Saudi Arabia building fashion industry from scratch: Burak Cakmak

Saudi Arabia building fashion industry from scratch: Burak Cakmak

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia is the only place in the world that opened the doors in the fashion industry to build it from scratch, Burak Cakmak, the CEO of the country’s Fashion Commission, told Saudi Gazette.

The Fashion Commission unveiled its strategy on Wednesday in Riyadh to develop the sector in the Kingdom.

Speaking to Saudi Gazette on sidelines of the event, Cakmak said after 22 years in the fashion sector he is honored to serve as the CEO of the commission to help build the sector in the country.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of Cakmak as the CEO of the Fashion Commission, one of 11 cultural bodies established by the Ministry of Culture to manage the Saudi cultural sector.

Cakmak pointed out that the main focus is on the infrastructure like establishing a research center and creating sustainable ways to show the rest of the world how the fashion system should go. "The brand building is the easiest part," he said.

Saudi Fashion Week

When asked about Saudi Fashion Week, Cakmak said the first step was building a fashion association, which is a non-profit body that represents all of the local brands and designers, similar to other places, such as London, Paris