A Google search of Marriam Mossalli rapidly reveals the gravitas of the Jeddah-based entrepreneur’s mission to catapult the Saudi Arabian fashion landscape onto the global stage—a vision the creative has been zealously championing for many years. As the founder of luxury communications agency, Niche Arabia, Marriam’s impressive resume also boasts positions as a lifestyle journalist and book author, penning titles including Glamour Globals and Under The Abaya: Street Style From Saudi Arabia—the latter celebrating the diverse Saudi fashion scene and the progressive women who dominate it. She is also often called upon to represent the Kingdom as a pioneer and ambassador for the Middle Eastern fashion industry, most notably with the invitation to attend the Celebration of Design Gala held at the White House—a personal invitation Marriam received from Michelle Obama as the only Arab creative to attend the exclusive event.
Adding another string to her bow in 2019, Marriam launched Saudi Style Council, a non-profit platform created to nurture and facilitate emerging Saudi creatives with a vision to develop and showcase talent both locally and internationally. Here, Nina Catt sits down with the entrepreneur to talk style, substance and dreams for the next generation.
THE KURATOR: What is the common thread that is woven throughout all of your projects and endeavours?
MARRIAM MOSSALLI: A love for the Kingdom. Whether it’s making sure a communications strategy is effective and speaks to the local consumer, or supporting a female-owned business through the many services we provide, or simply bringing together and mentoring emerging local creatives to produce authentic ‘made in KSA’ content, my mission has always been to leave a legacy that allows for more Saudis to have their voices heard. My generation grew up without the spotlight on Saudi. We had to fight to be heard—and we had to fight even harder to make sure our voices weren’t censored by outside bias and negative stereotypes. I’ve been advocating for Saudi voices since before it was ‘cool’. Niche Arabia was established when mixed events and fashion shows were held in private. Our initiative, Under The Abaya was founded before every brand jumped on the ‘women empowerment’ bandwagon. Saudi Style Council, still very much in its infancy, is already an award-winning platform and has fought for creatives to be valued and compensated by international brands and publications wanting to leverage local voices.
TK: Can you tell us a little more about the Saudi Style Council and its creatives?
MM: Of course. It is a community that serves local creatives— from creative directors and photographers, to make-up artists and set designers, we are here as a reference point and free resource to the burgeoning creative ecosystem surrounding fashion and local content creation. Our board members consist of household names that have pioneered the local fashion industry; Rajaa Momena, the educator behind one of Saudi’s oldest fashion institutions, Sofana Al Dahlan, the Kingdom’s first licensed female lawyer with an expertise in intellectual property rights, Yahya Al Bishri, known as tailor to the royals for his signature aesthetic of traditional and contemporary designs, and Eyad Mashat, CEO of Fad International, one of the biggest local retailers in the Kingdom, whose brand Femi9 is proudly designed by young female designers.
TK: What are your biggest career highlights to date?
MM: For me, being recognised by The Business of Fashion in 2018, a year where they were still replacing their BoF 500 list, so you had to stay relevant. This was really an important milestone in my career. Publishing Under The Abaya, and hosting the first International Sports Day in Saudi Arabia that saw 10,000 young girls attend were also huge highlights. And in March 2022 when we held the Under The Abaya cruise, the largest female empowerment gathering in the region. These are definitely things that I hold dear to me because I think when you get to a certain age, you realise that all you want to do is leave a legacy and for me, it’s not about advancing in my career anymore. I think hamdillah I’ve established myself. It’s now about how am I giving back to my industry as well as my community and that’s another common thread that you’ll see with everything that I do.
TK: What is the major misconception when it comes to the Kingdom’s fashion scene?
MM: As far back as a decade ago when I was consulting with international brands, I found that I was often face-to-face with non-Arab, internationally based PR agents, marketing executives or buyers, who almost reflexively categorised the entire GCC as one homogeneous state, rather than understanding the nuances between each state and the consumer behaviour patterns native to them. Many times, the modus operandi for brands would be to sell maxi versions of whatever they were selling internationally. When in actuality, often the most conservative households would have segregated gatherings, allowing for the women to make more revealing choices in fashion. But now, as Saudi becomes less segregated, we’re seeing a shift toward modest fashion which, to the shock of many people, never existed in this country as we had abayas to cover us in public. That kind of insight is finally getting to the right people and as a result, we’re seeing brands’ choices reflect our actual aesthetic and seeing them hire locals to fill those positions in order to make more informed decisions.
TK: How is the market evolving?
MM: In the past, we had our go-to solutions when it came to retail: homegrown multi-brand concepts or the mega contemporary bazaar during Ramadan. Now the retail landscape is getting more competitive now that we have international players in the mix, as well as local brands becoming more experienced and formalised as sustainable businesses. It’s a lot harder to enter this market successfully than it was before. Now, you really need to know your consumer, their preferences, values, and the sweet spot when it comes to the price point for your segment. Many outside brands and retailers don’t realise just how educated the Saudi consumer is, and how much access they have with e-commerce. We are spoilt for choice. Back in the day, that might not have been the situation and so as a retailer you were able to mark up prices and provide the minimum in customer service and offering. Now that the customer's daughter is going online to Net-A-Porter, FarFetch, My Theresa and Matches Fashion, she is able to price check and get that same item within three-four business days. So, it’s super competitive now and that’s really reshaping our local retail space.
TK: Who are you admiring at the moment?
MM: I love the brands and designers who are going back to their roots when it comes to inspiration and production. For example, designer Sama Khashoggi of Samah Abayas used the same metalworking technique used by traditional Hejazi artisans for her Red Sea Collection. I love how our local brands aren’t shy to showcase their heritage in a contemporary way, such as using the art of bisht weaving to embellish tailored pants, or implementing subtle references to the Al-Qatt Al-Asiri print. That’s what makes me proud because in the end, I don’t want us just importing outside influence, I want us exporting our aesthetic to the world. I want the abaya to become as known as the kimono in terms of a silhouette and a garment type.
TK: And finally, what are your hopes and dreams for the next generation of Saudi Arabian creatives?
MM: To be confident enough to fight against the ‘western washing’ of our aesthetic and to value themselves and fight for fair representation. We are often asked to work for free for international brands and magazines, or as consultants for even our local institutions. If they value our opinion or creativity enough to want to include it, then they should value our right to be paid accordingly. My mission is to help nurture and guide the next generation.
MM: To be confident enough to fight against the ‘western washing’ of our aesthetic and to value themselves and fight for fair representation. We are often asked to work for free for international brands and magazines, or as consultants for even our local institutions. If they value our opinion or creativity enough to want to include it, then they should value our right to be paid accordingly. My mission is to help nurture and guide the next generation.
