This week at Ithra in Dhahran, the Saudi Fashion Exhibition was inaugurated, featuring 45 Saudi designers who displayed a variety of opulent works, including finely crafted clothing, purses, and jewelry.
The exhibition is part of Tanween, the nation’s leading creative platform, which is setting the standard by refocusing its 2022 edition to promote chance encounters and cross-cultural interaction.
“The phrase ‘Stop, Collaborate and Listen’ inspired our theme and program this year,” says Robert Frith, creative director of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and curator of Tanween. “What a great way to describe the creative process required to address today’s challenges, succinctly capturing the need to pause and think, work with others, and be open to feedback.”
The exhibition intends to investigate how design will develop in the Kingdom. The designers incorporated a personal story into their works by drawing on their own experiences.
Burak Cakmak, the authority's CEO, remarked in a statement: “Saudi fashion is not like any other fashion, because it is exceptional, unique, luxurious and made with extreme precision.
“The fashion industry seeks to be a major part in meeting the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and there is huge potential for growth. In the untapped fashion sector locally and globally.
“The Saudi fashion sector has made amazing progress over the past two years through initiatives that have contributed to creating opportunities for local talent.”
In association with Ithra, Saudi jewellery designer Lillian Ismail produced a "simple, elegant unisex bracelet" for the event, which was distributed to the invited guests. Dr. Patricia Davies, an associate professor of mathematics at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University in Dhahran, was one of these guests. She primarily sews garments for herself and was interested in the designs and the trend Saudi designers were following. She had been to an earlier exhibition, which she found interesting since it included more conventional, historical designs.
The show will be up until the end of this month at the center's Dhahran headquarters in collaboration with the Fashion Authority.
Visit Fashion Futures, which will be held at Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City in Riyadh from November 17–19, if you're interested in exploring more artistic designs.
