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Sanam Saeed is at Cannes and she’s repping Pakistan in the most graceful way possible. The star has been dazzling in Hussain Rehar couture and the internet can’t get enough.

Rather than wear western gowns, she’s chosen to represent Pakistani fashion and heritage at Cannes and we love it. But that’s not all she’s repping. According to Brut India, she is the inaugural honouree of the South Asian Women Excellence in Cinema and Arts initiative launched by Us Studios.

Saeed posted about the moment she walked the red carpet. “I didn’t go as an ambassador for a brand, I didn’t go as part of a film team, I went just as a South Asian woman representing Pakistan and our heritage and craft. I told you I’d walk for the women of Pakistan, for the ones who came before us, for the ones who are yet to come and for the ones are never seen behind the scenes.”

Earlier, she spoke about representing Pakistan and the many women in its entertainment industry. “Women are the custodians of Pakistani entertainment,” she said in a powerful video.

“This Cannes, I’m not just walking the red carpet, I walk carrying every woman who has stitched, written, directed, watched, and dared to dream. And the next generation, she’s already here.” 

And carry she did, in an outfit custom-made by Rehar. According to the designer, it took 50 artisans 2,354 hours to complete the embroidery on the ivory outfit.

In her earlier post, she went into detail about her clothes, calling Rehar a master of his craft who “keeps the women he designs for at the centre of his creations”. “This beautiful take on an Anarkali meets haute couture and the global trends of layering and volume and old world charm. The outfit is made from the purest of fabrics. Silks and chiffons. The intricate, metallic work called Mukesh was hand embroidered by women in Bahawalpur,” she said.

The flowers in her hair, a statement if we ever saw one, were handpicked from the garden by Samah, her ’“little helper there from Lahore/Houston”. “Her mother Ayesha aunty, who accompanied Samah, then strung the flowers to make the larees to wrap around my hair.”

Her gorgeous style statements extended to her pre-red carpet looks as well. At Rehar’s exhibition, she wore a black and white sherwani-style long coat, paired with what appeared to be a beaded skirt beneath it.

Earlier, she wore an amazing pale yellow outfit that screamed summer.

From her incredible outfits, chosen with care and intention, to the way she’s carrying herself with grace and poise, wearing her identity on her sleeve, Saeed is making all of us incredibly proud.

Sanam Saeed, you’ll always be our favourite.

Cover via Shakeel Bin Afzal