Photo: Abdulrahman Abdullah
Fun, colorful, and playful define designer Salwa Kurdi’s Riyadh workspace. Decorated to exude comfort, blankets, slippers, candles, and face masks can be found peppered throughout. “My workspace has everything I usually love to use at home,” she says. Walk around the room and one will not see just cozy items, but also flowers, frames with her designs, and books. Pieces filled with cheer, in her words.
Photo: Abdulrahman Abdullah
Finding inspiration in TV shows, movies, art, culture, travels, and traditions, the creative recently launched an abaya collection inspired by the fish fin. “My husband has an obsession with fishing, and I always get excited to check the fish box after each trip to see the different tails, fins, eyes, scales, and colors,” says Kurdi. A diver and sea lover herself, she says she was long overdue for a collection inspired by the ocean. Every time the designer creates a new line, she sets the tone, but not just on paper. “I make my workspace a real mood board,” she offers. “I print pictures for inspiration. I set up the fabrics that I will use in a decorative way so that they are always in front of me. I also change the decor of my workspace to mimic that of the collection’s colors,” she adds. Kurdi even replaces her phone and laptop wallpaper to an image that represents the pieces, and listens to audiobooks about the theme.
Photo: Abdulrahman Abdullah
Growing up in a fashion-forward family – her mother a designer and her grandmother a tailor – Kurdi developed a love for fabrics at a young age. “I spent most of my teenage years sketching and designing,” says the creative. At the age of 19, Kurdi’s mother entered her room, removed all the sketches from her wall, and told her it was time to make the images come to life. This led to the birth of the Salwa Kurdi brand in 2017. “I will never forget my mother’s motivation and support,” she says. To encourage other aspiring designers, Kurdi has developed a fashion sketchbook that includes female figure templates in varied poses, depictions of unique garments, a size equivalence chart, blank pages to jot ideas down, and colorful sheets to be used as mood boards. She explains, “The idea behind my sketchbook is to help our designer community bring their inspirations to life.”
Photo: Courtesy of Salwa Kurdi
Her morning routine for creativity starts with a black coffee and listening to music. Lighting a candle is the first thing she does before beginning work, and it’s a non-negotiable that her workspace contains her mood board, sketchbooks, sewing kit, fabrics, her mannequin and pins, a laptop, and a good playlist. Kurdi prefers taking her time and working alone, without any distractions, and with the reassurance that the space will always look exactly the way she left it. So much so that her team must call her to schedule a time to visit her workspace. “Except for the tailor, who is always welcome.”
Photo: Courtesy of Salwa Kurdi
Salwa Kurdi was recently worn by Saudi actress Sumaya Rida at the Saudi Cup and the brand was also featured in the Saudi 100 Brands exhibition. Kurdi displayed her Rabiya suit, inspired by the mashrabiya window, a popular window pattern in the Al Hijaz culture in Saudi Arabia, and made with fabric that was once used to decorate pillows, bed sheets, and curtains in Medina, Jeddah, and Mecca.
What began as a passion project of print mixing and design, resulted in a brand with a vision of self-love through fashion. “The brand brings to life the playfulness and joy of animation and self-expression. A woman’s individuality shines when she follows her heart and wears pieces for herself,” says Kurdi. The eye-catching patterns are ideal for a woman who desires a bit of eccentricity in her everyday life.
Originally published in the June 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia
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