All the Times MENA Designers Sparkled on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

A few nights ago, pop icon and lover of reflective wearables Taylor Swift kicked off the New Jersey leg of her ‘Eras’ tour donning a show-stopping princess-style gown by Elie Saab. In a pale pink hue, and with enough sparkle to be seen from space, the look was created for the Speak Now segment of the show, and is a clear tribute to the pop princess’ ‘Last Kiss’ period.

This is hardly the first time Swift has sported a creation by Saab or other designers from the MENA region. Here we find Saab called to action again, this time in Tampa, Florida, dressing the ‘Enchanted’ singer in an A/W 2022 dress dusted with petals, and a cascade of crystals.

In fact, the tour’s second night saw the debut of a custom ball gown by Lebanese couture legend Zuhair Murad. Absolutely crawling with - you guessed it - crystals and sequins, the tulle extravaganza took over 350 hours to be hand-crafted in Murad’s atelier.

The seemingly hundred-year-long tour later stopped off in Las Vegas. This calls for extravagance, and that’s what Murad delivered, once again. Miss Swift took up another 350 hours of atelier time, over 20,000 pieces of embellishment and an endless supply of fringe to construct this exquisitely detailed midnight blue bodysuit.

Aside from her on-stage ensembles, Taylor shows her love for MENA sartorial vision in the music video for her latest release, a remix of the hit ‘Karma’ featuring the rapper Ice Spice. Kuwaiti designer Yousef Al Jasmi has Taylor glistening in a custom-made embellished catsuit, ascending a staircase in the clouds to then throw a glowing lasso around the moon, obviously. It all makes so much sense.

The immense tour is far from over yet. So, keep your eyes peeled for more regional talent and even more crystals and sequins as the performances roll on.