RIYADH: The French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier headlined Saudi Arabia’s first-ever Arab Fashion Week on Thursday night, joining other designers from Europe and the Arab world in the five-day event. Many of Gaultier’s gorgeous designs were based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, while others, particularly his haute couture collections, were formal yet unusual and playful at the same time. The French designer did not disappoint, with his creations — varying from the eccentric to formal — stunning the audience despite modesty restrictions on models who strutted across the runway. The models wore leggings that were made of the same color of Gaultier’s designs, which many applauded as unique. Gaultier’s versatility clearly showed: One model to showcase his work wore a formal black and white suit while another wore a sheer white hijab while adorning a fringed white shirt and black trousers, with the head covering a seeming homage to Arabic culture.