In the world of lingerie and intimate apparel, fabric has always been a second skin—a barrier between the body and the world. But for Shahd AlShehail, creative director of the Saudi label Abadia, the spring 2026 “Meditation” collection was never about protection from the elements. It was about protection from the relentless churn of fashion itself. Conceived eight months ago, before geopolitical tremors reshaped the Gulf’s luxury landscape, the collection championed deliberate slowness: garments conceived as heirlooms, not disposables. Then March arrived, and the region’s airspace closed. Retailers from Dubai to Doha pulled inward during what should have been peak Ramadan trading. Suddenly, AlShehail’s thesis—silk satin draped like a whispered prayer, and the ancient Bedouin weaving technique known as sadu—felt less like a design choice and more like a prophecy.
Sadu, traditionally used in tent-making and camel trappings, is the structural spine of Abadia’s aesthetic. AlShehail translates its geometric weaves into modern silhouettes through a process of “stacking”—layering strips of fabric to mimic the hand of the loom. Historically, international retailers viewed sadu as “too ethnic.” Now, Net-a-Porter and Selfridges have anchored their spring buys around it. Clients request sadu detailing on non-sadu pieces. This shift mirrors a broader cultural reclamation: as the lingerie industry increasingly celebrates heritage craftsmanship—from French lace to Japanese silk—sadu is finally being recognized as the haute couture technique it always was.
AlShehail, who was four years old during the 1991 invasion of Kuwait, describes herself as “a child of the Gulf War.” That history informs her leadership. When the recent conflict disrupted last-mile logistics, she rerouted shipments from air to land, accepting longer transit times for certainty. Her supply chain—90 percent of manufacturing in Dubai, with an artisan network in Saudi Arabia—proved resilient, a buffer built by proximity. “We just moved with the punches,” she says.
Now, Abadia is expanding into the U.K. with Harrods and Browns, and developing production capacity in Saudi Arabia through a newly opened textile lab. AlShehail speaks of building a “100-year brand.” In an industry where trends dissolve faster than lace, that ambition feels radical. But in a moment of crisis, stillness is its own kind of armor.
Originally reported by WWD