DUBAI: Syrian Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini has been making the rounds at Milan Fashion Week, attending the Prada, Max Mara and Boss shows.
At Prada, she wore a textured, gray knee-length dress with long sleeves and a structured, slightly loose silhouette, cinched at the waist with a slim brown leather belt. She carried a brown Prada clutch and complemented the look with pointed brown heels featuring ankle straps.
For Max Mara, she appeared in a sleeveless, gray, double-breasted coat layered over a ribbed olive-green knit turtleneck sweater and matching ribbed stockings, tying the outfit together with lace-up ankle boots in brown leather.
At Prada, she wore a textured, gray knee-length dress with long sleeves and a structured, slightly loose silhouette. (Getty Images)
At the Boss show, Mardini chose a tailored beige skirt suit with a structured double-breasted blazer and a matching mini skirt. She wore a crisp white shirt underneath, styled with a black-and-white striped tie, and knee-high black boots. To accessorize, she carried a small black handbag and donned sleek glasses.
Mardini took to Instagram to share videos from the Prada show.
For this collection, skirts came in unexpected constructions, crafted from multiple panels — pink ruffles at the back, gray pleats at the front and black panels on the sides — designed to be mixed and layered for a personalized effect.
For Max Mara, she appeared in a sleeveless, gray, double-breasted coat layered over a ribbed olive-green knit turtleneck sweater and matching ribbed stockings. (Instagram)
They may be paired with unstructured bralettes that hovered over the bodice, or structured folkloric dirndls layered over more rigorous uniform shirts in an unexpected bright pink.
Any combination may be pulled together with a plunging slip-like pinafore, a sort of unifying object that is not so much worn as suspended.
Actors Kerry Washington, Sadie Sink, Felicity Jones, singer Nia Smith and US influencer Charli D’Amelio also had front row seats to the show.
While she remains engaged in the fashion world, Mardini has shifted her focus to her foundation, which works to provide education and sports opportunities for refugees. This follows her participation in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team.
Mardini founded her own nonprofit organization, the Yusra Mardini Foundation, in 2023. The foundation advocates for the rights of refugees and seeks to improve access to sports and education for refugee communities globally, as well as providing direct support to refugee athletes.
