Saudi producer Mohammed Al-Turki to be honored in Venice

Mohammed Al-Turki is a Saudi film producer. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 09 August 2024
Follow

Saudi producer Mohammed Al-Turki to be honored in Venice

  • Award for work in film, HIV and AIDS care on Sept. 1
  • Hopes new research will lead to a cure, says Al-Turki

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia film producer Mohammed Al-Turki, who previously served as the CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, is set to receive the Philanthropic Leadership Award at the upcoming amfAR gala event in Venice on Sept. 1.

The award will recognize Al-Turki for his contributions to the film industry and charitable work.

The American Foundation for AIDS Research supports researchers, prevention, education and advocacy. It has raised nearly $900 million since 1985.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by amfAR (@amfar)

 

“Thanks in part to his leadership, @RedseaFilm Festival has been a generous supporter of amfAR’s work for many years and has helped advance our lifesaving research,” the organization said in a statement on Instagram.

Al-Turki wrote on Instagram recently: “I feel very humbled and very appreciative, I believe so much in amfAR’s work and will do whatever I can until there is a cure for HIV and AIDS, which is apparent more than ever right now.”

 

 

“Getting the Philanthropic Leadership Award is an honor that is surreal. I am honored to share this moment in Venice with my film and chosen family (and) a true icon the one and only Mr. Richard Gere who will receive amfAR’s Award of Inspiration,” Al-Turki added.

The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.

The Yazidi nightmare
Ten years after the genocide, their torment continues

Enter


keywords

Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

Updated 27 January 2026
Follow

Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

  • Rihanna and Brigitte Macron among attendees at show
  • Design part of new director Jonathan Anderson’s vision

DUBAI/ PARIS: Model Mona Tougaard reportedly turned heads in a bridal-inspired look on the Christian Dior runway during the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.

The runway star, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, wore a sculptural white gown with a one-shoulder silhouette and layered petal-like appliques cascading from the bodice to the full skirt.

The asymmetrical bodice featured draped detailing across the torso, while the skirt flared into a voluminous, floor-length shape.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

The look was finished with oversized floral statement earrings that echoed the dress’s petal motif.

The floral elements echoed the wider vision of Dior’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson, who drew inspiration from nature and his love of ceramics for his first Haute Couture collection since being appointed to the role.

The 41-year-old faces the rare challenge of overseeing all three fashion lines at the house — women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture — becoming the first designer to do so since Christian Dior himself.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Just days after presenting his latest men’s collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the Northern Irish designer returned with his first couture offering.

The collection featured floral motifs on fabrics or as accessories, while sculptural bulbous dresses were inspired by the work of Kenya-born ceramicist Magdelene Odundo.

“When you copy nature, you always learn something,” Anderson declared in his show notes, which compared Haute Couture to a living ecosystem that is “evolving, adapting, enduring.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Other noteworthy pieces included dresses with spherical birdcage-inspired silhouettes, while other models wore vest tops with their dresses gathered around their waists.

The front row at the Rodin Museum reflected the scale of anticipation surrounding Anderson’s couture debut. France’s first lady Brigitte Macron arrived early, while Lauren Sanchez Bezos swept in shortly after.

Actor Parker Posey twirled briefly in a trench-style dress, playing to the room before settling in.

Then the space fell into a collective pause as celebrities and editors alike waited for Rihanna. When the pop star finally took her seat, the lights dropped and the show began.

Before the show, Anderson admitted in an interview with the Business of Fashion website that he previously thought couture was “irrelevant,” adding that he never really “understood the glamour behind it.”

“Now, I feel like I’m doing a Ph.D. in couture,” he explained.