Couture, Burnout, and Building a Fashion Brand with Pacinthe

From night classes in Cairo to a runway at Paris Fashion Week. This week Carly and Vesna sit down with Pacinthe, the Egyptian couture designer behind two Vogue Arabia covers, a Paris Fashion Week show, and a client list full of Arab stars and red carpet moments.

We get into how she built her fashion house from the ground up, her signature draped corsets and sustainable line, dressing for weddings across cultures, and why she does her best creative work at 2am. We also go somewhere real: the burnout that led to an autoimmune diagnosis, the mum guilt, and why she believes you were never meant to do it all.

She finishes with honest advice for anyone dreaming of a career in fashion. Whether you love fashion, run a business, or just need to hear that slowing down is allowed, this one is for you.

Inside Saudi is the English-language podcast about daily life in Saudi Arabia today, hosted by Carly Overman and Vesna Petrovic in Riyadh.

New episodes every Monday.

with @caroverman and @vesnapetrovicx

Find Pacinthe here: https://www.instagram.com/pacinthe_badran/

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Teaser

1:22 Cold open, meet Pacinthe

1:47 How the hosts met Pacinthe

2:27 Shopping local and Egypt's design scene

5:23 How she got into fashion

7:19 Quitting her job to launch her own label

10:11 Three lines and the signature draped corsets

12:41 Getting to Paris Fashion Week

13:48 Vogue Arabia covers and red carpets

15:36 Expanding into Saudi

15:48 Wedding fashion, too fancy for a Western wedding

17:32 Saudi's booming fashion scene

19:22 Jeddah versus Riyadh

21:13 Cairo, chaos, and where creativity comes from

23:22 Why she creates at 2am

26:07 Burnout and an autoimmune wake up call

29:28 Mum guilt and making space for yourself

31:31 You were never meant to do it all

35:15 How men and women recharge differently

38:39 The Serenity collection and celebrating wins

41:19 Advice for anyone starting in fashion

43:29 Wrap up