“Being Saudi is An Identity in Itself”: Fatima ‘Tima’ Abid Althaqafi on How Her KSA Roots Inspired Her to Create A Couture Empire

Having been called the ‘Coco Chanel of the Arabs’, the trailblazing designer sits down with Harper’s Bazaar Saudi on KSA National Day to discuss how her heritage continues to plays muse to her eponymous fashion line and what’s in store for the future of her brand…

“If someone had asked me this question in 2004, I would have smiled like a stranger in a country that doesn’t speak the language. It was, in the beginning, like walking on a path without a map, an unknown road,” Fatima ‘Tima’ Abid Althaqafi explains about her journey to becoming a household name in Kingdom. “The truth is, I never had the vision to become a brand.” A decade worth of accolades and industry awards would suggest otherwise.

Fatima’s eponymous Saudi Haute Couture brand Tima Abid, is a manifestation of two worlds. Unlike most countries where fashion and retail fall under their respective chambers of commerce, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia intentionally has its local fashion industry under the guardianship of its Ministry of Culture – a testament to how it sees fashion and culture deeply intertwined.

And that is also the hallmark of this high profile label. Each design is a decadent dance of drapery and unfettered embellishments inspired by the diverse beauty of the Kingdom and sewn together with the same attention-to-detail that we’ve witnessed with the country’s transformation over the years. Established over twenty years ago by the Jeddah native, this brand can now be seen sported by regional celebrities, dignitaries and socialites like Assala Nasri and Mila Al-Zahrani who are proud to wear her pieces whenever they want to steal the limelight.

But like most Saudi designers at the time, Fatima started small, tailoring bespoke, made-to-measure looks for her personal clientele. “I don’t like to call them clients,” she interjects. “They are my guests and visitors. And every garment is a fluid art piece; my collections are all part of an art museum.”

Two decades later, Fatima is at the forefront of the regional fashion scene, representing her country under the 100 Saudi Brands initiative, having her pieces on display with museum lighting and gallery-like placards.

“The relationship between time and fashion has changed dramatically, but I do not get carried away by trends,” she confesses. “Haute couture remains the pinnacle of fashion, simply because it is an eternal art form in itself.”

But no relationship is more important to Fatima than the one she has with her Saudi identity. She tells us, “The moment kept building within me, a pressing desire for the world to know who we are and for us to have our anticipated place at the global fashion table.

“As I delved deeper into the world of fashion, I discovered the richness of our identity and the world’s lack of knowledge about us. This identity became one of the greatest motivators for me to transform my art into a craft and a Saudi industry,” she elaborates. While her nationalism can be felt in every lyric she waxes poetically, her looks flirt between a local aesthetic of maximalism combined with an international nuance of subtleness.

“I saw the impact of our authentic identity on global taste. French newspapers have called me the ‘Coco Chanel of the Arabs,’ and what a great honour that is! However, being from the desert that shaped my essence and carved my identity, I must have my own unique signature.” She pauses. “Representing my country at any event, in any place; from an airport to a gala – makes me want to be myself: For being Saudi is an identity in itself.” And much like the distinctiveness of her identity, her brand has become known for its own aesthetic: unapologetically feminine in its strong, geometrical silhouettes that juxtapose with billowing draping allowing for a softness and boldness that compliment rather than clash with one another.

“I don’t think recognising a Tima design is difficult or requires effort,” the creative announces with unabashed confidence. “Thanks to the signature that distinguishes an artist from others.” Yet she goes on to admit that other factors influence her design: “I won’t deny that the personality and spirit of the person in front of me adds a lot. Of course, my moods and the seasons also play a role. All these external factors blend to help my creations take shape… isn’t it true that the only constant is change?”

And Fatima admits she is personally in a constant state of undulation. “Perhaps the chaos of my emotions and feelings has led me to create a personal space where I can embody my identity as a Saudi woman on a steady, clear, and systematic path to global recognition?” she muses rhetorically.

“The fashion scene in my country is a celebration and carnival of joy,” explains Fatima, who snatched up this year’s Designer of the Year Award at the Fashion Commission’s award ceremony this June.

“We [Saudi Arabia] have not borrowed from external experiences. We are carving our own path.” Last year, she was one of the inaugural designers to showcase her brand’s A/W Collection at the first Riyadh Fashion Week. And the fact that her line was picked to open this May’s newly launched Red Sea Fashion Week – and bask in the accolades bestowed upon it by the gathered international press – shows that this designer personifies the energy and captures the zeitgeist permeating throughout the Kingdom’s flourishing creative scene. Tima Abid is, both personally and professionally, having a moment.

Aside from returning this October to Riyadh Fashion Week, what is next for Fatima and her brand? “Though I feel it is in a constant state of flux, Fatima will soon break into new areas in the fashion world. Let’s leave the element of surprise to play its role in the near future…” she teases.

She also has a message for critics: “Treat me the way you would treat any global fashion house. I have lived my future from the past. Despite our late entry into the field and our slow steps while the world around us was racing ahead, this does not mean that my collective history and the history of my country aren’t enough to make a grand entrance and capture attention.”

Photographer: Mazen Abusrour. Styling: Nour Bou Ezz. Talent: Tima Abid. Hair: Maggie Seeman. Make-Up: Sharbel Hasbany. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Styling Assistant: Bryan Liu

From Harper’s Bazaar Saudi’s Autumn 2024 issue