The Fashion Commission, one of the new authorities under the Saudi Ministry of Culture, has announced the launch of the Saudi 100 Brands program in order to boost the Kingdom’s fashion sector.
The program offers a one-year brand development initiative that includes training and mentoring, individual and group consultancy and advisory sessions, and virtual and in-person training workshops to boost competitive business advantage for Saudi brands in the global fashion sector.
The Saudi 100 Brands program covers a wide range of topics including branding, conceptualization, sales performance strategy, public relations and marketing, client identification, innovation and technology, and key leadership skills.
Targeting Saudi fashion designers and brands seeking to take their businesses to the next level, the participants of the initiative will learn from a worldwide team of professionals with experience from prominent fashion houses such as LVMH, Kering, Valentino Fashion Group, Chanel, Bulgari, and Swarovski, as well as educational experience from UK-based Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Art, Yale, and Parsons.
The program will also offer consumer-directed activities targeted at boosting sales in the local market, the first of which will take place in Riyadh in December 2021, with e-sales outlets and a wholesale campaign to stimulate international sales both set to launch in early 2022.
The Fashion Commission is collaborating with Vogue Arabia and regional retailers to achieve these goals. Vogue Arabia will provide not only media amplification but also insights to help fashion brands approach editorial and use social media to best effect.
Regional retailers will also participate in virtual conferences, provide professional training, and also offer dedicated in-store space for Ramadan pop-up initiatives in March 2022, including sales operations.
Through the acquisition of some of the Saudi 100 Brands products, retailers will play a crucial role in supporting wholesale resort campaign sales throughout major fashion cities.
Mr. Burak Cakmak, CEO of the Fashion Commission remarked that “Saudi Arabia is on a growth path across all sectors, including fashion, and there are great opportunities for local entrepreneurs to build new businesses across all parts of the fashion value chain. A robust fashion sector benefits from local creatives, design studios, marketing and communication agencies, manufacturers, and retailers. And through programs like Saudi 100 Brands, we look forward to seeing Saudi designers take their rightful place on the global stage.”
The Saudi 100 Brands program will support the business development of 100 Saudi designers and luxury brands in the fashion world, helping to deliver Saudi products with international competitive business advantage in line with the Fashion Commission’s efforts to develop the fashion sector in the Kingdom apart from that promote and empower practitioners, creatives and investors in the field.
Mr. Manuel Arnaut, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Arabia added that “Vogue Arabia has a long history of nurturing emerging regional brands and partnering with the Saudi 100 Brands program is a natural continuation of our support. We are excited to work closely with the Saudi Fashion Commission, sharing insights that will contribute to the development of the brands taking part in this journey, and using our platforms to support their growth not only locally but also on a global scale.”
