Laila Saleh Albassam is the first Saudi professor to have studied the heritage of traditional Arab costumes and textiles in Saudi Arabia.
She was awarded the King Salman Prize of Excellence for Research and Studies on the Arabian Peninsula History for her contribution to documenting the traditional costumes of Saudi Arabia through her academic research.
Al-Bassam is a professor of the history of clothing and textiles at Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman University, with more than 40 years’ experience in academia.
She has published several studies on traditional costumes from the Kingdom’s various regions, and has participated in numerous national and international lectures and symposiums, and organized multiple exhibits on traditional Saudi dress.
She also has served for more than a decade on the advisory board of the National Museum in Riyadh. She participated as a member of the board of the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society for three years, served as the president of the Saudi Association of Design and Art for another three years, and was head of the Saudi chapter of the International Organization of Folk Art affiliated with UNESCO.
One of her most important publications is “The Effects of the Environment on Costumes and Embroidered Handicrafts in Najd Desert Tribes,” and Al-Bassam also contributed a chapter to the encyclopedia “Embroidery in the Middle East” titled “Embroidery in Saudi Arabia” with Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, the director of the Textile Research Center in the Netherlands.
She wrote a brochure on traditional costumes in Saudi Arabia that was published in German and English and distributed at traditional costume fairs.