Piya Prakash Pawani, a beauty pageant coach residing in Oman, will be among the key speakers at the first edition of the Riyadh Modest Fashion Week next week

Modest Fashion Week (MFW) has finally arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the first edition of Riyadh Modest Fashion Week slated to be held at the iconic Al Faisaliah Hotel between December 15 and 17. And while beauties from around the globe will showcase latest trends in ‘modest fashion’, a lone voice from Oman will make its presence felt at a talk show on the last day of the event.

Piya Prakash Pawani, a beauty pageant coach and social medial influencer from Oman, was handpicked to be among the key speakers at this event which has a theme of ‘Roots to the Future’ inspired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision. She will be speaking on ‘The Importance of Women Empowerment in Fashion’ among other speakers like Aya Abdelhakam Hussin (UK), Mariam Sheikh (UAE) and Menna Farag (Kuwait) in a talk show moderated by Nouran el Khady (Egypt).

The special guests among100+ invitees at the unprecedented event in Saudi Arabia include inspirational names like Beki Ksouri and Nasma Elgohari (KSA), Mai Mohamed and Alaa Nobel (Egypt), Kamile Assem (UAE), Audrey Martinez (France), Dalia El Naggarr (Kuwait), Aya Barqawi (Jordan), and Rasha Ibrahim (Morocco).

Known globally as the most prestigious event series that is dedicated to the modest fashion industry, the Modest Fashion Week in Riyadh is expected to set a new milestone for women in the kingdom. So far, eight successful editions of MFW have been held in cities like London, Dubai, Istanbul, Amsterdam, and Jakarta where it kicked off in 2015.

The MFW series is organised by Turkey-based Think Fashion – the creator and pioneer of the modest fashion week concept. MFWs are dedicated to the modest fashion industry with 2 billion media coverages across the five continents, generating interest in over 40 countries, 300+ designers/brands, 500+ influencers, 100+ buyers and other industry experts.

Piya, who is upbeat about her participation in Riyadh disclosed that the vision of Modest Fashion Weeks is to create sustainable and global business relations for the modest fashion industry stakeholders that are designers, brands, buyers, media, influencers and creative talents for the huge and growing modest fashion market.

Herself a runner up at the Mrs India beauty pageant, representing Oman in 2018, and the title holder at the La Femme Worldwide pageant in 2019, Piya is now a full-time beauty pageant coach, training finalists from India and Oman in communication and personality development for various beauty pageants.

The modest fashion concept is a popular global style wherein trendy clothes are fashioned to cover the body with minimal revelation of skin, she explained adding that it needn’t be restricted to Islamic attire (like abayas) and could comprise non-revealing garments used by women all over the world and catering to all body types.

“I will be attending the MFW in Riyadh not only as an ‘influencer’ representing Oman but also as one of the key speakers. I will be talking about the importance of women in the fashion industry and I have immense local support to represent the culture there,” Piya said adding that the event would touch upon a host of relevant topics including sustainability, clothing that is supportive of nature and the environment, etc.

Piya has received able support form Travel Point for her trip to Riyadh as well as from designers like Faiza al Balushi (Chiffon Style), Hiba al Lawati (Coquette Oman), whose clothes she will be wearing, besides Riham al Samad (make-up artist), she said, however, pointing out that mustering support is a key requisite in the industry and women need to learn relevant skills in this regard (which is part of her scheduled talk on empowerment).

Quashing popular thinking that the glamour industry revolves around ‘skin show’, Piya stressed that models and fashion buffs need to explore all types of fashion, not just revealing outfits, to present their own, individual style and potential. Married women, too, need to shed their inhibitions and go ahead and follow their dreams in the fashion world, she said, indicating that demarcations in participation by unmarried/married women in beauty pageants are soon getting thinner than what they had been decades ago.

Asked about the key requisites for an ideal model, whether from Oman or any part of the world, Piya hinted that having the right mindset and determination was most important while securing a good fitness quotient as well as having a long-term career in mind are the secondary factors.

Indicating that all body type are welcome in the fashion industry which is getting more and more inclusive these days, Piya said, “Size doesn’t matter any more, as long as you know how to carry yourself in style. Having done a dual MBA and taken up a successful job earlier, she currently believes in enjoying everything she does and being able to fit into whatever option that works well for herself.

Her mantra for success: Have a healthy mind, a healthy body, and a healthy lifestyle; never get distracted by anything or anyone once you set your goals.