Fashion Your Seatbelt

I still remember one of the first times I saw an Abadia design up close. It was at that inaugural 100 Saudi Brands exhibition in Riyadh. It stopped me in my tracks. That's the effect designer Shahd AlShehail's work tends to have on people.

Shahd is the founder, CEO, and creative director of Abadia, the Saudi label she started back in 2019. And if you've spent any time around the Gulf's fashion scene lately, you already know the name — Abadia has quietly become one of the most compelling luxury stories to come out of the region in recent memory.

Here's what makes Shahd's story so interesting to me: she didn't come up through a fashion school, dreaming of runways. She came to the industry by way of her studies in sustainable development, of all things — and that background shows in everything Abadia does. The brand works with dozens of female artisans across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, keeping crafts like Sadu weaving alive, and making sure the women behind those heritage techniques are paid and credited for it. For Shahd, that's not a marketing angle, it's a fundamental pillar of her brand. Which by extension not only creates a sense of pride in the creative past of her culture, but also hopefully will help it to become woven into the fabric of the fashion world more globally in the future.

What I love is how she translates all of that heritage into something that feels utterly modern — structured tailoring meeting soft, fluid draping, pieces like the farwa, traditionally a man's desert coat, reimagined as a covetable piece of womenswear. Abadia can now be found on Net-a-Porter, in Selfridges, at Harrods. And I love that Shahd is talks about wanting Abadia to be “the” Saudi brand the rest of the world knows.So here she is — a designer building quiet, deliberate luxury on her own terms, one artisan, one collection, one chapter at a time.

–🎬 Thank you to Studio Wacked in Paris for the support of my French-based podcast episodes https://wacked.fr/ and Poddster https://dubai.poddster.com/ and Procast https://procast.ae/ in Dubai for their amazing studio and team where these episode are recorded:

💌Drop me a DM: @jessicamichault or just old school email me.
📝 My website: https://jessicamichault.com/

Connect with Us:
✅Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicamichault/
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You might also like:
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6DwlT70eM
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3humRELI5E
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyQN7Yq7HQ

Thank you for watching this video, click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to stay connected with this channel. “Shahd AlShehail on Abadia, Saudi Fashion, and Going Globa”- Jessica Michault
#fashionpodcast #podcast #podcastdesigner #designer #designerpodcast

More About Jessica Michault:
Jessica Michault is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. She is an expert on the Middle East luxury market and has launched multiple luxury publications in the GCC. Michault's 60 Second Fashion Reviews were one of the first to bring fashion show criticism to the social media sphere, and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion's leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, have created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry. She spent 16 formative years working side by side with the renowned fashion critic Suzy Menkes, as the Online Style Editor of the International Herald Tribune, before taking C-suite positions in leading luxury publications like ODDA magazine, NOWFASHION and Antidote magazine and taking up the role of SVP of Industry Relations at Launchmetrics. Over the years, she has consulted with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry and the Puig group, and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and throughout multiple Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines across the globe.

What first impressed me about the fashion designer Alice Temperly was how assured she felt. When she enters a space, instantly, there is a sense that this is a woman who knows exactly who she is, what she has accomplished, and is crystal clear on the goals she has set for herself and how she wants to achieve them.

Alice is someone whose work has always felt like stepping into a story. She founded her brand Temperley London in 2000 and quickly carved out a space in fashion with designs that celebrate romance, craftsmanship, and a certain kind of bohemian glamour that feels both timeless and deeply personal.

Her collections are often rich with detail — intricate embroidery, flowing silhouettes, and references to art, travel, and heritage craftsmanship. They’re pieces that feel considered and expressive, designed for women who want ensembles that carry a little bit of magic with them.

Over the past 26 years, Alice has built Temperley London into a beloved brand worn by everyone from British royalty to Hollywood royalty. But perhaps what’s most compelling about her journey is the fact that she has done it largely on her own terms, maintaining a fiercely independent spirit in an industry that is constantly evolving.

Together, we talk about where that creative spirit of hers comes from — the early days of building the brand, the inspirations that continue to shape her work, and what it really takes to stay true to your vision in a fashion landscape that is in the midst of a paradigm shift.

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🎬 Thank you to Studio Wacked in Paris for the support of my French-based podcast episodes https://wacked.fr/ and Poddster https://dubai.poddster.com/ and Procast https://procast.ae/ n Dubai for their amazing studio and team where these episode are recorded:

💌Drop me a DM: @jessicamichault or just old school email me.

📝 My website: https://jessicamichault.com

Connect with Us:
✅Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jessicamichault/
✅Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicamichault/

You might also like:
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6DwlT70eM
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3humRELI5E
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyQN7Yq7HQ

Thank you for watching this video. Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to stay connected with this channel.

"Alice Temperley: The Woman Who Made Bohemian Luxury a British Institution With Temperley London - Jessica Michault"

#fashionpodcast #podcast #podcastdesigner #designer #designerpodcast

More About Jessica Michault:

Jessica Michault is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. She is an expert on the Middle East luxury market and has launched multiple luxury publications in the GCC.

Michault's 60 Second Fashion Reviews were one of the first to bring fashion show criticism to the social media sphere, and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion's leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, have created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry.

She spent 16 formative years working side by side with the renowned fashion critic Suzy Menkes, as the Online Style Editor of the International Herald Tribune, before taking C-suite positions in leading luxury publications like ODDA magazine, NOWFASHION and Antidote magazine and taking up the role of SVP of Industry Relations at Launchmetrics. Over the years, she has consulted with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry and the Puig group, and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and throughout multiple Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines across the globe.

Ameni Esseibi is someone who has spent years challenging the fashion industry to make room for her — and won. She is the first plus-size Arab model, a body positivity advocate, a Jean Paul Gaultier ambassador, a Paris Fashion Week runway veteran, and a woman who has built an entire career on the radical act of showing up exactly as she is.

Born in Tunisia, raised in Dubai, and educated in the French school system, Ameni started her modelling journey at just eighteen years old. But her road to success was anything but easy. She approached agency after agency in Dubai and was told there was no market for her. That the region wasn't ready. But she ignored the naysayers. Dismissing their ignorance and persevered.

Today, she has graced the pages of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan. She has walked couture catwalks in Paris. Become a global ambassador for Dubai Fashion Week and the Arab Fashion Council. And along the way has become the voice that an entire generation of Arab women had been waiting for — curvy, confident, and proud of her heritage.

What makes Ameni truly remarkable is not just what she has achieved, but why she set out to achieve it. From the very beginning, becoming a model was never about the pursuit of fame. It was about the young Arab woman who didn't see herself anywhere — not on the runway, not in the magazines, not on the billboards. When Ameni couldn’t find a role model, she decided to become the person she was looking for. The woman others could look to, and understand that they were enough – just as they are.

In our interview, we discuss what representation really means in the modeling space, why the word plus-size should be banned, and how her love of horseback riding has given Ameni a sense of inner peace she didn’t know she was searching for.

–🎬 Thank you to Studio Wacked in Paris for the support of my French-based podcast episodes https://wacked.fr/ and Poddster https://dubai.poddster.com/ and Procast https://procast.ae/ n Dubai for their amazing studio and team where these episode are recorded:
💌Drop me a DM: @jessicamichault or just old school email me.📝 My website: https://jessicamichault.com/
Connect with Us:
✅Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jessicamichault/
✅Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicamichault/
You might also like:
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6DwlT70eM
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3humRELI5E
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyQN7Yq7HQ

Thank you for watching this video, click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to stay connected with this channel. "Ameni Esseibi: The First Curvy Model of the Arab World on Breaking Beauty Standards in Fashion”- Jessica Michault"
#fashionpodcast #podcast #podcastdesigner #designer #designerpodcast

More About Jessica Michault:
Jessica Michault is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. She is an expert on the Middle East luxury market and has launched multiple luxury publications in the GCC. Michault's 60 Second Fashion Reviews were one of the first to bring fashion show criticism to the social media sphere, and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion's leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, have created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry.
She spent 16 formative years working side by side with the renowned fashion critic Suzy Menkes, as the Online Style Editor of the International Herald Tribune, before taking C-suite positions in leading luxury publications like ODDA magazine, NOWFASHION and Antidote magazine and taking up the role of SVP of Industry Relations at Launchmetrics. Over the years, she has consulted with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry and the Puig group, and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and throughout multiple Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines across the globe.

Chriselle Lim is many things at once: a pioneer of digital fashion storytelling, a serial entrepreneur, and a woman who has built a career by evolving in the public eye with intention and integrity long before “creator economy” became industry shorthand.

From the early days of The Chriselle Factor to her impressive transformation of the fragrance brand Phlur, which she bought, rebranded, and recently successfully sold – while remaining on board as the Creative Director of the company – Chriselle has consistently sat at the centerpoint of style, business, and modern womanhood. She has proved that influence, when done well, is less about visibility and more about vision. Her journey speaks to reinvention, resilience, and the courage it takes to build something that reflects who you are now, not who the algorithm expects you to be.

She is a woman who turned storytelling into one of the most talked-about fragrance reinventions of our time with Phlur. Chriselle didn’t just relaunch a perfume house; she translated life itself through its fragrances — heartbreak, resilience, memory, identity — into bottles that speak louder than any trend. Chriselle’s journey is as nuanced as the aromas she crafts. Forget technical top notes — she begins with emotion, using fragrance as an extension of self-expression and personal narrative.

In our decidedly candid conversation, we talk openly about growth—personal and professional—about building brands with emotional intelligence, and about what it really means to lead in an industry that rarely slows down. It was a wide-ranging, honest, and open girl talk that proved without a doubt that Chriselle is a woman with both vision and purpose.

–
🎬 Thank you to Studio Wacked in Paris for the support of my French-based podcast episodes https://wacked.fr/ and Poddster https://dubai.poddster.com/ and Procast https://procast.ae/ n Dubai for their amazing studio and team where these episodes are recorded:

Drop me a DM: @jessicamichault or just old school email me.📝 My website: https://jessicamichault.com
Connect with Us:
✅Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicamichault
✅Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicamichault

You might also like:
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6DwlT70eM
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3humRELI5E
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyQN7Yq7HQ

#fashionpodcast #podcast #podcastdesigner #designer #designerpodcast

More About Jessica Michault:

Jessica Michault is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. She is an expert on the Middle East luxury market and has launched multiple luxury publications in the GCC.

Michault's 60 Second Fashion Reviews were one of the first to bring fashion show criticism to the social media sphere, and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion's leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, have created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry.

She spent 16 formative years working side by side with the renowned fashion critic Suzy Menkes, as the Online Style Editor of the International Herald Tribune, before taking C-suite positions in leading luxury publications like ODDA magazine, NOWFASHION, and Antidote magazine, and taking up the role of SVP of Industry Relations at Launchmetrics. Over the years, she has consulted with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry, and the Puig group, and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion, and throughout multiple Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines across the globe.

Nadine Kanso is a pillar of Dubai's creative community. Born in Beirut, the Lebanese designer has called the city home since the year 2000. And over the past quarter century, she has become one of its most distinctive and beloved creative voices. A talented photographer, a recognised fashion muse, and someone with an innate gift for interior design — Kanso is a born artist in the fullest sense of the word. But it is jewellery that has become her most powerful form of expression.

In 2006, she founded Bil Arabi — a jewellery house built on a single, heartfelt premise: that the Arabic language is one of the most beautiful things in the world, and that it deserves to be celebrated. Better yet, worn. Drawing on her background in graphic design and her deep love of calligraphy, Kanso began transforming Arabic letters and words into handcrafted jewellery. Messages of love, strength, and beauty — rendered in gold and precious stones — worn as declarations of identity by a devoted following across the Arab diaspora and far beyond it.

Nearly two decades on, Bil Arabi is considered to be one of the region’s most prominent jewellery houses. With Kanso being tapped for collaborations with leading international luxury brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Berluit and Guerlain and being named a Forbes Middle East Fashion Innovator in 2024.

In our conversation, we explore what it means to build a luxury brand around cultural reclamation — and how she has stayed true to that original vision while growing Bil Arabi into an international name. We also talk about the particular kind of resilience it takes to be a female founder in this industry, what it means to her to represent the region on a global stage, and why, after twenty years, the Arabic language still has more to say.

Kanso's story is one of identity, artistry, and wearing your heart on your sleeve, with a message carved in golden words of love and self-acceptance.
–
🎬 Thank you to Studio Wacked in Paris for the amazing support of my French-based podcast episodes https://wacked.fr/ and Poddster In Dubai for their amazing studio and team where this episode was recorded: https://dubai.poddster.com

💌Drop me a DM: @jessicamichault or just old school email me.
📝 My website: https://jessicamichault.com

Connect with Us:
✅Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jessicamichault
✅Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicamichault

You might also like:
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6DwlT70eM
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3humRELI5E
💟https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyQN7Yq7HQ

Thank you for watching this video, click the "SUBSCRIBE" button to stay connected with this channel. "Nadine Kanso: Reclaiming Arab Identity Through Calligraphy and Fine Jewellery - Jessica Michault"

#fashionpodcast #podcast #podcastdesigner #designer #designerpodcast

More About Jessica Michault:

Jessica Michault is an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. She is an expert on the Middle East luxury market and has launched multiple luxury publications in the GCC.

Michault's 60 Second Fashion Reviews were one of the first to bring fashion show criticism to the social media sphere, and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion's leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, have created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry.

She spent 16 formative years working side by side with the renowned fashion critic Suzy Menkes, as the Online Style Editor of the International Herald Tribune, before taking C-suite positions in leading luxury publications like ODDA magazine, NOWFASHION and Antidote magazine and taking up the role of SVP of Industry Relations at Launchmetrics. Over the years, she has consulted with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry and the Puig group, and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and throughout multiple Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines across the globe.