Saudi 100 Brands programme announces finalists for year-long mentorship

Saudi Arabia’s Fashion Commission announced on Monday the finalists of its Saudi 100 Brands programme launched in June, which aims to support the business development plans of the kingdom's designers and luxury brands.

The finalists of the inaugural programme will commence a year-long mentorship with support from some of the world’s leading fashion experts, including those with experience from LVMH, Kering, Chanel, Valentino and Bulgari. The mentors will provide group and individual consultancy and advisory sessions, including international partnerships with Vogue Arabia and regional retailers.

The Fashion Commission's chief executive Burak Cakmak tells The National the programme will support the global ambitions of domestic fashion brands over 12 months, covering branding and conceptualisation, innovation and technology, sales performance and marketing strategy, and imparting key leadership skills.

Four hundred candidates were shortlisted from more than 1,300 applications. Those living in the kingdom were interviewed at hubs in Riyadh and Jeddah, and meetings were held virtually with those living abroad.

“There is currently no single, well-known international Saudi brand, so this programme is positioned as a chance to identify and grow local talent and nurture them to the stage where they can get global recognition,” says Cakmak. He says it is time for Saudi Arabia to have some fashion brands that amplify the national narrative on an international stage.

In the next five to 10 years, he hopes Saudi Arabia will have a robust local fashion ecosystem that has regional and global connections, and for the country to be seen as “an internationally relevant example of how to build a fashion sector, as a best-in-class reference for sustainability, diversity, cultural amplification and innovation”.

Cakmak had already joined the Board of the Fashion Commission while in his previous role as dean of fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York, and was involved in the creation of its strategy from the moment it was established in February 2020. He said his perception of Saudi Arabia's fashion world changed when he saw “how many individuals there are in the country who are already established in terms of designing” and its range of fashion entrepreneurs.

The Fashion Commission believes without a mature existing system that requires dismantling, the kingdom offers the fashion sector a clean slate upon which to create a sustainable industry set to become a global best-in-class example.

The body will formally represent all of those chosen for Saudi 100 Brands, and will be the provider of data for fashion businesses and their output throughout the country.