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Saudi Fashion Commission Launches ‘The Lab’ Fashion Industry Studio in Riyadh 

Officials are seen at the launch event in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the launch event in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
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Saudi Fashion Commission Launches ‘The Lab’ Fashion Industry Studio in Riyadh 

Officials are seen at the launch event in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the launch event in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)

The Saudi Fashion Commission launched on Tuesday “The Lab,” Saudi Arabia’s first-of-its-kind studio for fashion product development.

The launch event was attended by officials, industry specialists, media representatives, and government entities at The Lab's headquarters in the Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City, “Misk City,” in Riyadh.

Fashion Commission CEO Burak Cakmak said The Lab sheds light on the progress and prosperity of the fashion industry in the Kingdom, serving as the first studio of its kind in the region, situated in the heart of Riyadh.

He noted that the studio facilitates the fashion manufacturing process, enabling local designers and brands to easily achieve their creative visions.

The Lab enhances innovation and provides essential support throughout the fashion cycle, Cakmak added.

Cakmak said The Lab not only focuses on promoting creativity, but also supports sustainable practices within the industry, embodying a deep commitment to developing a thriving fashion ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, the Lab represents a qualitative leap and an unprecedented initiative in the fashion industry in the Kingdom, he stated.

It provides advanced infrastructure equipped with cutting-edge technologies to boost manufacturing capabilities and foster innovation within the Kingdom.

The studio also offers local designers and businesses the opportunity to showcase their creativity under the “Made in Riyadh” label, Cakmak said.

Misk City CEO David Henry said The Lab aims to develop fashion products in the city, serving as a distinctive mark that will elevate the fashion industry in the Kingdom.

The studio will also allow local designers and businesses to showcase their creations at both the local and global levels, Henry added.

He highlighted Misk City’s contribution to promoting national retail brands in the fashion sector and supporting and developing small and medium-sized local companies.

The Lab highlights the broad support for the development of the fashion sector and aims to enhance the partnership between the Fashion Commission and Misk City.

Additionally, the studio seeks to support cooperation in the development of education and training programs for young Saudi designers and open new avenues for investment in the fashion sector in Saudi Arabia.

This positions The Lab as the starting point for hosting fashion events and festivals in Misk City.

The launch event was attended by Misk Foundation CEO Badr Al-Badr and the foundation’s deputy CEO Omar Najjar.

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Fashion

Jeweler's Eye-popping Watch is Love Letter to Albania

The timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November. ADNAN BECI / AFP
The timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November. ADNAN BECI / AFP
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Jeweler's Eye-popping Watch is Love Letter to Albania

The timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November. ADNAN BECI / AFP
The timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November. ADNAN BECI / AFP

Albanian jeweler Pirro Ruco labored day and night for five years to capture the essence of his country in a spectacular luxury watch.
Now the timepiece, worth roughly $1.4 million, is set to face off against the best watches from across the world at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in November, AFP said.
Set under a sapphire dome, the hours are marked by 12 golden folk dancers -- each in different regional dress -- set on Murano glass, the minute and hour hands adorned with eagle talons in homage to Albania's national symbol.
Ruco's rollercoaster rise mirrors that of Albania, from poverty and isolation as the most closed communist regime in Europe, to rollicking capitalism.
Along the way the jeweler overcame jealousy, the secret police and being sent into internal exile to rise to the pinnacle of his profession.
It all began for Pirro -- as he is known in his homeland -- in 1985 when he was asked to make a medal in red and gold bearing the head of Enver Hoxha, the paranoid dictator who ruled the small Balkan nation with an iron fist for more than four decades.
"That saved me," he told AFP from his workshop tucked away in an alley in the capital Tirana.
The medals were awarded to the regime's most loyal supporters and later caught the eye of Hoxha's wife.
The turn of fortune saw thousands more produced and worn by communist cadres across Albania.
"All the congressional delegates had to wear it. I made a name for myself with it," he said. It also saved him from the textile mills where he had been sent because his family had been deemed "rebellious".
'Priceless'
All this, however, was nearly derailed by an anonymous letter sent to authorities accusing Pirro of working with foreign agents.
He was questioned by intelligence agents and his workshop raided.
Down but not out, he was able to bounce back after crafting a ring bearing the image of the late husband of a member of the communist politburo and in July 1990 won a prize for a piece featuring Albania's 15th-century national hero Skanderberg.
But the very next day history intervened. The regime began to crumble and the collapse of Albania's communist rule in 1991 was followed by years of violent tumult as the country transitioned to a free-market economy.
Amid the ups and downs, Pirro stayed busy designing pieces for officials and celebrities.
During a trip to Basel in Switzerland in 2016, something new caught his eye.
"I wanted to make a watch. It was my new dream," he told AFP.
For the next five years, Pirro said he focused on "doing something special, Albanian, and at the same time completely new and never before seen in the watch industry."
The new timepiece which he calls Primordial Passion was designed in collaboration with the Swiss watchmaker Agenhor.
"I never wanted to make jewelry, but art," the jeweler said.
"Sculptures, images of the country, pieces of culture... This watch is the culmination of all that, of this love for Albania," he added.
"It is more than just a watch. It combines the rich heritage of ancient Albanian culture with the notion of chronometry."
Pirro refuses to divulge the methods used to craft the watch, but remains hopeful the painstaking details will be recognized by the judges at the Grand Prix in Geneva.
Several collectors have already contacted him about buying the timepiece, he said, though it would be difficult to part with his creation.
"I set a price because I had to. But for me, it is priceless."