In an emotional homecoming, Reem AlKanhal presented her spring 2026 ready-to-wear collection in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Titled “Homage,” her runway debut transformed memories of her great-grandmother into a meditation on Saudi femininity, past and present.

AlKanhal, who built her reputation on avant garde modular design, delved into the intimate wardrobe of her great-grandmother, Omi Hassa, mining what she called the “quiet power” of traditional Najdi dress for a contemporary audience hungry for cultural authenticity.

“As a little girl, these details captivated me,” AlKanhal said. “They weren’t just elements of clothing, they were signatures of her grace, traces of a time when beauty was expressed in whispers, not declarations.”

At the heart of the collection was the khat albalda — traditional striped undergarments that would peek provocatively beneath outer layers. AlKanhal sourced the original striped fabric for her opening looks, rendered in green and red stripes that set the tone for a collection steeped in heritage with modern sensibility. The designer worked with a carefully selected fabric palette: crisp poplin and striped cotton for structured layering, silk and brocade for luxury, and delicate Munaikhel tulle that created an ethereal sense of movement.

The makta, a traditional garment with a cinched waist, informed the collection’s silhouettes, while black and gold fabrics were layered with intention, creating looks that felt both covered and daring. AlKanhal’s signature approach — clean lines meeting draped curves, modesty punctuated by peekaboo details — was in full effect, embodying what she described as “a balance between structure and fluidity, reflecting both strength and softness.”

The designer’s modular sleeve became a defining element, allowing pieces to transform from modest to sleek with a simple detachment. “You can remove the sleeves, you can add the sleeves. You can wrap it,” AlKanhal explained backstage after the show. “It’s just a playful and joyful element of it, but still have this a bit of the beautiful, elegant, soft, unseen elements that maybe the world doesn’t know about but we know about.”

The collection was styled with traditional Saudi jewelry pieces, including coin belts from Najd, grounding the collection in its cultural origins while speaking to what AlKanhal called “the fluidity of modern identity.”

AlKanhal, who maintains a loyal client base in London, France and India, launched her label in 2010. She has a loyal client base internationally, but decided to take a two-year hiatus. “I didn’t want to just design,” AlKanhal said, reflecting on that period. “I wanted to design with purpose, with beauty, with emotions.” That intentionality showed in every detail of her debut show in Saudi Arabia, linked to memories, from the derum-stained lips she remembered from her great-grandmother to the embroideries that referenced generations of Saudi craftsmanship.

For a designer who has long refused to follow trends or seasons, preferring instead to create what she called “time capsules” that “transcend trends and seasons,” the Riyadh runway felt like full-circle validation. Her pieces, designed to be worn and reworn over years in endless combinations, found their perfect context: a fashion week that honors heritage while pushing toward an ambitious future, with a designer whose very DNA is woven into both.