Saudi Arabia just held what might be the weirdest fashion show in the history of fashion shows. Instead of having models showcase dresses, organizers opted for drones. Yes, seriously. Videos posted on Twitter of the event, which took place at the Hilton hotel in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, show floating dresses on clothes hangers gliding down the catwalk, suspended from small black drones. The dresses, which included designs from Dolce & Gabbana, ripple in the air as onlookers in the glitzy hotel lobby peruse the items on offer. Instead of female model Drone used in a fashion show in Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/qYTdQ7ajSx — WMR (@wahabrizvi) June 8, 2018 One Twitter user joked that it looked like a “ghost movie.” عرض أزياء في السعودية.. كانه فيلم اشباح pic.twitter.com/ur0bfCgoBJ — واحد oNe (@wa7d_riyadh) June 7, 2018 But others on Twitter had more serious criticisms, claiming that the use of drones instead of women further perpetuates the archaic and patriarchal restrictions on women in Saudi Arabia. Welcome To Saudi Arabia Where Drones Enjoy Better Rights Than Women. #FashionShow #Fashion pic.twitter.com/c8iftL6TZP — Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) June 7, 2018 The show’s organizer Ali Nabil Akbar told BBC Arabic that the decision to use drones was “suitable for the month of Ramadan” and that he wanted to create something “special” to celebrate the Muslim holy month. Although the organizers’ intentions didn’t work for everyone, the videos reflect how much work Saudi Arabia has to do to achieve equality for women. Equality is still out of reach for Saudi women despite recent progress After years of repression, Saudi women finally gained the right to drive after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a royal decree last September. Some women have already received their licenses but won’t be able to drive until June 24. And in April, Saudi Arabia hosted its first-ever Arab Fashion Week in the capital city, Riyadh. But these modest steps toward equality for women come with complications. Although 10 women received their licenses this month, 17 women’s rights activists who campaigned for greater gender equality have been jailed on suspicion of undermining security and stability. And Saudi women are still forced to seek the approval of a male relative to carry out basic acts like getting a passport, traveling outside the country, and getting married. And that Arab Fashion Week in Riyadh? Only women were allowed to attend the fashion shows, and according to the New Arab, “male fashion designers were not allowed backstage even at their own shows.” But despite all of that (or perhaps just ignoring it), the architect of these new reforms, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been hailed as a hero in the Western press and lauded for bringing about change in the conservative country. The fashion show’s organizers may have had positive intentions, but it’s clear the country’s fight for gender equality is much more complex and rooted in deeper issues that Saudi leaders have yet to address.<doc-sep>عرض أزياء في السعودية.. كانه فيلم اشباح https://t.co/ur0bfCgoBJ — واحد oNe (@wa7d_riyadh) 1528333129000 @jinakhoushnaw @crocsushi Saudi Arabia: Where drones have more rights than women... — Valerie (@Val_Floof) 1528344411000 NEW DELHI: A women's fashion show in Saudi Arabia is making waves on social media for using drones to show off designer dresses, instead of live models.Videos of drones flying down the catwalk with spookily fluttering dresses, sans humans, have gone viral and sent Twitterati into a tizzy. While some mocked this bizzarre style statement, others expressed outrage at how the show's organisers had swapped out women for flying robots to display the clothes. "A fashion show in Saudi Arabia is like a ghost film," wrote a Twitter user. "Saudi Arabia: Where drones have more rights than women...," tweeted another.Local news site The News Arab reported that the organisers of the fashion event at Jeddah had decided to use the drones, the first such instance in a Middle-eastern country, to ensure the show was "suitable for the month of Ramzan".Further, the audience at the fashion shows were only women, with male fashion designers not even allowed backstage at their own shows.In April this year, Saudi Arabia had its first fashion week, where models paraded down the runway in Riyadh for a female-only audience.In spite of a number of gender-related reforms introduced over the last several months under the rule of Crown Prince Salman , Saudi Arabia remains an ultra-conservative society. There are many restrictions on what kind of clothes women can wear, and they are expected to cover their head with a hijab or niqab when stepping out in public.<doc-sep>While drones can do many things, they don't substitute well for models, a recent fashion show in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh showed. The intended effect of drones showing off designer clothes – including Dolce & Gabbana items – fell flat as the garments, shivering limply on metal hangers, did little to inspire. "It's like a ghost movie:" Social media in uproar over Riyadh fashion show that replaced models with drones showing off designer garments shivering eerily on hangershttps://t.co/5YeSVNYvzr pic.twitter.com/YuFjZiOPsd — DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) June 7, 2018 Videos of the exclusive event drew ridicule on social media. "It's like a ghost movie," wrote one Twitter user. "For the people who have money but have lost their minds!" another person tweeted. In the ultra-conservative Saudi kingdom, catwalks featuring female models are only open to female audiences. To cater to a male audience, the organizers of the event told The New Arab the drones were used to make the fashion show "Ramadan appropriate." Riyadh wasn't the first to try out drones on the catwalk. Dolce & Gabbana used drone models to show off handbags a Milan runway in February, a techy twist that got better reviews despite some technical difficulties.<doc-sep>
This fashion show in Saudi Arabia would definitely be on top if we were to make a list of bizarre things on the internet this week. A video of the event in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh showing drones carrying designer clothes has gone viral on social media. Shared by Twitter user Jina on Wednesday, the tweet has amassed more than 102,000 retweets and over 175,000 likes within a few days. I’m dying at this fashion show in Saudi😂😂 they weren’t allowed female models pic.twitter.com/5xxpMBk4Nr — jina (@jinakhoushnaw) June 6, 2018 The event saw several high-end fashion brands - including Dolce & Gabbana - showcase their designs but featuring drones instead of models wearing the creations, The News Arab reported. Media reports suggest that the event organisers used drones in the conservative country to make the show “Ramadan appropriate”. But social media users couldn’t help comparing the spooky sight of floating dresses to that of “dementors” from Harry Potter book series or a “ghost fashion show”. “A fashion show in Saudi Arabia is like a ghost film,” wrote one user. ‘Where’d they get the models? Hogwarts?’ wrote another. Fashion shows in Ramadan be like.. pic.twitter.com/4jrTcPQjWF — عُمر (@OmarImranTweets) June 6, 2018 Dementors haha! — Haseem 🌈 (@haseemuzzaman) June 7, 2018 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣It’s like fucking Hogwarts in there with all the ghosts flying about 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 — Yasmine Mohammed (@ConfessionsExMu) June 7, 2018 Are you sure it’s not just that the models have become even thinner? — Stephen Herring (@Stephen_Herring) June 7, 2018 Some even questioned the state of women’s rights despite the recent reforms undertaken by the Middle Eastern country. “Saudi Arabia, where drones have more rights than women,” a user said. This is actually sad 😞 and disturbing 😟 — Bisca Chito (@BiscaChito) June 7, 2018 Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia hosted its first ever fashion week as a result of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s bold ‘liberalising’ reforms. However, the audience was female only, and male designers were banned from backstage even at their own shows.