Biography
Mohammed Ashi is a Saudi Arabian couturier and founder of the brand Ashi Studio. He became the first couturier from the Gulf region to join the Fédération de la Haute Couture in Paris as a guest member in 2023. After a stint studying fashion design and patternmaking at Esmod, and a professional experience at Givenchy, Ashi worked for Elie Saab , before laying the foundations for his own brand. Ashi started the label in Saudi Arabia in 2007, then relocated to France in 2018 where he won over a legion of royals and celebrities including Beyoncé, Queen Rania of Jordan, Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone , Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Rina Sawayama and Billy Porter.
Ashi approaches couture with a mastery of volumes using the most exclusive techniques and a quest for harmony between contrasting baroque and minimalist elements. His signature look fuses the age-old aesthetics of the Arabian Peninsula with the classical foundations of European couture to achieve contemporary expression of timeless elegance and an increasingly fluid approach to gender. He is considered a pioneer in his native Saudi Arabia. “His creative force has made an invaluable contribution to Saudi’s fashion zeitgeist as the country undergoes a cultural transformation,” Burak Cakmak , chief executive officer of the Saudi Fashion Commission, told The Business of Fashion in 2023.