Luxury houses, Vogue Arabia to mentor Saudi designers
The fashion commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)’s culture ministry recently unveiled the Saudi 100 Brands initiative, a one-year mentorship programme for domestic couture, leathergoods, ready-to-wear and jewellery designers created in partnership with Vogue Arabia.
Luxury specialists from LVMH, Kering, Chanel and Valentino, among others, will guide 100 Saudi brands both in-person and virtually alongside academic experts from Central Saint Martins, Yale, Parsons School of Design and the Royal College of Art, while Vogue Arabia will help shape the chosen designers’ global communications strategies.
The fashion commission’s development director, Her Highness Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud, commented on the launch: “It’s so exciting to launch Saudi 100 Brands as such a rich and diverse opportunity for the talented fashion design community here in KSA.
“The fashion commission spent 2020 laying the foundations for an enabled sector and now, in 2021, we’re rolling out this initiative, among others, to ensure our ambitions - which reflect those of our community - are achieved.”
Editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia, Manuel Arnaut, added: “Vogue Arabia has a long history of nurturing emerging regional brands and partnering with the Saudi 100 Brands programme is a natural continuation of our support.
“We are excited to work closely with the Saudi fashion commission, sharing insights that will contribute to the development of the brands taking part in this journey and using our platforms to support their growth not only locally, but also on a global scale.”
Alongside education and training, the initiative will offer support for engaging with Saudi-based retail platforms and “consumer-directed activities”, Vogue Arabia said, with a view to launching e-commerce and wholesale in early 2022, in order to encourage international sales.
Registration for participation is open until June 20, 2021.
Image: Vogue Arabia via Instagram.
