Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette Saudi designer Amal Al Goblan in an interview with Saudi Gazette spoke about her brand prodigy. “I'm really just your average 25-year-old woman (sometimes a little girl at heart). I'd like to think of myself as outgoing and social, I am a free-spirit , passionate about travel and intrigued by different lifestyles and cultures, I dig ‘heart' music, Hip Hop to be precise, I love life and I simply love to enjoy every moment of it.” Raised in a household that endorsed and nurtured creativity, Amal said her mother, an interior and fashion designer, and her father, who is a part time writer, gave wings to her creative elevation. Amal was raised with three brothers she deems are the reason she is able to bring forth more than just feminine flavors to her fashion demeanor. “I have three brothers and I'm the only girl. I did learn to toughen up around them as I was growing up as you can imagine, playing with boys is far from being feminine! I guess its where I get my tomboyish style sometimes.” Dolls n Skulls combines different style moods under one line. The clothing line gives a contemporary twist to colors and art pioneers making it a basic chic luxury. “The brand symbolizes femininity with a hint of power and edginess. It is so close to my heart as it was the birth of my dreams at a critical time in my life as I was making decisions at university for my next step to pursue a career in fashion. It stands as evidence that I can achieve anything I set my mind and heart to in addition to it being my gateway and ticket to the fashion world.” Looking at it from a different perspective, she said the brand combines many different moods that one character can go through on a given day. “It's feminine, it's fun, it's edgy, it's artistic, a little naughty, it's bold, practical, comfortable, and within reach but not always available.” Amal moved to London to study after completing high school. “I then decided to come back to Saudi Arabia and once I arrived, I heard about the Art and Skills institute offering fashion courses and so decided to enrol after encouragement and support from the family.” She learned fashion history, pattern knowledge, in addition to acquiring essential skills such a sketching, stitching, and sewing. Amal believes the Saudi fashion scene in comparison to the rest of the region is quite interesting. “Saudi designers in previous years gained recognition mainly for cultural and traditional wear designs whereas now, we are seeing a rise in Saudi designers designing international or Western clothing far away from what our grandmothers and great grandmothers would wear. I believe it's very difficult to tell these days a Westerner from an Arab outside of countries like KSA or UAE where the custom dress for women is an abaya. That being said, it's fair to say that Saudi designers specializing in ready-to-wear, Haute Couture, or High-Casual wear will add a hint or a touch of personality into their designs and it's not about the passport anymore than it is about the style, character, and personality.” She is inspired by people from different walks of life. “I admire the hardworking mother who's raising her child and I look up to that especially if she's looking great while she's in action! Sometimes a piece of fabric inspires me and challenges me to work so hard to produce something worthy of that piece of fabric to be consumed for. People I look up to for inspiration for their creativity and daring attitude are Haifa Fahad from KSA and Fahad Al Marzooq from Kuwait.” You can find the collection at Useless Store in Jeddah. She said: “The new season to come out will be for FW 2015 which is absolutely different to what I did for this year. The collection holds a mysterious vibe to it; it's very dark yet very loud. The colors of the collection have a high contrast between dark and bright colors.” For the FW 2013 collection, the brand partnered with an artist to paint hip hop legends on their Tees. “We also have an upcoming project, I won't reveal too many details just yet, but we are working on collaboration with a well-known regional artist to produce a unisex line of sports and casual wear.” Amal discussed the evolution of the fashion industry in the Middle East, in the last ten years. She said the progress also imposes a great challenge to make a mark in this growing industry and break through the international world. “I believe that the fashion industry in our region is at its height and witnessing a steady boom in comparison to a couple of years ago. We have always been a fashion conscious society relying on the international world to dress us up and get excited to hear news about well renowned designers opening headquarters in our region. I believe that this has slightly changed with the vast introduction of regional and local designers to the scene with some making it internationally. It has become a trend or the ‘in thing' to support a local artist for many reasons one of them is being able to relate and feeling it's closer to the heart.” She called the fashion scene pretty premature with very few designers in the limelight. “What's great about it is that there's that encouragement from the society with a new fashion design that opened its doors a couple of months ago to fashion-driven young girls. What's also great is that the region and the international world recognize that KSA is one of the key markets for the success of any brand. This is a bonus for us upcoming designers.” Amal said the downside to the fashion scene is that we still live in a traditional culture with many restrictions prohibiting us from promoting our brands. “We do unfortunately lack a strong institute or body that represents fashion designers and sets the standards for who can be a designer and who can't. There are quite a few local designers that have what it takes and more to break into the regional and international fashion scene and will hopefully rise to that level.” Amal believes it's very important to start educating consumers on the importance of understanding violation of plagiarism and that it's a form of robbing someone's idea and selling it to people under another name or so forth. She said it is also important to start educating people on the value of quality and that designers work hard to produce the best of what's on offer from design, creativity, fabrics, etc. “I am inspired by everything that's around me. I usually get my inspiration from walking while listening to music whether it's in a park, on a street, in an alley somewhere in Europe or the States. I see art everywhere and hear music in every sound that somehow ignites something in me that sparks into a great idea. I am inspired by people around me, new people I meet in the fashion, design, and art industries. I hope that one day I am perceived as a pioneer in contributing to the international fashion scene as a female fashion designer and entrepreneur.” When asked about her dreams, she said: “I like to always see things from a distance and always thinking far ahead of my time sometimes! I see Dolls n Skulls hitting the international scene and Insh'Allah this comes true with hard work, commitment, and dedication to what I believe in.” Amal's list of must-haves. In my opinion, I see a big comeback for that boy look — it's fair to say that it has been an essential trend for quite some time. It never goes out of fashion and seems to be the trend especially on a lazy casual afternoon weekend. What's so cool about it though that the ‘tomboy' look doesn't mean you can't look chic and pretty? I love it when I see an oversized jersey worn as a dress with a pair of stilettos, just perfect. I would say my must-haves are: Since I have a serious shoe addiction, I would say a pair of Dr. Martins are a must for that edgy and comfy look. A pair of shoes underground creepers T by Alexander Wang Black Mesh Combo Midi Tank Dress A beanie and a t-shirt by Brian Lichtenberg
