PARIS: A redheaded horsewoman in a flowing, made-to-measure Arab gown atop a snorting steed opened what can only be deemed Paris' most unusual fashion show of late. The display, a sumptuous affair held at the French capital's George V Hotel, showcased haute couture abayas, the body-covering robes Muslim women don over their clothing in public.

They are usually accompanied by a headscarf and can be worn with a niqab, a face veil covering all but the eyes.

Unveiled the same week that French President Nicolas Sarkozy unleashed a storm across the Arab world for criticising the head-to-toe burka for women, the score of just-completed jazzed-up designer abayas are to be offered to leading Arab families by Saks Fifth Avenue of Riyadh and Jeddah.

The presentation of the madeover abayas seemed just another catwalk show in the world's fashion capital, but within minutes morphed as a scene out of the Arabian Nights.

Designers who tried their hand at making over the abaya included Christian Dior's artistic director John Galliano, French luxury labels Nina Ricci and Jean Claude Jitrois and Italian houses Blumarine and Alberta Feretti.

"I realised that most of the Saudi clients are wearing designer brands, but they're covered by a black abaya," said the show's organiser, Dania Tarhini, general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue in Saudi Arabia.

"It is an obligation to wear the abaya there, but let them feel good about it."

Tarhini, a striking brunette of Lebanese origin who's lived in Saudi Arabia for the past seven years, acknowledged "it wasn't easy" to convince designers to take part in the project.

At first, "they couldn't imagine how to make a designer abaya," she added.

Tarhini said the initial batch of made-to-measure abayas - worth between $5,500 (BD2,073) and $11,150 - would be given as presents to Saks' most faithful Saudi clients.

Ready-to-wear versions of the robes featured in the Paris show are expected to go on sale in Saks stores in Jeddah and Riyadh in September.

The gowns, which are to retail for $2,500, could later be sold in the store's branches in Bahrain and Dubai, Tarhini said. Saks' senior vice-president for international business ventures, David Pilnick, said the project aims to build bridges between cultures.