Arab models walk the Milan Fashion Week runway for Elisabetta Franchi

Saudi-Lebanese influencer Alanoud Badr, who lives in Dubai, was among the fleet of models who walked for Italian luxury maison Elisabetta Franchi this weekend at Milan Fashion Week.

She was joined by Lebanese presenter Annabella Hilal, Iraqi influencer Deema Al Asadi and fashion blogger Zeynab El-Helw, who is also based in the UAE.

The ladies’ fashion and accessories brand presented its autumn/winter 2022-23 collection, which, it said, honours “the revolutionary, authentic and prestigious woman”.

The show took place at Museo della Permanente, a stunning art museum with more than 300 works by Italian artists, located at Via Filippo Turati.

A palette of green, red, lilac, black and white was on show, with elegance and femininity at the collection’s core. Models wore gowns, mini and maxi dresses, and suits.

Badr sported a deep red tulle dress with a heart-shaped neckline, pearl and frill detailing, worn with black opaque tights and matching red platform heels.

Badr shared photos of the event and behind-the-scenes moments with her 1.2 million followers on Instagram.

“I still can’t believe I walked the runway of Elisabetta Franchi for Milan Fashion week,” she said, alongside a video that showed rehearsals taking place. “What an insane experience. Super grateful and thankful to the people behind such an amazing production. Love you loads.”

Hilal is a presenter on MBC 1, MTV Lebanon and shows such as The Voice Kids and Celebrity Duets.

She wore a floor-length green gown with a thigh-high slit and gemstone embellishment around the neck, posting photos to her 3.5 million followers on Instagram and saying it was “an honour” to open the show.

Al Asadi, who wore a short black sequinned dress with a black blazer, described the show as “unforgettable” and a “pinch-me moment” on her Instagram account.

“So much love to all of u my Instagram family, I wouldn’t be where i am today if it wasn’t for your continuous love and support,” she said to her one million followers.

Egyptian-Turkish blogger El-Helw also shared the moment on social media, writing, “So this happened”, alongside photos of her on the runway.

The show was styled by Vanity Fair Italia stylist Simone Guidarelli.

Ahead of the presentation, Franchi posted on her official Instagram account comments in sympathy with Ukraine amid Russia’s attack.

“The show goes on, but part of my heart is close to this tragedy,” she said. “I always thought that in this world, all of this could never happen again.”

In another post, she wrote: “On this backstage there are women from all over the world, all together without borders. This is the world I want. No war.”

Earlier last week, part-Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid opened the Fendi autumn/winter 2022 show in a sheer dress under a fur jacket on the first day of Milan Fashion Week.

Milan Fashion Week, which runs until Monday, is back with a full schedule of in-person fashion shows, after a two-year hiatus of short films, video games and absent names.