Instead they said Mesfer, who earns money partly through online ads, enjoys protection because he works with luxury brands and mingles with local celebrities who invite him to their events. Yet Mesfer's approach carries considerable risks.Īlong with ardent fans -– mostly bubbly teenage girls who follow him on Snapchat -– the crowd gawking at the recent Riyadh shoot included one irate middle-aged man who got out of his car to denounce Mesfer as "gay", a potential capital offence in Saudi Arabia.ĭespite his large following, Mesfer has polarised social media users in his home country, as seen in the comments on many of his posts Fayez Nureldine AFP In the process he has endeared himself to expensive brands keen to profit from a spectacle that would have been unthinkable before Saudi Arabia embarked on a whirlwind series of social reforms ushered in by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Such appearances have helped Mesfer, 25, build a massive social media following while blazing a trail for the handful of Saudi male models brave enough to don garments widely seen as appropriate for women only –- thereby pushing the boundaries of their country's famously rigid gender norms. Passers-by began sneaking pictures on their mobiles merely minutes after Mesfer emerged from his white luxury car onto the cobbled sidewalks of a high-end cafe district in Riyadh, his stylist and photographer in tow.
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