TamTam

Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
Italian luxury fashion house Fendi has enlisted Saudi “cool kids” and content creators Tamtam, Lina Malaika, Rawkan Binbella, and Ali Cha’aban to take on the FF Vertigo Camper Tour across the Aseer region in Saudi Arabia. FF Vertigo, Fendi’s Summer 2021 capsule collection in collaboration with New York-based visual artist Sarah Coleman, released on the label’s website and in boutiques worldwide in May this year.

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Set in the untapped landscape of Aseer with its billowy clouds, Red Sea coastline, inland desert, the campaign clip shows the creatives losing themselves in mist-cloaked valleys, wild nature, and mystical breeze, donning accessories and ready-to-wear clothes from the collection.
Read on to know all about the exciting Fendi FF Vertigo KSA Camper Tour.

The travelers
Riyadh-based R&B and pop singer and songwriter Tamtam is a recipient of the National Cultural Award in Saudi Arabia for her grand achievements in music and has numerous milestones and collaborations under her belt. The June 2021 cover star is no stranger to dedicating her projects to social issues and good causes, with her earliest 2015 single We’ve Got Wings promoting a Saudi breast cancer awareness organization founded by princess Reema Bint Bandar, and Gender Game about her journey as a Saudi woman pursuing a music career. In 2019, she performed her song One Earth at the Global Goals World Cup in New York City.
Tamtam. Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
Rawkan Binbella is a multi-faceted Saudi artist, and his biggest venture began with his role in the Kingdom’s first commercial feature film Born A King as the young king and founder of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz. He hasn’t stopped since, branching out as a model, singer, songwriter, and fashion designer, with his stunning clothing line Meoji.
Rawkan Binbella. Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Lina Malaika has established herself as a freelance visionary artist with over a decade of acuity in fashion, film, and graphic design. She is known for craftily portraying Saudi landmarks with a unique, aspirational, and nostalgic touch, always assimilating her deep cultural roots in her photographs and paintings.
Lina Malaika. Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
Ali Cha’aban is a Lebanese-Saudi artist born and raised in Kuwait. Arab culture and tradition are the themes often apparent in his work, and with his background in anthropology, he has been proclaimed a pop-culture analyst. Cha’aban’s work revolves around the idea of nostalgia, with which he aims to challenge socio-political issues such as Arab identity and the state of dystopia.
Ali Cha’aban, TamTam and Rawkan Bilbella. Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
The region
The talent-studded campaign brings light to the land of Aseer, the largest area of all-year-round green vegetation in Saudi Arabia. With over 4000 historical villages, Aseer is the Home of Unesco-registered Qatt Art, a form of Arabic artwork incorporating the geometric patterns plastered and painted by women of the region across their homes. It also houses many other forms of bohemian art, with the beautiful little Al Muftaha Village around a mosque covered in calligraphy. Local creativity in this village dates back 260 years, with small galleries showcasing the colorful work of regional craftspeople and artists.
The region boasts vibrant folklore of traditional dances, arts, poetries, and literature. For instance, Flower Men in the village of Rijal Alma, appropriately nicknamed after the floral wreaths and crowns they adorn themselves with, dress in the traditional “fouta” attire, a wraparound skirt with stripes. The Flowerman Festival, a lesser-known Saudi tradition, takes place every year, swanking the fascinating values of the indigenous Aseri tribe that populates the blocky stone buildings in the village.
Photo: Courtesy of Fendi
The wardrobe
Fendi’s joyful, vintage-like collection celebrates the summer season with sophisticated bags, accessories, and irresistible prêt-à-porter pieces for women, men and children in acidic yellow and vibrant blue tones, fused with retro references that evoke the desire to be at a beach party in Miami in the 90s. Coleman, after her hugely successful partnership with Fendi during Design Miami, joined forces with Menswear Artistic Director Silvia Venturini Fendi to work on FF Vertigo, a new magnetic motif twisting up Fendi’s classic FF logo pattern, and revisited through a 70s psychedelic filter. The intentionally kitschy vibe of the collection is channeled through Coleman’s signature manipulation of designers’ materials that help repurpose everyday objects with an ironic filter.
The new motif is the face of a range of new limited-edition items, designed for the coolest outdoor adventures, such as instant cameras, camping equipment, and backpacks. Fendi also infuses a free-spirited and bold vibe into a range of crochet bag styles, with a gush of glistening sequins or detailed blossoming embroideries.
Read Next: Meet the Creatives Behind Vogue Arabia’s Latest Saudi Issue
Photography: Rayan Nawawi Style: Latifa Bint SaadHair and makeup: Nadine TabbaraCreative Director: Ali Cha’abanCinematography: Asper LucasProducer: Ruby Kreidieh 

Saudi star models Shahad Salman and Abdulrahman Alammar, dressed in bespoke pieces by designer Arwa Al Banawi. Photographed by Hayat Osamah and artwork by Lulwah Al Homoud
The June 2021 issue of Vogue Arabia celebrates the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with two cover stories where fashion and art meet, giving rise to a symbiosis of creative synergies.
The first cover dives deep into the universe of internationally renowned Saudi artist Lulwah Al Homoud, who honored Vogue by creating the bespoke cover artwork, faithful to her unmissable style where calligraphy and geometric patterns coexist. Al Homoud’s work can usually be seen on the walls of some of the biggest museums and galleries around the world, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the collections of the British Museum. Interviewed by leading Saudi curator Mashael Al Rushaid, the artist states, “Art can definitely be a mechanism for change; it does open healthy dialogues between people,” further adding, “National branding is through art.” This English cover is fronted by Saudi star models Shahad Salman and Abdulrahman Alammar, dressed in bespoke pieces by designer Arwa Al Banawi. They represent the strength and uniqueness of the Kingdom’s new generation of creatives.
In the same creative context, the second cover is a gathering of two generations of Saudi singers: newcomer Tamtam and the legendary Abadi Al-Johar. They pose on a set that celebrates the work of rising talent Abdulaziz AlAbdulaziz and his unmissable kaleidoscopic world, wearing bespoke looks by Hadeel AlHussain. Al-Johar holds a hand-painted oud. “I am happy to be a part of this work and to collaborate with a male artist who has been a source of inspiration for many past and present generations, and a young female artist with a global presence,” says AlAbdulaziz. Al-Johar states, “Bringing together artists from all over the Gulf states and urging them to cooperate in developing Gulf music will raise the profile of Gulf art. This is because art in the region is built on individual pursuits rather than cooperative collective ones.”
The issue also features Saudi’s most exciting young fashion talents, along with legends of the Kingdom’s creative industries. In a rare media appearance, Adnan Akbar opens up about his groundbreaking career and future projects, and speaks proudly of his home: “Makkah has always been, and still is, the crossroads of cultures and civilizations.” We also meet octogenarian female poet and journalist Thuraya Qabel, an activist who played a pioneering role in carrying the banner of women and breaking unjust traditions. She advises: “Don’t forget that you are a Saudi woman and that you are the daughter of a country that is the Qibla of the nations, and this means this is a great and holy position.”
Saudi Arabia’s energetic creative scene is represented throughout the June issue. A fresh cohort of designers is affirming the strength of Saudi Arabia to grow into a leading power of great design: meet Dania Shinkar, Hadeel AlHussain, Nouf Alhazmi (RealSelf), Raghad A Alhogail (Ragail), and Yazeed (UnasTokyo), who are focusing on sustainable innovation.
Moreover, Vogue Arabia meets dancer Samira Alkhamis, tenor and composer Marwan Fagi, countertenor Mohammed Khayran Al-Zahrani, and soprano Sawsan Al Bahiti. These four Saudi artists are raising the bar of high art in the Kingdom. They are shaping the landscapes of their respective fields and challenging artistic and cultural expectations through their distinct talents.
Also in June, the spotlight is turned on women from across the Kingdom who are excelling in their fields as artists, writers, humanitarians, pilots, and lawyers. These include the three generations behind Help Center Suad Al-Husseini Juffali, Maha Juffali-Ghandour and Dania Ghandour Alyan; aerospace engineer and rocket specialist Mishaal Ashemimry; lawyer and the first female founder of a Saudi law firm, Sofana Dahlan; and Mashael bint Mansour Binsultan, founder of the Equestrian Union initiative. These trailblazers are creating a new narrative of what contemporary Arab women represent.
An interview with social activist and the Kingdom’s first UN Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, Muna AbuSulayman, brings forth her moving message on female empowerment, which will also be highlighted in a new book. The Saudi issue further features Jeddah-born Amy Roko, who has carved out a creative space without ever revealing her face. With 1.5 million followers on social media, the Saudi humorist opens up about her choice to wear the niqab, stating, “The stereotypical image of a woman who covers her face is of someone who is timid, submissive… I’m offended. I’m not timid and I’m not quiet. I’m bold.”
Read Next: Looking Back on Vogue Arabia’s Previous Saudi Issues and Their Landmark Achievements