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| All Shaikha Al-Humaidi's digital designs are from her website |
Twelve Saudi women made
the cut last month to CEO Middle East
magazine’s list of “The 100 Most Powerful Arab Women” for 2012.
Of the dozen, eight are
placed in the “Culture and Society” category, two in “Banking and Finance” and
one each in “Government” and “Construction and Industry.”
I intend writing about
all 12 in a future post. I was surfing the Internet for information and photos
for that purpose when I stumbled on the storyline of a 13th Saudi
woman who is not exactly “powerful” as the rest, but certainly innovative and
talented.
She is Shaikha
Al-Humaidi, a Saudi pioneer in digital fashion design.
Journalist Amal
Al-Sibai introduced her to the readers of Saudi Gazette, including myself, earlier this month:
Al-Humaidi, who loved
drawing and painting as a child, converted to art, fashion and color mixing when
she turned 13.
Growing up, she got
encouraged by her father’s constant praise for her artwork.” From secondary
school onward, she would design her own dresses that she would wear on special
occasions.
Gradually, family
members and close relatives started asking Al-Humaidi to draw (ornate) gowns to
be tailored at the local dressmaker’s shop.
Al-Humaidi says, “After
I got married, I continued to create my own dresses. It was my husband who
first encouraged me to expand my horizons and to take my talent for design
beyond my immediate circle of family and friends.
“He developed a website
for me that included pictures of the most glamorous gowns I had made and he
named the website ‘Mozhelah’ (مذهلة), meaning ‘amazing.’ Much to
my surprise, I received immense positive feedback from site visitors, and
started getting official orders and requests to design dresses.”
To keep up with her
customers’ demands, Al-Humaidi set off to learn everything there is to know
about digital designing, the most up to date computer software in the field,
fabric textures, embroidery, cutting materials and more.
Thus her online fashion
design business was born. Al-Humaidi became one of the first Saudi women to
design, custom-make, and sell dresses via the Internet.
Asked to describe what
she does, Al-Humaidi said: “Digital fashion designing is convenient and it
saves time and energy for both the designer and the client. What is special
about digital designing is that the electronic model of the gown can be easily
adjusted and played with until you meet all your client’s wishes and until she
is 100 percent satisfied.
“The client can see a
three-dimensional image of what her gown is going to look like and the details
from all angles, which is unlike paper sketches.”
The young Saudi fashion
designer, who is also mother to a little girl, specializes in evening gowns and
wedding gowns.
She also aspires to
launch her own lingerie line.
Al-Humaidi believes in
empowering other young Saudi women, teaching them the secrets of the trade, and
giving them “wings” to fly on their own in the booming industry of digital
fashion design.
She was one of the
first women in any Arab country to offer courses and train other women in this
new field, teaching them how to use the software tools for designing.
Once her business was
up and running, Al-Humaidi decided to open her own “fashion academy” and share
with other Saudi and other Arab women her skills in digital fashion design.
Al-Humaidi said, “The
women who completed the digital designing course are extremely gifted and they
are competent enough to compete with the most prominent names in the fashion
world. Digital designing allows the Saudi woman to realize her dreams without
leaving the privacy of her home. It shows women how to make wise use of their
free time, maximize their potential, become productive, and nurture their
talents...”
The talented designer’s
next big step is to participate in a star-studded fashion show in Dubai slated
for October. She is currently working on several evening gowns to parade on
Dubai’s catwalks.
All accompanying digital
designs are from Shaikha Al-Humaidi’s portfolio. More can be found on her website.