Taleedah Tamer lifts the veil on Saudi and Middle Eastern women’s beauty

After the unprecedented Arab Fashion Week held last April in Riyadh, this is a new historical date for Saudi Arabia … and for the global fashion industry! Taleedah Tamer paraded on the runway on Monday, July 2nd opening Paris Haute Couture, lifting therefore the veil on the beauty of Middle Eastern and Saudi women, who are still missing podiums and magazine covers.

The Middle Eastern woman makes a striking entrance into the world of haute couture

Women from the Arab world have taken a first step. Un premier pas a ainsi été franchi pour les femmes du monde arabe. “No one would have imagined that a Saudi model could walk the catwalk. People think that behind the abaya, there is something very far away from them. That is not true,” explains the Italian designer in Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. “This is the perfect time to show that,” he added. Antonio Grimaldi chose the one he calls his “muse” to wear its new 2018 spring-summer collection. Thus, he’s offering a face to those women, who never got unveiled. “Saudi Arabian Women love fashion. They feel fashion. They make dreams,” he claims with passion.

Walking in with confidence, holding her head in a very majestic and noble way, Taleedah made a striking entrance wearing supple and elegant white trousers and a belted vest with slit sleeves. And on the podium, this Middle Eastern new figure, quite exotic hair for the world of haute couture, caused a sensation!

 

The opening @fashiontv

Une publication partagée par Taleedah Tamer تليدة تمر (@taleedah) le 3 Juil. 2018 à 11 :43 PDT

Her goal : to reveal the hidden beauty of Saudi women

The 17-year-old model was born and raised in Jeddah. She’s the daughter of a Saudi and a former Italian model who collaborated with big names such as Giorgio Armani, La Perla or Gianfranco Ferre. Taleedah officially began her career just a few months ago, by posing for Karloff and Rubaiyat jewels. But she was internationally noticed just a week before the Fashion Week, by appearing on the last cover of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia magazine. With her thick eyebrows fanning a gaze of embers, her features fine but strong, she’s introducing a new face to the Middle Eastern women’s beauty, which is often dreamed but always invisible.

 

REVEALED: Our July cover celebrates the unique beauty of the first Saudi couture model, Taleedah Tamer. Beauty transcends culture, race and convention. Harper’s Bazaar Arabia elevates the individual woman in the Middle East, working towards a world of acceptance and unity. Tap the link in our bio to read more. . . كشفت هاربرز بازار عن نجمة غلاف شهر يوليو وهي أول عارضة أزياء سعودية #تاليدا_تامر التي أضاءت الغلاف بجمالها الفريد. . #HarpersBazaarArabia #JulyIssue #ParisHauteCoutureWeek #SaudiWomen . . Outfit: @antoniogrimaldi Couture #AW18 Jewellery: @nadine_jewellery Hat: Antica Manifattura Cappelli by @patriziafabrihats Photographer: @spaparelli Styling: @gemmalouisedeeks Hair: @giovanni28iovino Make-up: @ariannacampa_makeup at Close Up Milano Producer: @claudia_di_mascolo Interview: @wills2power Arabic calligraphy: @nadkanso Casting director: Marriam Mossalli of @nichearabia Thanks to: @ricciproductionsandcreative @martinweston

Une publication partagée par Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (@harpersbazaararabia) le 27 Juin 2018 à 3 :50 PDT

She has a goal, to let the beauty women coming from Saudi, and more generally from the Arab region break into the fashion industry : “There needs to be more diversity in fashion and Saudi Arabia should be a part of that. Arab women need to be a part of that because there is so much beauty out there that hasn’t been seen,” declares fervently the young model.

She is inspired by the careers of young models, who are also in the spotlight since last year. They also have made a breach. Like Imaan Hammam, a young Moroccan who holds the record for international covers of Vogue magazine in 2017 and is the face of the Chanel makeup campaign.

 

It’s a Vogue record! The game-changing Arab models — all previously photographed by #voguearabia — were the runway stars that landed the most international Vogue covers in 2017. Moroccan-Egyptian beauty Imaan Hammam tops the list with a total of nine Vogue covers. She’s followed by sisters Gigi Hadid, who had eight covers, and Bella Hadid, who comes in third place with seven. The younger Palestinian-American sister also broke the record for most Vogue covers in a single month! Comment below and tell us who your favorite #VogueGirl is. #imaanhammam #bellahadid #gigihadid

Une publication partagée par Vogue Arabia (@voguearabia) le 20 Janv. 2018 à 11 :38 PST

There are also Gigi et Bella Hadid, two Palestinians respectively accumulating 8 and 7 covers of the prestigious magazine which has called them “game-changing Arab models”. Or also, Nora Attal, a Moroccan too who’s only 18 years old. She made the  headlines in a Vogue Arabia’s issue dedicated to “The rising stars of Middle Eastern fashion”.

 

World exclusive! Model @noraattal stars on her first ever solo #Vogue cover. The Moroccan beauty is the face of the @voguearabia December issue and declares: “It’s a dream come true!” LINK IN BIO. Photographer @EmmaSummerton, fashion director @katieellentrotter, stylist @patrickmackieinsta, hair @luke_chamberlain, makeup @ralphsiciliano. Wearing @Prada. #ArabModels COVER 1 OF 2 لأول مرة على مستوى العالم! العارضة نورا عتَّال @noraattal تظهر بمفردها على أحد أغلفة #ڤوغ. صورة الحسناء المغربية تزين غلاف عدد ديسمبر من ڤوغ العربية@voguearabia، وعن ذلك تقول: ’’إنه حلمٌ قد تحقق!‘‘ الرابط في البايو. تصوير: إيما سمرتون @EmmaSummerton، مديرة الأزياء: كيتي تروتر @katieellentrotter، تنسيق: باتريك ماكي @patrickmackieinsta، تصفيف الشعر: لوك تشامبرلاين @luke_chamberlain، مكياج: رالف سيسيليانو @ralphsiciliano. ترتدي العارضة أزياء من برادا @Prada. #عارضات_الأزياء_العربيات – الغلاف الأول من أصل غلافين

Une publication partagée par Vogue Arabia (@voguearabia) le 27 Nov. 2017 à 5 :07 PST

Walking the catwalk to spread Middle Eastern culture

These beauties, underrepresented in the very closed world of magazine covers and haute couture shows, are beginning to make their mark on an international scale. Taleedah explains, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, that she, as a child, never noticed that the Saudis did not appear on the covers of magazines nor in fashion shows. As she grew up, she ended up wondering why all these women did not look like her. That’s why, she proudly asserts today that she wants to “represent Saudi women who are strong and beautiful“.

And if Taleedah wants to make international podiums today, that’s only in the name of this culture and its Saudi heritage: “I love the culture, the heritage. Being Saudi has taught me so much. I like how the culture is reserved but also open-minded, and even though people are conservative, they are extremely educated and aware. I see that a lot.” Taleedah is proud to be the first Saudi model, but she hopes she won’t stay alone on the podium. She is strongly longing for other girls to join the path she began to pave, to offer more faces and to show the diversity of the region’s beautie.