the action backstage.

Bobbi Brown essentials for the models.

I loved their energy backstage. Happy and excited models.

         

Stylist Nahar, the fashion icon behind the mask. Photo by Salman Thamer.

                                       
I also caught one of the most fabulously dressed ladies at the event. Her dress is from Dubai and I must say, it complemented her look and personality very well. 

Finally, the show began by 8:30PM. There was an opening message by the British Ambassador, Sir John Jenkins (which he did in Arabic AND English, very cool!) and then the models began to showcase the clothes thereafter. While there was a mix-up on whether we were allowed to take photos or not, I just opted to blur out the faces of the models to just follow in line with the general ruling of showing Arab women's faces. By the way, they were all beautiful.

Also, please pardon me if I am not able to identify all the labels of all the dresses shown on the runway, since they were not mentioned during the show. I can only note some that I was sure of to be of a particular designer. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy seeing what they wore and checking out my favorites of the bunch.

Floral day dress. 

Fringe on lace by Stella McCartney. THIS I LOVE. :) 

Coral cut-out dress, Sundrenched's choice for a nice day out and about.

Bright orange maxi. It would be nice for a formal occasion.

The color of the year in a cocktail, wrap-around dress. Fab pair with those nude sling backs.

Another cocktail dress, this time in midnight blue. 

A darker, emerald green with some major bling on the front.

Be the sunshine in this long, flowy yellow dress.

A form fitting, orange evening dress. 

Definitely an Alexander McQueen creation. Feel like a goddess in this dress.

Sundrenched's FAVORITE: A nude dress that definitely spelled "airy and free."

And there you have it! We were very pleased with the turnout of the show and we really hope that this would just be the first of many other shows to come. All dresses featured in the show can be found at Harvey Nichols at the Faisaliah Tower and don't forget that the Best of Britain Saudi Arabia 2013 Exhibition and Workshops is now ongoing at Nayyara Banqueting and Convention Centre here in Riyadh until tomorrow, 9:00AM-12PM and 4:00PM to 10:00PM. 

At the end of that night, Sundrenched and I were very thankful that the fashion scene here in Riyadh is really on its way and we're taking these growing number of fashion events as a positive sign that an established fashion industry will be booming in this desert city faster than we've expected it to.



xoxo,
Eyecandy