Nawal Maimani knew she wanted to be a fashion designer at the age of 13. After completing high school she made her decision to pursue it as her career; she could not, however, study fashion as her major because “strangely” it did not exist in Saudi universities at that time nor does it today. In the end, she decided to go for the closest thing, which was interior design followed by a BA in business management from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.

Since she got her degree and for the next five years, she has worked steadily on her collections with the encouragement and support of her family and friends. She quickly established a name in the world of Saudi fashion with a logo that features: ‘Nawal, the Art of Traditional Clothing.’ She uses the heritage of her ancestors and the blends it with local tradition sto bring out a line that is unique and appealing. She brings traditional Indian fabrics from India and designs them to suit the needs of modern women. She says: “My designs are not limited to special occasions or to specific women. In fact, they’re very practical and can be worn on formal and informal occasions. From teenagers to older generations, women can wear them to work, with hijab, jeans or at the beach.”

From the beginning, Nawal’s main inspiration has remained Indian fabrics. Why? “Because they are very colorful, oriental and artistic. When I look at an Indian fabric, I can immediately visualize my design,” she said. Even when she’s experimenting with Chinese or Western elements in her designs, her bold Indian statements always are there in the background in the presence of peacock feathers, beads, embroidery and gold silk lace.

Today, around the world demand for Indian textiles and fabrics is on the rise; Indian style is becoming part of global fashion not only because of its sophistication and multicolores but also because Indian styles are comfortable to wear. This is the reason that Nawal visits India twice a year to see the latest in colors and fabrics. For in India every season, as she says, there is something new and delightful.

Nawal started with abayas and thobes, but with the unexpected popularity of those relatively simple designs, she decided to go further. Always ambitious, Nawal began to try out her talent in a less formal zone -- casual clothing for casual wear.

Talking about her 2005 Casual Summer Collection which was launched two weeks ago and how people reacted to it, Nawal said: “I was encouraged by my friends’ reactions. They were the first to see the collection, and they were enthusiastic about it. But the fact that the collection was a success sank in only after I presented it to the public. Their approval made me feel more confident. People were literally making a beeline to see the collection and to place their orders.”

The collection ranges in price from SR200 to SR700 and is a mixture of traditional fabrics and modern designs: from dresses that can be worn with jeans or on their own to silk blouses and dirndl skirts with appliqué.

Her designs are also popular because she guarantees that her pieces are all one of a kind. “As always, with my designs, I emphasize the concept of uniqueness for each garment. I have an unbreakable rule of not designing more than one piece of the same color or fabric, so you will never find two similar pieces because I do not repeat the design with different fabrics.”

In addition to the Indian influence, Nawal is also inspired by such fashion gurus as Cavali and Saab: “I like Roberto Cavali for his crazy, funky and brave designs that break all the rules of fashion and are different. I also love Ellie Saab who has the ability to blend so many colors in his design but keeps to the concept of simplicity too.”

Nawal is not afraid of seeing her designs on the runway. She is already a veteran of the ramp and the catwalk. She has had three years of fashion shows in Jeddah and all of them have got good responses. Despite her early success and the growing acceptance of her collections here, she is chary about taking the next big step in the fashion world.

Nawal feels that she is yet not ready to participate in Arab or international fashion weeks. But she hopes to take that global step soon, albeit small ones initially with participation in the Arab ones first and then slowly “taking it from there. At the moment, I am more than happy to go and attend Arabic, European and Indian fashion weeks; for example this year, I went to the Lakme India Fashion Week (IFW) in Delhi. In the near future, however, I am planning to participate,” she said.

Talking about the reality and the difficulty of starting a fashion business here, Nawal said: “It is one of the hardest things to do. The first and major obstacle is the difficulty in getting visas to bring in professional tailors. After that comes the challenge of promoting designs. But two years ago things got easier because of bazaars and fashion shows organized by charitable associations who gave space to designers to show off their work.”

Nawal also stressed the role of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce’s center for Saudi businesswomen - Khadeejah Bint Khowailid - for arranging meetings between Saudi businesswomen this year. “We’ve encouraged as businesswomen. This is new and from my own experience, I can tell how things have changed. In the last two years bureaucracy has decreased and there are more openings for newer designers to set up shop,” she added. “There is strong competition too, especially in marketing abbayas. Today you can find as many as six abbaya shops in every mall - in addition to the abbayas which are marketed from homes,” she said. Despite all of this, Nawal is determined to continue and make a success of her dream.

At present, Nawal displays her designs at her home-boutique which is open every day, except Friday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.