Newsfeed
In the Arab social media scene, where the space is still burgeoning and evolving, The Fashionista is a testament to where we stand today as watchers, fans, and ultimately consumers in the world of influencers.
The dynamic mini-series, produced by OSN+, sheds light on the intricate realities that shape the lives of social media stars, offering a mirror to the region’s rapidly growing digital landscape.
With a narrative that is as compelling as it is revealing, The Fashionista takes on the challenging yet intriguing journey influencers take. From the diamond in the rough to the glitz and glam, the series, released on January 9, 2025, boldly uncovers the untold highs and lows of social media life in the Middle East and peeling through the laters of the curated perfection often seen online.
It’s needless to say that the show features regional A-listers who proved to be the perfect selection of actors to portray the complexity of the growing space and the dynamics that go with it. Bringing a performance filled with authenticity and depth to the characters, the stars of the show take us through the dimensions they went through the filming of the Kuwaiti-based show.
Lulu Almulla, who plays the lead role, Maryam, and influencer powerhouse, Ascia, who plays the cold yet reliable CEO, and the brain behind the meteoric storyline, Yousef Al-Qenaei, takes GRAZIA on a journey behind the lens.
GRAZIA: Hi Lulu and Ascia! What are your thoughts on the Fashionista as the main characters?
Lulu Almulla (LA): It was a really great opportunity from the moment Yousef told me about the script. To me, it felt like a new path—a new experience. And with OSN+, they helped us transform the show in the greatest way possible. When it came down to the character, it was new to me. Playing Maryam was A bit more complicated compared to other characters I’ve done, but that’s what really stirred excitement for me.
Ascia (A): I was incredibly excited to get involved with the project because I knew Yousef had been working on it for quite some time. I trust Yousef’s ability to tell a story, and I really trust his ability to put a really important message out there. And knowing that it was going to be produced and created by OSN+, I immediately knew the show was going to be on a different level, especially on such an important topic of influencers in Arab spaces.
The fact that it was fully made in Kuwaiti, with other actresses based in Kuwait—it was just kind of an honour to be involved in something that was really groundbreaking. I think, for all of us, at the level that it was produced at, it’s just a major win for anyone that’s in media all around.
GRAZIA: Yousef, as the writer, how was the process of picking the cast and the story development?
Yousef Al-Qenaei (YAQ): It’s a major win for me, especially with Lulu and Ascia’s involvement. From the get-go, especially with the character of Maryam, I only imagined Lulu playing it, and I was dreaming of Ascia being in the series. Dreaming.
I remember meeting her [Ascia] at an event a few years back, and I was like, “Would you mind just maybe being involved in a tiny way?” And Ascia has always been so supportive in general, and I think everyone can vouch for that. She’s always been a person to whom you can always go and speak.
The reason I’m specifically mentioning this part is because the term fashionista was, I truly believe, was coined by Ascia. Because she was one of the pioneers in this region for that. So for her to be in this project was super amazing and important. For Lulu, of course, I cannot imagine anyone else playing the role. I wrote it with her in mind, which I told her from the very beginning. She’s the very first person I called for this series. I was like, “Lulu, please, you need to be in this. I can only imagine you. At least give me an initial answer with your interest so I can start writing the show.” It was that important.
A: Yes, I don’t think that anyone else could have done a character arc the way that Lulu did with Maryam. I was so excited. I think, like, knowing all of the people that are in the show, I’ve always been one to watch people that I know win. And this is such a major win for Lulu and a major win for Yousef. It was life-changing to watch Lulu work. I think it’s an honour to watch somebody really lose themselves in a character and really do it with passion. I think it was a great reminder that I’m in an important space.
GRAZIA: Lulu, you mentioned playing Maryam was nothing like your previous characters, how did you prepare yourself for the role specifically?
LA: When it comes to preparation, Yousef was there from the very start. He helped me through the dimensions of the character: how she felt, where she came from, why she was doing what she was doing, what she was aiming for. And most of the time, Yousef was there preparing and helping me for this. It wasn’t that difficult. I kind of knew, in some situations and scenes, how she felt, which was kind of easy for me to express. I think the hardest parts are just to hold on with technicality. It’s kind of hard to tap into certain emotions and keep them there until the director yells “action.” But overall, I can really express the intense sadness, the grief, and the anger.
GRAZIA: Yousef, what drove you to write this type of storyline, especially in a space that’s still finding its footing?
YAQ: So for me, what I wanted to achieve with a story like this is to bring in the human element into something that’s so, I would say, unfortunately, a space that’s considered a little scandalous. Especially in terms of what some of the social media influencers get up to. And when I say scandal, it’s not that they’re doing anything necessarily scathing or problematic, it’s just a matter of being in the spotlight—being the centre of the topic.
People like to talk about what these people do in these spaces. And I think when we take someone as a topic, as opposed to a person, we tend to scrutinise them more and look at them from a very entertainment-style lens. We look at them as if these people were meant to put on a show for us. But what intrigued me the most is the why. I’m not going to deny that sometimes, some influencers, some famous people in this space, tend to do things which I think are crazy. Like, why would someone do something like this? Why would someone go out and bash someone or do a certain act? I think it took me a while to figure it out, and then I realised that they, much like everyone else, come into this area with their baggage.
For example, when you’re in a company and you go up to a certain colleague and you can tell that they don’t necessarily speak the way you do, or act the way you do, or react to things the way you do. So, you tend to give them their own space to breathe and you also get put yourself in their shoes. “This person probably is going through something,” you know? But when it comes to influencers, people don’t really give them that benefit of the doubt. I wanted to achieve that with this series.
GRAZIA: Ascia, you are also an influencer. How did your experience as an influencer connect with the series?
A: I obviously had to put in the hard work of getting myself prepared for the role. I remember we had a scene where I genuinely had to walk out and cry because I couldn’t get the word right. So, there was a lot of prep work for that. But in terms of the character I play, I was able to quite heavily relate to her.
We differ in a lot of ways. The character is a business owner but also an influencer herself, and that’s something that I do in my day-to-day. She runs a talent agency, which is a little bit different from me, but, you know, I’m used to being around different kinds of talent. I think we differ a little bit in terms of how cold May actually is as a character, whereas compared to me, I’m very soft. So, that was a little bit of a challenge for me. But in terms of falling into the character, it was a relatable character because these are the kinds of personalities that I’ve been around for my entire career, and they’re personalities that I know very well. I can see bits and bobs of where Yousef had pulled different personalities into my particular character.
I think that if there’s anything that I’ve done well in this series from the actress’s standpoint, it’s that it’s all built upon the women who were around me. Because all of the women that were on set were all seasoned actresses, which was amazing because I was able to gain something from them. I would say that I, myself, became an amalgamation of Lulu, Fay Fuad, Salwa Khattab, and Bibi Alabdulmohsen. I definitely gained so much from this, to be honest.
GRAZIA: Since social media plays a huge role in the series, how do you think it’s going to impact other people?
A: I really hope that it humanises influencers a little bit more. I think that there is so much that goes on behind the scenes. We’re in a media space that is the wild, wild West. We don’t have the kind of PR training that a lot of celebrities come with. They have an entire team of people that PR manages them through. Influencers are really doing it on their own. It makes us think, where is the line between how much of your life is put online, what are you curating as your true persona, and what is okay not to include?
There are so many kinds of questions that go on as an influencer. I hope that the show humanises it a little bit, because we are, at the end of the day, that weird go-between between a full-blown celebrity and your everyday person. We are somewhere squarely in the middle. We come with our own drama just like everybody else, and we come with our own emotions, and we have our hard days and our own family issues too. I don’t think we contextualise that enough for people in the Arab social media space.
LA: I love the point Ascia made. In today’s day and age, with the fast-paced speed of social media, we are not judging these individuals correctly. We are seeing influencers more as entertainment and less as humans. I want the audience to kind of take a step back and look at them in a different light, in a light where they are human first, as opposed to just pure entertainment.
YAQ: I would like people to take away from this series and reserve judgment. Like what Lulu and Asia said, we urge everyone to try and assess things differently. I think it’s normal for us to have an opinion about people that we’re talking about, but to judge them and scrutinise them in such a way that we are ridiculing them? I think, for me even, something that’s equally important is I would like people to realise, why are they judging? I want them to analyse that. Ask and reflect on the question, “Why am I doing this?” And I think that’s the side of the series that was very important for me, while we were developing it. It’s for people to assess both sides of the coin.
GRAZIA: Lulu, in what ways do you think your character reflects a unique aspect of your career? How does she stand out among the roles you’ve played in other shows and movies, and how has this impacted your goals as an actress?
LA: Maryam’s personality has a deep psychological dimension. I feel I can truly make Maryam shine because I resonate with her on so many levels. She’s incredibly complex, embodying both immense pain and joy. I’ve portrayed various characters in my career—the survivor, the victim, the abused, the comedic—but Maryam stands out in her multifaceted nature. She’s yearning for love while simultaneously battling her past, which I haven’t explored in this depth before. This complexity makes her relatable, as many people can see aspects of their own struggles in her journey.
Maryam’s character has also taught me to be a better friend. Watching her evolution can inspire anyone in the public eye to improve their relationships by understanding the depth of human experiences she represents. Every role I’ve taken on has made me stronger and more human, instilling different values that I carry forward. This show delves into aspects of a character that are rarely explored, and I hope Maryam’s story will open doors for meaningful conversations about these often overlooked dimensions.
