Georgina Rodriguez updates her style for Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo's partner is making her mark in the kingdom

Georgina Rodriguez wears an abaya by Qatari label Dollab Line at Mrsool Park stadium, in Riyadh, on January 3, 2023. EPA

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's partner Georgina Rodriguez arrive at the Mrsool Park Stadium in the Saudi capital Riyadh on January 3, 2023, ahead of Ronaldo's unveiling ceremony as an Al-Nassr player. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

Rodriguez sports a polo neck during a visit to Boulevard World in Saudi Arabia, with Ronaldo and their children. Photo: @georginagio / Instagram

At a 2022 Fifa World Cup Round match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, Rodriguez wears an abaya by regional brand 1309 Studios. PA

Rodriguez wears one of her trademark racy dresses during the Venice Film Festival in 2022. Reuters

Rodriguez attends the screening of Elvis at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. Getty

Rodriguez attends the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards wearing an embroidered dress and matching shayla, in 2019. AFP

At the same event with Ronaldo. AFP

Rodriguez sports a chic all-black outfit at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021. EPA

Rodriguez arrives in a sparkling green gown for a benefit gala in Spain in 2021. EPA

Rodriguez dons a slashed leather dress during the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. EPA

Georgina Rodriguez, 28, is proving to be something of a style leader as she settles into life in Riyadh alongside her partner Cristiano Ronaldo and their children.

The move to the kingdom has prompted a shift in Rodriguez's dressing, as she trades in siren dresses and skin-tight bodysuits for more modest options. This has not dampened her style, however, as evident when the Argentinian model visited Riyadh's Boulevard World this week, wearing a pulled-together outfit featuring a polo neck, jacket and jeans tucked into knee-high boots.

Earlier this month, she sported a sleek black turtleneck underneath an abaya, at Ronaldo's unveiling as an Al Nassr player at Mrsool Park. As the whole family took to the pitch, Rodriguez wore a black Max Mara turtleneck top and Elisabetta Franchi jeans, under a deep red velvet abaya by Qatari brand Dollab Line. Dubbed the Spiral, owing to the abaya's asymmetric lapels, one of which falls in soft ruffles, it has sparked a rush of women copying her style online.

During the Fifa World Cup 2022, to cheer on Portugal in Doha, Rodriguez teamed a fitted black dress with a pale pistachio abaya by regional brand 1309 Studios.

This demureness marks a stylistic shift for the model, who has been living in the spotlight since becoming Ronaldo's partner in 2016. Over the years, she has honed a signature look of tight, attention-grabbing looks, including the silver backless mermaid cut dress she wore at the Cannes Film Festival, to Marine Serre bodysuits.

More recently, however, Rodriguez has been embracing a more directional style, wearing several looks by the avant-garde label Vetements. With looks incorporating built-in gloves or covered in dollar-bill patterning, she has been upping her fashion credentials.

If these looks feel reminiscent of Kim Kardashian's high-profile Balenciaga outfits however, that is because Vetements was co-founded by Demna Gvasalia, who is Balenciaga's creative director.

Although Demna — who prefers to be known by only one name — left the brand in 2019, his brother Guram Gvasalia remains at the helm.

While it is also heartening to see Rodriguez embracing the abaya, these recent outings are not the first time she has stepped out in region-appropriate wear.

In December 2020, she posted an image of herself in Dubai, wearing a floor-length embroidered velvet chapan, or men’s coat, from Uzbekistan, while in 2019, she attended the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards wearing an embroidered gown and matching cape, with her head covered with a shayla.

As the family settles into life in the region, it will be interesting to see how the fashion-loving Rodriguez navigates mixing her love of revealing clothes with local sensibilities. Given the start she has got off to, we can look forward to her supporting more regional modestwear designers.