7 Middle Eastern Couturiers Who Have Taken Over Cannes Red Carpets

The red carpet on the Palais des Festivals steps is the most photographed stretch of fabric on earth — La Montée des Marches. For decades, it belonged to the Maisons of Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Then Middle Eastern couturiers arrived. And they never left.

Every May, as the world’s most glamorous film festival descends on the South of France, a quiet revolution is playing out in sequins and silk. While the Palme d’Or takes over the headlines, another story is being written on the red carpet, by designers from Beirut, Riyadh, Muscat, Tehran and Dubai. Middle Eastern fashion has not merely arrived at Cannes, it has taken up permanent residence, dressing some of the biggest names in cinema and pop culture.

What began as a handful of Lebanese couturiers making quiet inroads on the Croisette has become a full-scale redrawing of the global fashion map.

From established legends to newcomers, the designers showcasing at the Cannes Film Festival represent a cultural movement as significant as any film competing for the Palme d’Or. The screen may be where stories are told, but the carpet is where identities are revealed.

Here, GRAZIA takes a look at some of the iconic works done by the Middle Eastern designers for the Cannes Film Festival.

If there’s a single name that pioneered and opened the door for other Middle Eastern designers, it’s definitely none other than the great Elie Saab himself. Known for his lavish embroidery, delicate hand-beading, romantic silhouettes, and the kind of craftsmanship that makes women feel like they have stepped into a dream. He has dressed Hollywood’s big names on the Croisette for decades. His red carpet legacy at the Cannes Film Festival exceeds conventional celebrity styling, combining his status as the undisputed king of the red carpet with the premier couturier for the world’s most prestigious event.

At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Heidi Klum wore a gradient pink floral Eli Saab gown from the brand’s “1001 Seasons” collection in a defiant act to the new, stricter guidelines, which aimed to prohibit voluminous outfits and large trains. The design featured a strapless bodice with a large pink flower at the chest, covered in organza petal-like fabric that flowed into a sweeping, floor-length train.

If Elie Saab is the poet of Middle Eastern couture, Zuhair Murad is its provocateur. A Beirut-born designer who made Cannes his personal runway year after year. If Elie Saab leans romantic, Zuhair Murad leans daring: sheer fabrics, bold silhouettes, gowns that dare you to look away. The designer tends to bring out the untamed and sensual side of the woman, emphasising her natural curves, often providing a powerful vibe.

The Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio wore a Zuhair Murad champagne-coloured, princess-style, off-the-shoulder couture gown with beaded elements and motifs to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, pairing it with diamond drop earrings and a ring from Chopard. The supermodel described the experience of wearing it by saying, “When I put it on, it just felt like I had body tattoos,” and added that she felt like a “gorgeous Disney princess”.

George Hobeika is, at his core, an architect who chose fabric over concrete. The Lebanese designer’s approach to fashion is deeply architectural. He treats fabric as a building material, sculpting silhouettes that balance structure and movement, blending the precision of engineering with the intimacy of haute couture. Each gown from the maison is an orchestration of light and texture, hand-embroidered arabesques that shimmer like constellations, draping sculpted with the precision of high jewellery.

At the Cannes Film Festival 2019, Sara Sampaio delivered a true couture moment in a dreamy strapless gown from Georges Hobeika’s Spring 2019 Couture collection. Rendered in a soft nude-peach hue, the dress balanced a clean, sculpted bodice with a voluminous skirt alive with feathered textures, creating that signature Hobeika mix of romance and drama. Known for his ultra-feminine silhouettes and red-carpet sensibility, the designer once again proved why Cannes remains his playground. The result felt effortless yet unforgettable: a look that didn’t just walk the carpet, but quietly owned it.

Georges Chakra is one of the early pioneers of Lebanese couture on the global stage. His design language is rooted in sleek femininity and precise construction, often favouring clean, body-skimming silhouettes elevated by intricate embellishment, draping, and luminous fabrics. Unlike more overtly voluminous couture houses, Chakra leans into a quieter kind of drama, where cut, fit, and surface detail do the work, creating gowns that feel both timeless and undeniably seductive.

The Australian-American actress Claire Holt wore George Chakra to the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. White satin and chiffon gown from the Spring/Summer 2024 collection. This is one of the rare moments where everything is controlled but still breathes. The sculpted bodice silhouette was very clean, architectural, combining with the liquid movement in the skirt continuing to the train is what gave the dress the perfect balance to not feel rigid on her body.

The Beirut-based couturier who trained at Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris before launching his own label, quickly established himself as a master of structure and embellishment. His design language is defined by architectural precision and sensual femininity. Sharply contoured silhouettes, sheer panels and intricate embroidery that results in enhancing the body rather than overwhelming it. His gowns often embody a balance between boldness and control, making them a natural fit for red carpets like Cannes.

Iris Mittenaere wore a voluminous, lilac-colored gown with silk tulle fabric and delicate beaded embroidery for the 76th Cannes Film Festival (2023) where the elegant, princess like silhouette embodies exactly what Ward stands for. The Dramatic, geometrical, voluminous shapes and the movement beyond traditional flowing silhouettes.

Rami Kadi represents a new generation of Middle Eastern designers redefining couture through innovation and individuality. His design language blends traditional craftsmanship with experimental materials, creating whimsical, avant-garde pieces. Rather than following conventional ideas of red-carpet dressing, Kadi pushes boundaries, offering a more youthful, artistic, and almost digital-age interpretation of glamour that stands out instantly in a sea of classic gowns.

at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, the American model Grace Elizabeth, dressed in a black fitted, custom-made, old Hollywood-inspired couture gown characterized by ethereal organza draping, enhancing the fitted silhouette.

Founded by Mohammed Ashi, the brand has built its identity on a very distinct kind of couture. One that leans into structure, minimalism, and form rather than decoration. His design language feels almost architectural, with a focus on sharp tailoring, clean lines, dramatic volumes, and monochromatic tones that let construction be the focus. There’s a certain discipline to his work, but also emotion in the way the pieces move and frame the body. It’s couture that doesn’t try to be romantic in the traditional sense. It’s cooler, more controlled, and quietly powerful.

At the Cannes Film Festival 2019, Sonam Kapoor showed up in a look by Ashi Studio, bringing a sense of quiet power to the red carpet. The silhouette was sculptural and intentional. Less about bling, more about shape, and volume. With its controlled architectural lines and its monochromatic whole, the look felt almost editorial in contrast to Cannes’ usual maximalism, proving that impact doesn’t always need embellishment. It was strong, refined, and slightly unexpected. In the best way.