Racecourse and runway

The sounds and sights of the races will be familiar – thousands of excited spectators in the grandstand and trackside shouting for their favourites down the home straight.

But beyond the track, this is a race meeting like no other. The festival of racing taking place in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh climaxes on Saturday evening with the $20 million Saudi Cup.

In a spacious pavilion, mannequins are adorned with an exquisite and daring version of traditional dress. Next to it, a tent is full of swirling traditional music and kaleidoscopic patterns. Diners congregate at white-clad tables to sample contemporary versions of their traditional cuisine.

As well as attracting the cream of the sport’s crop from Japan, the USA and Europe, the Saudi Cup has become a showcase for Saudi art, tradition, fashion, food and culture.

In its short history it has become a showcase for the country’s emerging creative industries and a celebration of cultural abundance, organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia in partnership with The Ministry of Culture and is very much an opportunity to celebrate equestrianism and its cultural significance globally.

There is a lot happening in the fashion sphere especially. We are a long way from Cheltenham’s wall-to-wall sea of tweed caps and waxed cotton jackets. A closer parallel is Royal Ascot. It’s a place and time to dress your smartest, shout loud for your chosen horse, mingle and experience a vast and varied culture.

As with Ascot, the dress code for visitors to the King Abdulaziz Equestrian Field is important. It’s less of a code, perhaps, than a fashion guide produced by the Saudi Fashion Commission in partnership with a historical researcher of traditional Saudi fashion – a themed dress code running to 19 pages.

Sure, they don’t want you to wear jeans and sneakers (you wouldn’t at Ascot, would you?) But the guide is actually an invitation to be creative – and for Saudi men and women, to celebrate its vast and diverse traditions.

The fashion guide is a study of the many fashions of women and men across Saudi’s 13 regions. Women might choose a thobe, traditionally in a range of vivid greens, golds and reds, embroidered with exquisite metallic thread.

Matthew Baxter, editor in chief of Esquire magazine in the Middle East, says the second Saudi Cup, the 2021 event was a turning point for Saudi and fashion – two words that had rarely been bracketed together previously.

“People in Saudi not only revelled in the opportunity to showcase their personal style and traditional dress from their region publicly, but also used it as a platform to push the boundaries of creativity,” he says. Last year, one influencer was adorned in a dress that nested live doves.

“The heritage and culture of the Kingdom was being interpreted in a new way and exhibited in its full glory at the Saudi Cup. It rightly caused a stir”.

The Fashion Commission is one of 11 under the Ministry of Culture covering different sectors. Last year’s Saudi 100 brands exhibition showcased designers’ interpretations of Saudi traditional dress in line with the Cup’s dress code.

Artists and musicians also get to reveal new work in an event that has been described as Saudi Arabia’s Superbowl or Met Gala.

There will be traditional performances, contemporary acts and live DJs – again, it’s that theme of celebrating tradition alongside modernity. One of the most ambitious pieces will be Saheel, a performance exploring the close relationship between purebred Arabian horses and local people.

The country’s burgeoning art scene is represented by the installations Window of Culture and Luminous Patterns, inspired again by the formal Qitān al-Bisht dress. The Srooj area is the main gallery space – it’ll include live painting demonstrations, decorated saddles and other equine themes.

But for many Saudis and visitors, it’s all about being there and being seen. There’s a green carpet area for people to get the celebrity vibe and a chance to be photographed with the Saudi Cup itself. (The Kingdom has replaced red with green – the national colour – for ceremonial carpets at official state receptions). Tables will be greatly in demand at the Irth restaurant, offering a contemporary take on traditional Saudi dishes (there’s that theme again).

For Saudis, it’s an opportunity to cheer on their local favourites on the track and marvel at the talent The talent that is continuing the traditions of the past and racing it towards the future. As for visitors, they’ll see how Riyadh is taking a different route to its glitzy neighbours.