MEET LATIFA BINT SAAD
Latifa Bint Saad, a Saudi born stylist and creative, is someone that never ceases to amaze us. With each project she puts out, we see a different side of her that we never knew was there before. After an interview conducted with Latifa; she tells us that she finds her connection with the fashion industry as more of a fascination than an interest. This fascination is what fuelled her stories and dreams, where it took her to a world where anything was possible. She began exploring this fascination by creating stories that resonate beyond clothing.
Although Latifa finds it hard to choose a favorite project, she finds The Mermaids of Jeddah, to be the project that took the most effort to accomplish. “The story was for me and to see my respective dualities, as well as the dualities of the women of Jeddah,” Latifa tells Fekr. Her inspiration behind this piece was to reflect the different facets of the Jeddawi woman, with her own experience included. This piece was a collaboration with Amira Nazer, the photographer behind The Mermaids of Jeddah. Amira and Latifa have been friends for the longest time, so Latifa describes this collaboration as “a long time coming” for both of them.
When Latifa was asked what were the most prominent issues in the creative world she told us about the lack of communication and lack of transparency, which is an issue that we truly need to shed more light on and try to fix. She also told us that she wanted to see a lot of changes happen in the creative world such as having more organizations and companies to invest in the creative youths, especially the youth of the MENA region who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.
During the pandemic, we believe that it may have been a bit harder to focus on one's creativity, and Latifa tells us how difficult it was for her, and having her proprieties now shifted. “I became aware of the realization of how fashion is intertwined with my personal development and individuality. Since lockdown is now over, I utilized my time in confinement to plan future projects and I took time to invest in researching and enriching visual references,” says Latifa, and she also mentioned her looking to Visions from Abroad by Mona Khazindar and dissecting the book as much as she can.
Lastly, when asked if she could give any advice to someone who just got into the fashion world she stressed the importance of research, work experience, and to utilize your connections and to force yourself to network.
