KNOWN Saudi fashion designer, Zaki Ben Oboud is planning to launch an art gallery for paintings and art collections that would be the first of its kind in the Gulf region. The collection focuses on showcasing the abilities of Saudi women in different professions. Oboud started her career from a small store nine years ago, and is the first Arab woman to be honored by the Italian Academy for Arts. She has also received recognition from the Italian Fashion Room 2006 and has been heralded as “Princess of Arabian Fashion.” She has also been a recipient of the Golden Sun Oscar of the Milano Festival in 2007 in Rome, Italy. According to Oboud, “People around the world, especially the West, don't know much about us [Saudi women]. We have to convey the message through our work that Saudi women are competent and efficient when it comes to work and their profession.” The designer has also promoted a world tour with the goal of improving public awareness on women's rights in her country and her culture. “This achievement is for my country, not only for myself,” she said, adding that she works for all those women who want to make a difference in their respective societies. Dress designing is not as easy as most people think. The technicalities of designing and the fast moving trends in the fashion industry have made it more complicated and challenging. “This is why a good fashion designer has to work ahead of others,” Oboud said. She said as a designer, she doesn't want to go against the mainstream or negate the culture to which she belongs, but would like to bring out the inner personalities of women. This is the reason why she never limits her creations, proposing all kinds of dresses and styles for women in her native land. __
