There was a time, not so long ago, when the Middle East existed in the Western imagination as little more than an exotic backdrop. A mirage of camels, minarets and market stalls, romanticised in glossy spreads but rarely given space to speak for itself. Fashion, like much of the global gaze, was happy to look - but not always listen.
But something is shifting and it’s doing so in full view of the world.
This month, French fashion House Jacquemus released its latest campaign, La Croisière, a 24-hour journey captured in Egypt - from Cairo’s buzzing streets to Aswan’s serene riverbanks. Styled with the label’s signature whimsy, the images are dreamy, dramatic, and distinctly local. Shot by Egyptian photographer Mohamed Sherif and featuring Egyptian model Mohamed Hassan alongside Angelina Kendall, the campaign doesn’t just use Egypt - it includes it.
While fashion has long borrowed the aesthetics of the region - the gold, the dunes, the “desert luxe” palette - it rarely acknowledged the people, the cultures, or the creatives behind the lens. Now, that’s beginning to change.
A region, re-seen
Jacquemus in Egypt is not an isolated case. In the past few years, global fashion Houses have been showing up and showing off in the region. Dior’s monumental menswear show at the Pyramids. Louis Vuitton’s bespoke Trophy Trunk at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand, Boucheron’s high jewellery shoot set against Saudi Arabia’s ancient AlUla. These aren’t just style statements. They’re political, cultural, and deeply symbolic.
For generations, the Middle East was seen through a one-dimensional lens by much of the West, often shadowed by conflict, flattened by stereotype, or glossed over in favour of more “palatable” narratives. And while complexities remain - they always will - the fashion world is finally catching up to a truth long known within the region: brilliance lives here.
It lives in our artisans, our architecture, our rising designers. It lives in the rhythm of cities like Cairo, Beirut, Dubai, Riyadh, and so many more.
Beyond the optics
Of course, this isn’t just about beautiful pictures. There’s a commercial current running through it, too. The Gulf in particular has become a key player in the luxury market - not just in buying, but influencing. From high-net-worth shoppers in Doha and Dubai to a youth culture deeply fluent in global trends, the Middle East is no longer fashion’s quiet consumer. It's a contributor, a curator, a stage and a spotlight.
Regional creatives are demanding that the lens shifts accordingly. Sherif’s eye in the Jacquemus campaign captures not only elegance but environment, real textures, local rhythms, and the everyday sublime. It’s storytelling, not staging. Representation, not replication.
Looking forward - and within
To say the region is having a “moment” would be to miss the point. This isn’t a trend. It’s a rebalancing and a reckoning. A slow undoing of the narratives that kept us boxed in.
Yes, challenges remain. Media portrayals are still uneven. Access to the global stage isn’t always equal. But something has changed: the centre has tilted. And in the process, the Middle East is no longer being styled as “other.” It’s becoming itself - loudly, proudly, and with impeccable tailoring.
In a world looking for fresh stories, deeper roots, and richer aesthetics, the region’s time isn’t coming.
It’s already here.
