JEDDAH, 6 February 2005 — Ten young Saudi women who recently completed a training program in dress design may soon be fashioning careers in the clothing business and creating a pattern for success that other women will soon follow.
Sew what? — Just about anything they want to.
The four-month training progam, sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel Fund for Training and Development, concentrated on presenting the basics of women’s clothing design according to a woman’s body, skin color, age, as well as suitable designs for various events. The women also studied international and regional fashion lines.
Abdul Latif Jameel is now coordinating with different design workshops and fashion houses, to help the women find jobs. They also prepared samples of their designs to demonstrate their skills and talents. Some of them, however, plan on starting their own labels, instead of joining a design house or workshop. It seems like a good idea.
Sahar Abdul Rahman, head of Women’s Job Preparation at the ALJ Community Services Programs, said the program is the first in the Kingdom tailored to train women in fashion design. She added that the ALJ Fund is keen on proceeding with its support for young female graduates, by providing them with all facilities needed to apply their newfound skills.
“The women were chosen after passing a personal interview to ensure that they had the same level of talent and education and needed further assistance to develop it,” said Abdul Rahman.
The idea of Saudi designers is new to fashion workshops and design houses in Saudi Arabia; however, those companies are now planning to each hire at least one Saudi designer. By year’s end, plans are to train 600 Saudi women and help them with job placement to get a stitch up on their futures.
