was held under the bright lights of the city’s brand new King Abdullah Financial District, and Saudi Arabia’s Fashion Commission is forging ahead with its goals to develop a complete local value chain and build more categories around its fashion industry.
“There are many job opportunities, but we still don’t have enough talent on top of it. Over the past three years, the Fashion Commission has made an ardent effort to recruit mentorship that has been focused on everything from couture design to supporting business plans, strategy, product development, retail and wholesale,” Cakmak explained ahead of the WWD Global Fashion Summit in Riyadh.
In an attempt to propel business on a global stage, two dedicated showrooms aimed at raising the country’s fashion profile on the international stage were opened in Paris in 2023. showrooms, which offer a mix of retail and wholesale, are a first for Saudi fashion. Their opening coincided with a about the country’s burgeoning fashion industry, which is projected to grow to more than $32 billion by 2025.
“We plan to increase it in the future based on the demand. But we’re basically expecting all local brands to come here to do product development for their new designs. And, obviously, we we put a big sustainability focus.