Best known for its national dress of the men’s white thobe and the women’s loose plain black Abaya, Saudi Arabia isn’t closely associated with fashion or know for its fashion industry but today there are a number of large and small fashion designers quietly at work in Saudi Arabia. They are beginning to make some positive noise with the beginnings of a fashion industry emerging. Young designers are creating contemporary womenswear and also re-designing Abayas in new and interesting ways.

To link the British and Saudi fashion sectors, last month we partnered with the University of Brighton and London College of Fashion (LCF) to present a series of fashion talks, events and workshops in Riyadh for aspiring Saudi designers.

The workshops were conducted under two separate events – as part of the public programme of the 'Best of British' fashion and lifestyle consumer show and as a stand-alone events called 'Bridging Cultures through Fashion' held in partnership with one of Riyadh’s top fashion retailers – Maison Bo M.

The tutors and designers from University of Brighton and LCF were joined by two Saudi fashion designers - Mashael AlFaris and Daneh Buahmad with talks and practical workshops that covered creative and professional skills with subjects such as pattern cutting and draping to running a fashion label.

The particupants came from different backgrounds including degrees in art, fashion & design and some with a background as self taught designers and the uk tutors were energised & impressed with the participants.

In addition to the events Brighton University initiated a new partnership project with with Princess Noura University in Riyadh while London College of Fashion are collaborating with Dar Al -Hekma College in Jeddah which means that this project will be built upon and developed in the future.