Costumes of Saudi Arabia: A Heritage of Fashion

Her Highness Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud is on the Business of Fashion 500 Global List, as well as being a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She joined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian’s Ministry of Culture in June 2019 and, until 2022, was the General Manager, Ecosystem Integration and Program Delivery, at the Fashion Commission, where she oversaw the development of the national fashion strategy. Prior to joining the public sector, Princess Noura successfully initiated, managed, and sought funding for high-profile, internationally attended large-scale projects in Saudi Arabia under her consultancy umbrella, Culture House. These included the Kingdom’s first ever “Fashion Week” in 2018. Princess Noura is frequently asked to speak publicly about the fashion sector’s status and opportunities in the Kingdom, as w ell as Saudi’s fashion heritage.

Siân Tichař has been working in Saudi Arabia since 2012, and grew up in the region, working in the Khaleej and the Levant (as well as London and New York) for most of her professional life. She is the author of six books. Siân worked with Princess Noura bint Faisal at the Ministry of Culture, Fashion Commission, contributing to Saudi’s national fashion strategy, as well as producing the Fashion Futures platform, which included an exhibition of Saudi heritage fashion called “The Hidden Kaleidoscope.” Siân began her career as a journalist, having worked at the BBC World Service as a reporter and producer, and at magazines such as Wallpaper*, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. Sian continues to work in the Kingdom, producing campaigns that raise awareness about environmental subjects, such as the Arabian Leopard and the state of the ocean, aspects of which have been recognised by the United Nations.

Curious, eclectic, demanding, a dreamer, and a self-taught man, Laziz Hamani is an exceptional photographer. Of Berber origin, he was born and lives in Paris. He is passionate about creating beautiful images, his life defined by a constant search for aesthetics and meaning. He has worked with many prestigious luxury brands, such as Dior, Cartier, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, as well as with designer Axel Vervoordt, and he has collaborated with Assouline Publishing on more than twenty titles. From the finest details of high jewelry to the purity of minimalist design, Hamani aims to bring the viewer into dialogue with the image, to evoke power and beauty through his unique simplicity. For Assouline, he photographed the images for Uzbekistan: The Road to Samarkand (2020), Uzbekistan: Living Treasures (2022), The Art of Manufacture: Alain Ducasse (2023), and The Dior Series.