SAUDI ARABIA will host its first fashion week from today at the Ritz Cartlon in Riyadh. The four-day event will feature local Arab designers and European brand names.

The high-profile, high-stakes plan for the first fashion week in Saudi Arabia, unthinkable even two years ago, comes at a time of groundbreaking reform in the country, led by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

In an earlier interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS, the crown prince said that women should be able to choose what they wear and the traditional black abaya — loose-fitting garment— was “not necessary.”

“The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Shariah [Islamic law]: that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men,” the prince said.

“This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover,” he added. “The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”(SD-Agencies)