To celebrate our fifth anniversary, D’NA collaborated with So Passé on a unique exhibition bringing to life the legacy of Parveen Shaath.
A pioneer, Shaath established one of the Kingdom’s first fashion boutiques in the late 1950’s; exposing generations of Saudi women to haute couture and glamorous prêt-à-porter from London, Paris and Rome. The exhibition explores the Kingdom’s early links to the Western fashion world through Shaath’s personal archive of garments and photographs.
Born in Tehran in 1922 to a Palestinian father and Iranian mother, Shaath spent her early years in Gaza, before moving with her family to Syria and then Saudi Arabia. Being the eldest, she helped raise her siblings, making sure each one was well dressed.
While having tea at London’s Dochester Hotel in 1959, Shaath overheard a group of designers, whose clothes were being sold in one of the hotel’s suites. Despite not having an invitation, she walked into the suite and placed her first order. A year later, she began what would become regular trips to London, Paris, Rome and Milan; building relationships with designers who invited her to their exclusive presentations.
Shaath began selling her dresses at women-only gatherings and clubs, before establishing her own boutique in a Riyadh villa in the early 1960’s. Naming it Azizati, she created an atmosphere where her clients could both socialize and shop.
After shuttering her boutique in the late 1990’s, Shaath carefully stored her unsold gowns, thus preserving an extraordinary collection chronicling over 60 years of fashion history.
