If you go to any fashion conference or sketching rooms of some of the biggest luxury houses around the world, sustainability is a buzz word. The fashion world is evolving towards a more responsible approach, designers and brand everywhere have been trying to find way to use recyclable material, adopt second hand operations, and find a way to make fashion waste less detrimental to the environment.
Fast forward to Saudi Arabia, where Reem Shaban, a 27 year old fashion designer establishes R*3, a custom made fashion brand with the sole objective of reducing environmental harms. How? By utilizing upcycled fabrics to create new items.
Reem began her path in fashion from university where she earned her fashion degree from Dar El-Hekma in Jeddah. It is evident her cool girl style seeped through her designs, as all of the R*3 unique pieces are items you don’t usually see on the market. Every single one item makes a statement.
She talked to Arab News, and explained her thought-process behind the designs. Stating “As a designer, I believe it’s very essential to get out of your comfort zone and make a statement, for which I worked hard to reach out to people and make them understand the fashion-forward trend.”
This isn’t Reem’s first hurrah in the industry as she has been a stylist for big publications in the region, including contributing in Fashion Star Arabia and showcasing her brand at the Light Exhibition in Riyadh.
On sustainability, Reem continues to be unswerving with that as she takes her journey of exploration with both trends and new ways of being environmentally conscious.
“I didn’t aim to adopt a sustainable approach because it’s ‘on-trend,’” she says to Arab News. “Instead, I always had a passion for creating styles using recycled fabric or materials and converting it into a brand new, wearable outfit. Under Saudi Vision 2030, I aim to bring more awareness and longevity toward sustainable fashion in the Saudi Arabia marketplace.”
