Seven Saudi designers to know, and where to buy them

Razan Alazzouni studied sculpture, screen-printing and papermaking at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts in Boston before she made clothes. "I think of my clothing as sculptures," she says on her site. "I love playing with light and layering, beading and embroidery." On her necklace kaftan the embroidery sits around the neckline where a necklace would, over straight, fitted sleeves.

Razan Alazzouni was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. The necklace embellished kaftan is about $467. The floral embellished kaftan is denim jacquard worked with gold and flowers, cut like a long bolero with a slip inside, about $427. Her abaya is boxy jacquard cotton that can be worn wrapped, veil included, about $174; it is final sale. Orders reach Saudi addresses in one to two working days, the Gulf in three to five and the rest of the world in five to seven.

• Necklace Embellished Kaftan, Razan Alazzouni, SAR 1,750 (about $467)
• Floral Embellished Kaftan, Razan Alazzouni, SAR 1,600 (about $427)

Arwa Al Banawi was born and raised in Jeddah, moved to Dubai in 2012 and launched her label in 2015 with suits and shirts. It is now ARWÁ. "I always had this in mind," she told Arab News, "to make the name shorter and of course more recognizable internationally." In 2021 she launched a sneaker collaboration with Adidas. The label works with family-owned manufacturers and artisans across the Arab region and Italy, in limited runs. The We Are a Kingdom long blazer is a tailored long coat belted at the waist, about $680, and the Magda kaftan falls full length in a long drape, also about $680.

• THE WE ARE A KINGDOM LONG BLAZER ARABIC ( WE ), ARWÁ, AED 2,500 (about $680)
• THE MAGDA KAFTAN DRESS, ARWÁ, AED 2,500 (about $680)

Reem Al Kanhal studied at the Art&Skills Institute in Riyadh and founded her label in 2010, a year after graduating. She designs a modular wardrobe of clothes and accessories, and has often drawn on the women of the Asir province. The Noura large skirt is red and white striped cotton, fitted at the waist and opening into a full skirt, $250. The Moudi dress is white cotton blend with a square neck, structured puff sleeves and an asymmetric line, $410. Orders ship by Aramex or DHL, most within five to ten days.

• Noura Large Skirt, Reem Al Kanhal, USD 250
• Moudi Asymmetric Dress, Reem Al Kanhal, USD 410

Hekayat means stories. Sisters Alia and Abeer Oraif run Atelier Hekayat from Jeddah; Alia is creative director. "We like to think of our designs as wearable art pieces," she told Arab News. Its signature print is the Toile de Jeddah. The Quiet Rarity is an abaya in that print in deep burgundy, about $748. The Untold Story is a red velvet kaftan with wide sleeves, about $801. International orders arrive in five to ten business days.

• The Quiet Rarity– Burgundy Toile de Jeddah Abaya, Atelier Hekayat, SAR 2,800 (about $748)
• The Untold Story – Red Velvet Flowing Kaftan A signature Atelier Hekayat piece designed to embody elegance through rich fabric and effortless movement., Atelier Hekayat, SAR 3,000 (about $801)

Tala Abukhaled, born in Riyadh and trained in fashion design and patternmaking at ESMOD, established Rebirth in 2021 as a slow-fashion label for men and women. "We want to tell stories through our pieces," she told Arab News. The label works in fluid jersey draped across the waist, and in raffia: its Palm dress is woven raffia fabric with more raffia fibre worked over the top.

Jeddah-born Tima Abid founded her womenswear label in the early 2000s, showed her first collection at Paris Haute Couture Week in January 2020, and in May 2024 opened the first Red Sea Fashion Week. Her gowns are the most expensive pieces here: the Rosalia is chiffon georgette in a loose, fluid line, $1,520.

Fahad AlJomiah and Khalid AlJammaz founded 1886 in Riyadh in 2016 and named it for rooms 18 and 86 in London. The label calls itself the kingdom's first homegrown fashion label. The puffer coat is black, belted, high at the neck, with a hood that buttons off, about $120.

Prices converted from riyals and dirhams at a fixed rate. For Saudi abayas and bishts from Abadia and Mona Al Shebil, see designer abaya brands from the Gulf.

— The editors