MEET JAWAHER
Jawaher is nothing short of a modern-day superwoman. She happily juggles working in IT as well as engaging in her own personal project styling on a typical day. The concept of a person being interpreted and judged according to their outfit was a concept that always intrigued a young Jawaher, “when you want to look feminine, for instance, it’s a way to express yourself without speaking.” Being involved in fashion from a young age, her mother and older sister helped her dive into the fascinating world of fashion.
An interest in the industry certainly runs in the family, her mother owns her own designing and sewing shop and her sister graduated with a fashion design degree. Jawaher however, graduated with an Information Technology degree but still carries her passion for styling and inspiringly manages to practice and incorporate both into her work life. The designer grew up as her mom was making and designing dresses, “I have never worn nor bought any dresses from a shop. I design my own dress and my mom makes it from scratch. I fell in love and I got interested in fashion because I have been seeing fabrics and materials for my whole life.”
Jawaher told Fekr that she’s yet to decide on a favorite project or piece, “I still haven't done any huge projects cause I have always worked with clients as a personal stylist,” she mentioned in her interview. “I have always helped my friends and clients to get their hunted piece since I’m a sneakerhead I have around 200+ pairs of sneakers.” An issue that the stylist encounters, however, is the interpretation of her work as more of a hobby rather than a legitimate job, “people want us to work for free with no time and effort appreciation.”
An encouraging change that Jawaher would like to see happen pans along with the current changes happening in Saudi Arabia. She believes that with the progressive acts of openness Saudi designers and stylists are giving women the opportunity to gain their power back. “As the kingdom changed, so did the habits of women in shopping. Women used to be inside the lines. They thought they had guidelines in how they dressed and appeared and they didn’t want to look too bold and out there so they were too safe,” Jawaher told Fekr. If the accomplished stylist could speak to her younger self she said that the best piece of advice she would give is to let go of their fear and to take a risk after studying the market thoroughly. “If you have a passion for anything, you should go for it, Life is too short to just wish you do what you love”
