In 2012, when ISBG was first born through the inspiration of the then Italian Consul in Jeddah Simone Petroni, the most felt need was to relaunch the image of Italy through an aggregation maneuver between the Italian business community in Jeddah and the Saudi one, in particular that group of Saudi companies that already had consolidated interests with Italy or that was interested in creating them.
What better way to do so than to create networking events and initiatives around the Italian lifestyle and the themes that the world recognizes as excellence? Fashion, design, culture, food, sport, automotive… This is the best known and most loved Made in Italy in Saudi Arabia!
ISBG’s goal has always been to act as a bridge, facilitating relationships and business opportunities between Italian and Saudi entrepreneurs. We have done this mainly by working in consolidating the extensive network, linked to the territory, which has always allowed us to connect with the highest entrepreneurial levels in Saudi Arabia. We believe that interpersonal relationships, based on personal rapport and esteem, are the most solid basis in business bonds.
Our network and the reputation built over the years are our main asset!
After the first event of 2012, “Fashion & Motors by ISBG”, thanks to the guidance and collaboration of the then Consul, Dr. Elisabetta Martini, we engaged and witnessed a vast array of important events characterizing our know-how and enriching our skillset. Also allowing us to come into contact with exclusive and difficult-to-access environments in Saudi Arabia.
The Fashion Show “Fashion & Jewelry by Rubaiyat” in 2015 was an important step for us, a challenging experience, that prepared us to welcome and celebrate Mrs. Franca Sozzani in a special event at the Circolo Italiano in Jeddah together with the Vogue Italia Team, for the Vogue Fashion Experience by Rubaiyat.
Mrs. Wafaa Abbar, founder of the historic multi-brand retail group Rubaiyat, has always been a supporter and founding member of ISBG, and it was an honor for us to coordinate the evening as part of the week dedicated to the Vogue Fashion Experience by Rubaiyat.
For that event, we had now refined our Customer Relationship Management system, which was essential for organizing a database of profiled contacts, full of details, capable of targeting invitations based on event typology. This helped us a lot for the Vogue Event, which had a huge demand for invitations compared to the availability of seats.
It was therefore an exclusive event, which hosted many personalities from the world of the Italian and international fashion, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in Riyadh together with the Consul in Jeddah: Franca Sozzani, then Editor in Chief of Vogue Italia, Sara Maino, actually vice director of Vogue Italia and head of Vogue Talents project, together with numerous international journalists, stylists such as Alberta Ferretti, Delfina Fendi, Stella Jean, as well as fashion players and models including Farida Khelfa, Linda Morselli, Sita Abellan etc.
During the party, the Italian and international guests mingled with a small number of attendees interested in various capacities towards the fashion sector in Saudi Arabia: players and operators in large-scale distribution and retail, local media representatives, influencers, bloggers, trend setters and of course also many fashion addicts! A famous Saudi hip-hop musician, Qusai Kheder , enlivened the evening by offering his medley along with international covers.
The love and interest of the Saudis for Italian fashion manifested itself in all its intensity, and the event remained the subject of the “talk of the town” for a long time, thanks to the generosity of the sponsors who made it possible to realize it, including Bulgari, Sharbatly, Ayan Holding, Al Ghassan Motors.
