“I’ve loved fashion since I was a kid and it started to grow within me from my home. My mom is an artist, an amazing chef and an abaya designer in Jeddah. While my dad’s love for art history led us to museums when traveling, instilling a love for art and fashion within me from an early age.”

Al Banawi channeled her childhood dreams into sketches and runway ready collections, with her eponymous brand taking off the Saudi ground in 2015. Since then it has landed into the hands of some of the industry’s biggest names. Yet her main purpose is not too accumulate clout, but to enable women of all walks of life to feel their best.

“I also love to merge my Saudi heritage with modern silhouettes that a woman in Saudi can wear and an international woman in Europe or the United States can wear.”

Arwan Al Banawi

Authenticity undoubtedly interweaves each and everyone of her pieces, leading to her regional and now international recognition. Her brand serves as a mirror of her complex identity, honoring her Saudi blood, while embracing the imprints of a globalized, more interconnected new generation.

“I love to merge everything”

“I love to merge everything in my life and bring it out into my collections. I also love to merge my Saudi heritage with modern silhouettes that a woman in Saudi can wear and an international woman in Europe or the United States can wear… but there is always that Saudi touch.”

The amalgamation of her lived experiences shape each powerful suit, every pair of structured pants or flowy dress, splashing unexpected colors into the wardrobes of Saudi women while still providing more modest options with a modern twist.

Munich, Germany, is one dot on the map painting a significant stroke in her creative process. Her grandfather spent a considerable time there during her childhood, and with each visit, the streetwear she observed remained absorbed in her sponge-like mind, despite the border separation. Another dot of inspiration was painted when visiting the french capital countless times with her family, perhaps justifying some of her excitement to be here.

Modern inspiration

Her motherland remains the central, undeniable inspiration. Wanting to extend the eulogy beyond the arabic statements inscribed on the garments, the traditional sedu fabric secures a spot as the brand’s signature material. She honors the different regions of the kingdom and their respective artisans by incorporating the many variants of this fabric into her pieces.

Al Banawi exclaims that she’s “more excited now than ever, and this excitement is like a dream.” In fact, that is the name of her latest collections, a tribute to the newly created Al Hilm Al Saudi, the “Saudi Dream.”

“I like to look at emerging talent so that I can collaborate with them”

Arwa Al Banawi

This selection of carefully designed clothing takes inspiration from Vision 2030 and the changes happening in Saudi, “especially those empowering women.” All of the changes, she explains, seem like a dream, but are in fact their new reality.

Art collaborations

“I like to look at emerging talent so that I can collaborate with them (…) so we can make more things together and spread the culture. There’s a lot of talent and I wanted everyone to see that… because when I say fashion is culture it really is cultures, it’s music, it’s art, it’s photography, it’s the world of fashion, silhouettes and celebrating people. ”

Music, just like photography, proves imperative to her contemporary brand. Collaborating with Saudi hip hop artist Majid, the two young creatives joined forces to create a track embodying “everything the youth culture relates to.” They are both equally proud of their heritage, yet are not afraid to embrace western influences, mixing Arabic and English, the traditional and the modern.