Nora Al Shaikh is a young Saudi designer who launched her label in 2012. She creates modern, sculpted eveningwear inspired by architecture and films like Blade Runner. For her A/W14 collection, she took inspiration from sleek, shiny buildings. Al Shaikh strives to change perceptions and showcase Saudi fashion internationally. She debuted her latest collection in New York through the Saudi-based showroom Trickponi. As a Saudi designer, Al Shaikh aims to nurture her country's emerging fashion industry and build an international brand.

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spent a lot of time searching for the right fabrics
for this collection,” says Nora Al Shaikh, holding up
the hem of a skirt cut from a high-tech duchess satin
that ripples like water. “It’s interwoven with
translucent yarns that reflect light and colour in an
extraordinary way,” adds Nora at her Riyadh studio,
where she is carefully packing her latest collection
before shipping it to New York. Since launching her label in 2012,
the young Saudi designer has carved out a niche for herself with strong
graphic lines and rich colour combinations. “I’ve always wanted to
create beautiful clothes for strong, confident women,” says the designer.
For autumn/winter 2014, Nora explored the idea of the future as it
relates to architecture. “I began looking at films such as Blade Runner,
Metropolis and Gattaca, where there is a very distinct aesthetic defined by
sleek, rounded buildings with shiny or metallic surfaces, and that formed
the starting point for this collection,” explains the designer, who created
modern sculpted eveningwear in iridescent shades of ivory, dove grey,
navy, pink and fuchsia.
Shortly after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration
from King Saud University, Nora began studying fashion design at
Riyadh’s Art and Skills Institute. “At the time I enrolled, the school had
just opened and it was the first in Saudi Arabia to offer courses in fashion
design,” she says, pointing out that the institution was instrumental in
nurturing a new generation of designers in the Kingdom. “I wanted to
contribute to Saudi Arabia’s emerging fashion industry,” she adds,
“I
Saudi designer Nora Al Shaikh debuted
her A/W14 collection in New York last
month. She tells Bazaar about forging
a fashion identity from Riyadh
THE NAME-TO-KNOW
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NORA AL
SHAIKH
confiding that young Saudi designers still
face challenges.
“We’ve definitely made a lot of progress
in the last few years. But we also have to
keep in mind that Saudi Arabia’s fashion
industry is relatively young and we lack
some of the basic infrastructure needed to
grow our labels,” explains Nora, who
credits part of her success to the support of
family and friends. “Today there are two
challenges we face as designers in the Gulf.
The first is to change perceptions among
consumers and retailers, and show them
that we are capable of creating innovative
and well-made clothes that stand up
against international labels. We also need
a network of fabric suppliers that sell in
large quantities and factories to produce our lines,”
observes the designer, who begins each collection
with a narrative reflecting a woman’s many moods.
“My designs tend to be architectural so I spend
time experimenting with draping fabrics on a tailor’s
mannequin before creating the patterns,” says Nora,
who likes to fuse her Saudi heritage with a global
perspective. “Travel has played a large role in fuelling
my creative process,” adds Nora, who is frequently
inspired by architecture, art and the people she
encounters on the streets while in London, New York
or LA. On her last trip to Paris, the Saudi designer took
time to document the city’s street art, while visiting the
Louvre’s Islamic Art collection, the Musée d’Orsay and
the Cartier exhibition at the Grand Palais. “I love
referencing graffiti art and a Parisian jeweller’s creations
for Maharajas in a non-literal way,” explains Nora, who
hopes to engage a global audience through her designs.
“When I decided to launch my label, my dream was to
build a successful Saudi-based international brand,” says the
designer, who had to think creatively when it came to
marketing her latest collection. “I wanted to perfect my craft
and grow gradually, and I felt now was the time to present my
line to international retailers,” she confides, having teamed
up with Sara Al-Ajroush, a Riyadh native who grew up on New York’s
Upper East Side and is a graduate of the Pratt Institute’s Design
Management programme. After interning at New York showroom
Luxcartel, Sara opened the Saudi-based Trickponi showroom in 2012, to
connect international press and retailers to promising designers from the
region. “As young Arab designers we need to think outside of the box in
terms of how we connect to customers and retailers, especially in the
context of a global industry such as fashion,” says Nora, who debuted
her latest collection at Trickponi’s ‘Middle East-meets-West’ pop-up on
New York’s Lower East Side. Last month, fashion editors and retailers
had a unique opportunity to view the work of emerging designers from
the Middle East.
“This collection marks a new direction for me, and I had to think
strategically about working with stores who share a similar point of
view,” says the designer, whose latest collection will debut in the Middle
East this month at D’NA’s Riyadh and Doha locations. “There is
something incredibly empowering about fashion in that it can make
women feel both confident and beautiful, and that was one of the
reasons I wanted to become a designer,” says Nora, a designer who has
become a name to watch for in Saudi Arabia’s growing fashion scene.
“As young Arab designers we need
to think outside of the box in terms of how
we connect to customers and retailers”
nora Al shaikh
around
the
world
Nora, here at the
Musée d’Orsay in
Paris, fuses her
Saudi heritage with
global influences.
architectural
digest
Nora Al Shaikh makes
adjustments to her autumn/
winter 2014 collection.
premiÈre vision
The moodboard on the wall of Nora’s Riyadh
studio shows her multi-cultural influences.
graffiti
girl
Nora, seen here,
took inspiration
from the street art
she saw on a recent
trip to Paris.
Nora Al Shaikh’s
studio in Riyadh
The Cartier exhibition at
the Grand Palais is also
referenced by the designer
Geometric shapes at
a contemporary art
exhibition in Paris
inspired Nora
Nora’s snapshots
from the Cartier
exhibition
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