"The Timeless Desert": The March Editorial of Wait! Fashion

Milan and Riyadh meet giving life to “The Timeless Desert”, the new editorial by Wait! Fashion

Top, Blouse and Shorts set: Maison Margiela ; Boots: MM6 Maison Margiela ; Earring: Paco Rabanne

The desert is timeless, beyond culture progress or change. It is ever-changing, morphing into endless beautiful dunes but still stays the same.

Top, Blouse and Shorts set: Maison Margiela ; Boots: MM6 Maison Margiela ; Earring: Paco Rabanne

2021 is undoubtedly the year of digital. Through some exchanges of reactions to Instagram stories I met Anastasia: scientist and nutritionist researcher passionate about fashion.

Thanks to shared tastes and passions, this project takes shape in a very natural way: a photo-editorial aimed at transmitting the peace and vitality of a place that is dear to many people who, like her, live in Saudi Arabia.

Windbreaker, Top and Boots: Maison Margiela ; Leggings: Junya Watanabe ; Sunglasses: Emilio Pucci

Jacket: Rick Owens ; Boots: Maison Margiela ; Hat: Peinhard Plank ; Sunglasses: Saraghina Eyewear

Anastasia, what brought you to Saudi Arabia?

I first came here to work as a scientist and researcher in obesity and nutrition in King Saud University in Riyadh many years ago. I have no prejudice over places, so I came open and it proved to be a very exciting period of my life. Then I left and came back at a later time to teach in another university but I was living in Denmark still doing research. This is when I met my husband, who is from here. Now, it is the third time back for me, this country keeps pulling me back and I love what Saudi is becoming day after day.

Cape, Top and Mules: Maison Margiela ; Pants: MSGM ; Sunglasses: Retrosuperfuture

Once you enter the desert, you become part of it; you get absorbed physically in its immensity and in its ever-vibrant silence.

Cape, Top and Mules: Maison Margiela ; Pants: MSGM ; Sunglasses: Retrosuperfuture

What are the dressing codes there?

In Saudi Arabia, the dress codes depend on the region, as the country is very vast. Western Saudi wears more colorful, less covered whereas central Saudi where the capital is, wears more black and many women cover their faces in public. It is a very complex culture where you cannot define people or behaviors by what they wear, which is often thought as in western countries. In addition, the country is changing very fast on many levels including dress codes. The biggest part of the Saudi population consists of young people and they are the ones that are going to shape the look of the future.

Cape and Boots: Maison Margiela ; Skirt: Y/Project ; Top: Helmut Lang

Cape and Boots: Maison Margiela ; Skirt: Y/Project ; Top: Helmut Lang

What do you think about fashion today?

I think there are many talented designers and creative but the fashion industry needs to slow down. There are way too many beautiful clothes produced anyway. I would like to see more sustainable approaches, more relaxed and full of joy ways of working, to abandon this hysteria of running all the time which is a problem in some many work sectors.

I would like to see also more people dressing well and with more fashion elements in everyday life. Fashion is not only for the photos or a way to demonstrate wealth but also a creative process and part of someone’s quality of life. There are so many options today: second-hand, emerging brands, sales, discounts… People can afford things but I think that many are not interested in how they look in their everyday life. They want to just shine at a party or an event and to me this is something I do not understand. Do fashion for yourself, as do anything for yourself, not to please others or to impress. Fashion can be serene and grounded as well, it can go beyond a hype.

Jacket and Sneakers: Maison Margiela ; Pants: MSGM ; Blouse: Dries Van Noten ; Sunglasses: Givenchy

Jacket and Sneakers: Maison Margiela ; Pants: MSGM ; Blouse: Dries Van Noten ; Sunglasses: Givenchy

Being alive, in an immensity of silent aliveness. In the desert, you are free to be anything.

Coat and pants: MM6 Maison Margiela ; Boots: Maison Margiela

Coat and pants: MM6 Maison Margiela ; Boots: Maison Margiela

CREDITS

Creative Direction: Camilla Bianchi | Anastasia Samara

Styling: Anastasia Samara

Photographer: Mustafa Radwan

Photo Editing | Lighting Director: Nicholas Garlisi

Curated by: Camilla Bianchi

Discover more in the section dedicated to photo and video editorials, by clicking here

Posted By

Camilla Bianchi

Studentessa di comunicazione presso l’università IULM di Milano. Da anni attratta dall’high fashion e da tutto ciò che gravita intorno a questo mondo, con particolare interesse al tema "scottante" dell’ecosostenibilità. Fortemente determinata e curatrice dei dettagli.