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There has been a trend lately of brands—especially in the food industry—joining the fashion arena, designing their own wearable fashion lines. These clothing collections are often collaborations with other brands. One of such atypical collabs comes this time from the Middle East.
Always has teamed up with Saudi fashion designer Nasiba Hafiz to launch a heat-resistant fashion collection in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where temperatures often soar above 45 °C (113 °F) in summer.
To beat the heat in style, Always x Nasiba Hafiz have unveiled The 'Not Hot' Collection – the world’s first designer period wear inspired by Always Cool & Dry, a sanitary pad that was created to keep women feeling cool on their periods by keeping moisture away from their skin.
Hafiz is one of Saudi Arabia’s most progressive fashion designers whose daring fabrics, vibrant colours and delicate tailoring are changing the way the world sees Saudi fashion. Flowing, comfortable and timeless, her clothes are created with the region’s intense heat and humidity in mind, making her the perfect collaborator for the Not Hot Collection.
This carefully designed collection is made using Cool & Dry performance fabric, and features the same soft, tactile mini perforations as the surface of the Always Cool & Dry pad to keep moisture and heat away from skin.
In Saudi Arabia, summers are notoriously intense with daytime temperatures exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) from June to August in almost all the country – and that’s in the shade. In the desert, temperatures frequently rise as high as 130 °F (55 °C) in summer.
“I was really inspired by the technology of Always Cool & Dry to create this collection, which is perfect for Saudi women living in one of the hottest parts of the world. The pad only covers part of our bodies, but what about the rest of your skin?”, explains Hafiz.
“The whole purpose of this collection is to use a fabric that has the same functions of the Cool & Dry pad so that women can feel super comfortable, even at that time of the month when they’re not feeling comfortable. I hope it will start a conversation about looking and feeling good in the heat, especially on our period”.
The Not Hot Collection features unique technicolour print, breezy shapes, and lightweight layers. An eccentric collaboration that marries style with function. It comprises think pockets for tucking away discreet items; bike shorts that sit beneath a flowy dress, fusing comfort with femininity; driving gloves and car seats that protect against searing-hot steering wheels – all the essentials that women in the Gulf need to not be hot on the hottest days of the year.
Sonali Dhawan, Senior Vice President of P&G Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa's Feminine Care business at Procter & Gamble adds: “We’re happy with our collaboration with Nasiba Hafiz to launch ‘Not Hot’ fashion collection demonstrating the cooling & protection technology of our Always Cool & Dry pads in a new fashionable GenZ way. We’re always keen to unleash the full potential of the strong brave women in our region through products and collaborations that unleash girls' and women's confidence so they can be whoever they want to be. This also felt true to Always’ mission of unleashing women’s confidence in any circumstance: why can’t women look cool and comfortable in any season, or at any time of the month?”
Natasha Maasri, Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Lebanon, says: “The Not Hot collection was created to solve a problem: feeling comfortable when temperatures are soaring, and look good while doing it. Together with Always, we challenged one of Saudi Arabia’s most talented designers to rewrite the rules of fashion with a line of period wear that’s created with intense heat in mind. Changing perceptions of Saudi fashion was also a huge part of what made this project so inspiring for us.”
The verdict is still out on whether or not the merchandise-as-marketing tactic will lead to consistent loyalty and higher sales. But one thing is for certain: The Not Hot fashion line is a collection of smart clothes, thanks to a powerful marriage of two purpose-driven brands based on the highest level of creativity and quality.
And we can’t but applaud products and campaigns that permeate culture for the good of the planet, through a combination of fashion, functionality and technology.
Always x Nasiba Hafiz’s Not Hot Collection is now selling via a pop-up concept store in Jeddah and via Nasiba Hafiz’s website.
CREDITS:
Client: P&G
Brand: Always Saudi Arabia
Agency: Leo Burnett Lebanon
Chief Creative Officer: Malek Ghorayeb
Executive Creative Director: Natasha Maasri
Associate Creative Director: Emma Mouradian
Associate Creative Director: Pia Haddad
Associate Creative Director / Arabic writer: Lama Bawadi
Multimedia Designer: Charbel Saliba
Associate Business Director: Lana Khayat
Senior Account Executive: Melanie Tohme
Head of Strategy: Manal Khater
Strategic Planner: Yasmine Abou Hamdan
Associate Business Director (Content): Orson Baz
English Content Writer: Marianne Hassoun
Business lead: Fadi Bustros
Associate Business Director (Media): Elie Gebrael
Media Planning Manager: Michel Mrad
Strategic Planning Senior Executive: Maya Mahfouz
Strategic Planning Executive: Lynn Salha
Post-Production: Leo Burnett Dubai
Head of A/V Production: Shereen Mostafa
TV producer: Nicolas Balaa
Photographer: Lina Mo
Production Company: Liwa Content Driven, Dubai
Directors: Natasha Maasri and Emma Mouradian
Executive Producers: Puja Chatterjee and Nishqa Pillai
Line Producer: Chadi Douglas
D.O.P: Abdullah Shamsi Basha
Editors: Nathalie Moussa, Nikhil Soman and Muhammad Shoaib
Sound Design: Nikhil Soman and Muhammad Shoaib
