Always' 'Not Hot' Fashion Line Helps Saudi Arabian Women Beat the Heat

Summertime temps in Saudi Arabia can get as high as 113°F. That’s already an uncomfortable feeling. Then tack on your period and women are doubly miserable.

Always partnered with Saudi Arabian fashion designer Nasiba Hafiz to create a global line of period attire inspired by and made from material similar to what’s used in Always’ Cool & Dry pads.

The “Not Hot Collection” targets Gen Z and has perforations throughout the clothing similar to those on the top of a pad to wick away moisture and heat.

Hafiz is known for her use of bright, bold colors and she doesn’t disappoint. There’s fluorescent yellow, purple, olive green and light blue, and some attire even combines them all. These colors match those found on Always Cool & Dry packaging.

Staying cool costs $1,200 Saudi Riyal ($318 U.S.), for a cardigan/top and pants set. Dresses also cost $1,200 SR, bike shorts retail for $350 SR ($93), and driving gloves will set you back $200 SR ($53).

“We wanted the create the ultimate kit for women to ‘not be hot.’ That’s why the fashion line not only has clothes, but also accessories such as bicycle shorts to be worn under dresses to protect the skin, branded car seat covers and driving gloves—due to the extreme temperatures, the steering wheel and the car seats get extremely hot,” says Natasha Maasri, ECD of Leo Burnett Lebanon, the agency behind the partnership.

The collection is sold directly from Hafiz’s website and via a pop-up store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

A :60 ad promoting the line begins with visual responses to anyone wondering how hot it really is in the desert.

It’s hot enough to fry an egg, melt a popsicle, bake cookies and overheat your phone. The influencers in the ad—Nirvana Abdul, Ratana Mohammed, Shahad Bamashmous and Rawnaa Babunji—stay cool, comfortable and carefree. And those driving gloves come in handy when eating fresh, dashboard-baked cookies.

The fashion line is promoted through all-digital components and took four months to create.

“We wanted women in the KSA and the region to be aware of the benefits of the Cool & Dry technology of the pad,” Maasri tells Muse. “And we wanted to design for the modern Saudi woman, and Nasiba is known for that. She’s been pushing the boundaries for years, so she was the perfect designer to create bring the ‘Not Hot’ collection to life.”

CREDITS

Always x Nasiba Hafiz: The Not Hot Collection
Client: P&G
Brand: Always Saudi Arabia
Agency: Leo Burnett Lebanon
Chief Creative Officer: Malek Ghorayeb
Executive Creative Director: Natasha Maasri 
Associate Creative Director: Emma Mouradian
Associate Creative Director: Pia Haddad 
Associate Creative Director / Arabic writer: Lama Bawadi 
Multimedia Designer: Charbel Saliba
Associate Business Director (Content): Orson Baz
English Content Writer: Marianne Hassoun
Business lead: Fadi Bustros
Associate Business Director: Lana Khayat
Senior Account Executive: Melanie Tohme
Head of Strategy: Manal Khater
Strategic Planner: Yasmine Abou Hamdan
Associate Business Director (Media): Elie Gebrael
Media Planning Manager: Michel Mrad
Strategic Planning Senior Executive: Maya Mahfouz
Strategic Planning Executive: Lynn Salha
Head of A/V Production: Shereen Mostafa
TV producer: Nicolas Balaa
Photographer: Lina Mo
Production Company: Liwa Content Driven, Dubai
Directors: Natasha Maasri and Emma Mouradian
Executive Producers: Puja Chatterjee and Nishqa Pillai
Line Producer: Chadi Douglas
D.O.P: Abdullah Shamsi Basha 
Editors: Nathalie Moussa, Nikhil Soman and Muhammad Shoaib
Sound Design: Nikhil Soman and Muhammad Shoaib