A Saudi Arabian fashion show used drones instead of female models — but it’s not for the reason you think

• A Saudi Arabian fashion show used drones instead of models to feature clothing this past weekend.
• When videos went viral, people assumed that women had been banned from the show.
• A designer who presented at the event told INSIDER that the show's theme was about technology in Saudi Arabia.

Weeks after Saudi Arabia's first-ever Fashion Week, a member of one of the country's most powerful families held another, more modest fashion event.

The event, dubbed Fashion House, coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It was held this past weekend at the Jeddah Hilton hotel, and was hosted by part of the royalty-aligned religious Al ash-Sheikh family. The idea behind the event, Hanen Aljawharji, who presented at Fashion House told INSIDER, was to showcase Saudi Arabia's evolving technology achievements through a fashion show.

As part of that, Fashion House used drones instead of runway models.

Drones carried skirts, dresses, handbags, and abayas — modest robe-like dresses common in Saudi Arabia — across the runway.

Videos found their way to social media, where they received widespread mockery by people. Many people and media organizations described the event as not permitting female models. Others said it looked as if the clothing was "worn by ghosts".

Aljawharji — the designer behind the Saudi Arabian abaya brand Vogueaholic, which was featured at the event — told INSIDER that the drone concept was part of the show's technology theme. Women are in fact permitted to model in Saudi Arabia and did so during April's Fashion Week, although only women were allowed at catwalk events and photography was forbidden.

"The event was focusing on the new technology, and the new era in technology, in the Middle East," Aljawharji said. "Rather than just normal, traditional, old school modeling."

At the same time, the event took place during Ramadan, so event organizers were mindful to emphasize modesty. Aljawharji said they eschewed the loud music normally found at fashion shows, and using drones instead of women dovetailed with the country's conservative fashion culture.

"It’s not an issue having modeling here. It’s kind of being more religious," Aljawharji said. "This is the holy month of ours, so [models would] be wearing stuff that’s not appropriate... We keep the respect of the religion and the rules.”

Event organizers were inspired to use drones after  Dolce & Gabbana employed the technique at Milan's Fashion Week in February. Drones carried handbags over the runway in lieu of models.

"It's a similar technology that we used," Aljawharji said. "We got influenced by Milan."

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