By: Boudou Gueffai | Editor-in-Chief
Editorial contribution : Jude Albuthie
Exclusive Interview The Saudi Times sits with Abdullah A. Alkhorayef
Vision of Success| Revolution of brand from Saudi Arabia to the World.
In Saudi Arabia’s evolving landscape of fashion, art, and cultural innovation, certain names carry a distinct gravity. They appear on invitation lists, surface in conversations among the people shaping what comes next, and quietly influence the direction of the creative scene itself. Abdullah A. Alkhorayef is one of those names and, for those paying attention, he has been for far longer than most realize.
The Saudi Times is proud to present this exclusive feature on a leader, a connoisseur, and one of the most inspiring figures to emerge from the Kingdom’s creative landscape.
I have known Abdullah for over a decade. That history matters, because what has always struck me is how consistent he has remained. He did not change when Saudi Arabia changed. Saudi Arabia caught up with him.
We sat down with him at his creative home space, known to most simply as “THE HOUSE”, in Riyadh, a setting that deserves its own introduction. This is not a decorator’s home. It’s his cabinet of curiosity. Every corner holds something intentional: a piece of furniture with a story, a design object sourced from a place no one else would think to look, an artwork that arrived in his life with a kind of inevitability. Some of the most remarkable pieces in his collection were salvaged from demolition sites, rescued before they disappeared, because Abdullah saw what others walked past. That is his gift.
The mise-en-scène is intimate, layered, baroque in the most considered sense. A private rooftop gallery, where nearly all work on display is an original by Alkhorayef himself, that holds not just objects but conversations, events, and a particular vision of what culture in Riyadh can mean to the world. It is a space where friends gather, where creatives breathe, where the savoir-faire of a man who has spent his life at the intersection of beauty and discipline is written into every surface.
He was always the one who dressed, curated, and created with a point of view that once made him an outlier and now makes him a pioneer. The first Saudi creative to imprint his personal vision onto fashion, art, and aesthetic culture with the avant-garde conviction that what he was doing was not eccentric but inevitable. That Riyadh would one day become a global capital of fashion, luxury, and Arab creativity. He simply arrived early. and through it all, he has never built only for himself.
His raison d’être extends beyond his own work. He shows up. He attends the book launches, the brand openings, the speaking engagements of the creatives in his ecosystem. Not for appearances, but because he is genuinely invested in the talent around him. He built a network not through transaction but through care; a community assembled in his mind and nurtured with his heart. The creative ecosystem he has helped shape in Riyadh is, in many ways, a reflection of who he is: generous, considered, and always looking for what deserves to be seen.
From Saudi to the World
The Fashion Commission | Fashion Future
That broader shift is now visible across the Kingdom’s cultural landscape. Through the work of the Saudi Fashion Commission and the wider cultural transformation led by the Ministry of Culture, Saudi fashion has increasingly moved from private circles and individual initiative into a structured creative economy with visible pathways for designers, artists, and cultural entrepreneurs to build careers at home. Initiatives such as Fashion Futures have created more than industry dialogue; they have opened space for Saudi creatives to access mentorship, global networks, investment, and conversations that position local talent within an international context while remaining rooted in Saudi identity.
For figures like Abdullah, this moment feels less like a beginning and more like a confirmation. Long before fashion became a national conversation, he belonged to a generation creating, collecting, curating, and shaping visual culture without waiting for permission or infrastructure to exist. What institutions are building today is, in many ways, the ecosystem that people like him imagined before it had a name: one where Saudi creativity is not seen as emerging, but as leading.
The Man the Numbers Cannot Capture
Board member at Abdullah Ibrahim Alkhorayef Sons Company, a family conglomerate active in more than 40 countries. Member No. 01 of the Saudi Fashion Association. Board member at MASARAT. Fashion design consultant for Riyadh Fashion Week. Art consultant. Contributing writer to some of the most influential fashion and lifestyle publications in the world. The credentials are real, and they are impressive. But they do not tell you who Abdullah is.
What perhaps comes closer is this: an Industrial Engineering degree from King Saud University, studies in Interior Design at KLC London, and Management at London Metropolitan University. Not because he could not decide, but because he needed all of it. Structure, aesthetics, strategy. Abdullah builds from the inside out.
That instinct extends into the community. Alkhorayef’s artistic journey found an early champion in Misnad Art, the creative platform founded by Budoor Al-Sudairi to discover, nurture, and showcase emerging artistic voices. As the first artist to be discovered through Misnad’s programme, he has since become its prototype, embodying the platform’s vision of cultivating homegrown talent. Since then, his work has been exhibited across Riyadh and internationally, including at ArtMeta Basel in Switzerland and the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall at Misk Art Institute. In 2024, he was named among Saudi Arabia’s New Vanguards. Abdullah is also currently participating in the Isdar Art Residency, founded by celebrated Saudi artist and curator Lulwah Al Homoud in collaboration with the British Council and the UK-based art foundation, “Arts Thread”. The residency, which concludes in October, brings together emerging artists through a program of mentorship, dialogue, and creative exchange, an exchange that Alkhorayef is now helping to shape as one of its resident artists.
He is proud of all of it. But what he really wanted to talk about was IYMAA. This is where his new story starts.
IYMAA: A Fashion Statement Born in Saudi Arabia
“IYMAA is for the busy creative,” Abdullah told The Saudi Times. “The one who moves between moments, always searching, always becoming.”
IYMAA is his new luxury fashion house, and it is, in every sense, the most complete expression of everything he has been building toward. A sartorial vision rooted in cultural reverence and designed for the modern collector. Sculptural cuts. Intentional fabrications. A quiet defiance of fleeting trends.
“We do not chase attention. We command it. Quietly.” he said to The Saudi Times.
His engineering background is not incidental. His designs are instinctively spatial, quiet compositions of structure, stillness, and tension that feel architectural before they feel decorative. He approaches fashion as a language of duality, where tradition is not replicated but reframed. Every piece is born from a belief that clothing should reflect not only who you are, but who you are becoming.
“Every garment is more than design,” Abdullah says. “It is a philosophy. Where form meets freedom, and tradition finds new expression.”
IYMAA has just officially launched this year 2026. Designed for those who dress with depth. Worn by individuals who see fashion as a form of artful resistance.
What He Built Before Anyone Was Watching
In 2022, when Saudi Arabia’s creative economy was still finding its footing, Abdullah was already advising the Heritage Commission and consulting for the Intermix Residency. In 2023, at Riyadh Fashion Week as a fashion design consultant, supporting initiatives backed by the Tourism Development Fund and the Ministry of Culture. In 2024, on gallery walls in Riyadh and Switzerland. In February of 2026, IYMAA was born.
None of this was reactive. It was always part of the same project: proving that Saudi Arabia had a creative identity worth presenting to the world. Sophisticated, multidimensional, chic and ready.
He was not waiting for Vision 2030 to tell him what was possible. He already knew.
“Through the Fashion Commission , I felt it’s a good time to pursue it, the time is right now. The ministry of Culture, represented by the authority of the fashion commission, did a great job to make the fashion ecosystem easier and less challenging – this applied to all creative minds , from film directors, actors and more.” he explained to The Saudi Times
Where Heritage Meets Creative Expression
Founded by Saudi interior architect and creative visionary Abdullah Alkhorayef, Atelier Privé represents a distinctly refined vision of luxury, one where heritage and contemporary design exist in effortless harmony. Guided by a philosophy of bespoke craftsmanship, the atelier creates deeply personal pieces that celebrate cultural authenticity while embracing a modern global perspective. Drawing on his background in industrial engineering and interior design, Alkhorayef approaches every creation through a multidisciplinary lens, balancing structural precision with artistic expression to shape a design language that is unmistakably his own. Yet it is only upon stepping inside the atelier that this philosophy truly comes to life. The space itself mirrors the mind behind it: layered, eclectic, and remarkably cohesive. Antique furnishings converse with contemporary pieces, bold colors complement understated textures, and an array of artworks and carefully curated objects coexist despite their differences, creating an environment that feels simultaneously sophisticated and deeply personal. Every detail reveals another facet of Alkhorayef’s creative identity, making the atelier far more than a workspace, it is a physical manifestation of his imagination. For him, however, its significance extends beyond design.
“Personally, it’s proven to me that I’m living my dream” he said during our conversation. He reflects a sentiment that quietly defines the spirit of the space as much as any object within it. A private tour of his private creative space will tell you all about it.
An Atelier Designed to Inspire
That same philosophy naturally extends to every guest who walks through the doors. Rather than prescribing a single experience, Alkhorayef believes each visitor should interpret the atelier in their own way.
“I want people to see what they want to see and be inspired,” he added.
This belief shapes an experience that begins with traditional Saudi hospitality before evolving into a deeply personal creative dialogue, where every garment is tailored not only to a client’s measurements but also to their lifestyle, personality, profession, and sense of self. Throughout the process, Alkhorayef remains closely involved, refining colors, proportions, and silhouettes while treating client feedback as an essential part of the creative journey. For him, luxury is never about status or spectacle, but about making people feel genuinely seen. The garment itself is only one part of the equation, what truly matters is the confidence it inspires in the person wearing it. Whether introducing clients to silhouettes they never imagined embracing or helping them discover a new expression of their identity, the atelier ultimately becomes a place of creative exchange rather than simple production. Open to anyone with an appreciation for craftsmanship and thoughtful design, regardless of age, profession, or background, it challenges conventional notions of both luxury and the atelier itself.
A Legacy Being Written Now
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has placed unprecedented investments behind fashion and the wider creative economy, directing funding, institutional support, educational programs, and industry platforms toward empowering local designers and building a sustainable cultural sector. What was once driven largely by individual conviction is now being reinforced at a national level: creating opportunities for Saudi creatives not only to participate in global fashion conversations, but to lead them from within the Kingdom.
IYMAA’s Next Chapter
While Lost In Time marks an important milestone in IYMAA’s journey, Abdullah Alkhorayef is already focused on what’s next. In an exclusive preview with The Saudi Times, the designer shared a first look at his upcoming collection, Midnight Dancing, which is set to debut at the end of 2026. Although the details remain under wraps, the collection introduces a bold new concept and a fresh creative direction, reflecting the continued evolution of Alkhorayef’s vision. Stay tuned as The Saudi Times brings readers exclusive coverage of what is already shaping up to be one of IYMAA’s most highly anticipated collections.
Abdullah Alkhorayef is more than a figure in Saudi fashion and art. He is one of the stories that explains how this moment became possible. A source of inspiration for the generation rising behind him, he belongs to a rare group of Saudi creatives who built a personal vision before there was an ecosystem waiting for it. Long before dedicated cultural institutions, fashion initiatives, investment programmes, and growing national support began empowering Saudi talent to imagine careers within the Kingdom, Abdullah was already doing the work.
He was one of the first Saudi fashion designers to define a creative language with this level of rigour, consistency, and savoir-faire to look at his culture and say: this is beautiful, this is layered, this is worthy of refinement, and this is worth building on. Not as nostalgia, but as élan. Not preservation, but evolution.
Today, from his rooftop gallery in Riyadh, he can look out at a city increasingly recognized as a global hub of Arab fashion creativity, a place investing in its designers, artists, and cultural voices with unprecedented ambition. That future is no longer a forecast. It is an address.
And Abdullah was already there.
Iymaa | www.iymaa.com | @iymaa.sa
Ain AlFaras Atelier | JAX District, Diriyah, Riyadh | www.ainalfaras.com | @abdullah.alkhorayef | Misnad Art | Isdar Art Residency
Exclusive: adding color – the foundation of what the brand is – expanding to evening wear and much more options for men. Clients can do private rendez-vous at the Atelier and buy online.
