In Saudi Arabia, Ayah Al Bitar is driving social change by design
Photos: Winter Collection / (inset) Designer Ayah Al Bitar / Courtesy of Ayah Al Bitar
For women across Saudi Arabia, the right to drive has been a long time coming. In her own small way, designer Ayah Al Bitar has contributed to the national conversation on a three-decade ban.
Wisada, a series from the young designer’s last collection, was a telling comment on social mobility. The collection of floor seats in the shape of oversized bicycle saddles marries traditional Bedouin seating with a contemporary message: change can be as comfortable as a seat in the majlis, the Arabic living room.
Photo: Classic Wisada / Courtesy of Ayah Al Bitar
“My pieces create dialogue about social change in a more light-hearted, less formal manner, and this aids change and puts different thoughts in people’s minds,” Ayah told My Salaam. “Wisada was not created to allow women to drive; it was designed to create dialogue, provoke thought, trigger positivity and release frustration.”
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Karim Mansour