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DHAHRAN: The first thing you notice when you meet Dhahran-based American author Natasha Burge are her playful eyeglass frames and her focused curiosity. 

Burge self-identifies as an “autistic author” — a label she finds neither empowering nor offensive. When she was diagnosed as being on the spectrum in her late thirties, she says she felt relief. And then she decided that she wanted to showcase her autism in her work. 

“For much of my life I felt embarrassed about the ways autism impacts me,” she says. “I didn’t feel like I was able to do what was considered ‘normal’ and I hid my struggles because I didn’t think anyone would understand,” she says. “I felt vulnerable sharing things I had kept hidden for so long. But, as a writer, my allegiance is to the story I am telling. 

“A defining feature of autism is an extreme focus on specific interests. Three of my most intense interests are autism, transcultural identity, and the culture of the Arabian Gulf,” she continues. 

Burge was born in Dhahran in 1982. The Kingdom is not just ‘home’ to her — it’s a living, breathing force in her storytelling.  

“My childhood smelled of horses, tack soap, ‘oud, frangipani blossoms and the library,” she says. “My childhood tasted like French fries dipped in hummus, yellow cake topped with chocolate frosting, and late-night shawarmas eaten with friends in my garage.” 

Her family’s connections to ��������Ƶ go back well beyond the 1980s, she explains. Her paternal grandfather relocated to the Kingdom from the US for work in 1957. He was joined in 1959 by his wife and children, including Burge’s father, Rodney, who was five at the time. Rodney ended up staying in ��������Ƶ for 60 years. Burge’s mother’s family, also American, arrived in the 1970s. 

“Three generations of my family, on both sides, have lived in the Kingdom. It has profoundly shaped my family and we are grateful for that. My grandmother — who is now 99 — says she would have loved to stay here forever,” Burge says. 

Having moved away from the Kingdom for school, Burge now lives back in Dhahran with her British-American husband, who also grew-up here. 

Burge’s writing — which has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize (a US award given to literary works from small publishers) and translated into Arabic, Japanese and Chinese — does not follow conventional storytelling structures. It is highly experimental, packed with sensory imagery and acute attention to detail. Burge coined the term “skoliogeography” (the Greek word skolio can mean ‘twisted’ or ‘divergent’) to describe how she experiences space as an autistic person — blending the physical and emotional. 

“Instead of downplaying autistic linguistic traits — repetition, non-linear chronology, echolalia, bricolage, fragmentation — as merely signs of pathology, I wanted to showcase them and celebrate them as exciting artistic interventions,” she says. 

She describes her 2024 novel “The Way Out” as “a surreal portrait of a young woman’s psychological journey that could have been set anywhere in the world; I chose the Gulf because that is where I’ve lived all my life. There are a vast array of stories that emerge from this place that do not conform to outsider clichés.” 

While there’s an obvious temptation to describe Burge’s work — and life — as ‘a cultural bridge,’ as her previous statement suggests, that’s not her intention. Rather, she sees the central purpose of her work to be about authenticity. 

“All we can ever do is speak for ourselves. Individual authors can’t speak on behalf of every single person in an entire culture or place — nor even for the autism community,” she says. 

“I hope readers come away from my work with a new appreciation of how much there is to marvel at in the mundane,” she continues. “The streets we walk every day are places of sublime beauty — if we are ready to recognize it.” 

DUBAI: From power suits to parachutes and animal print everything, Claire Carruthers looks at what this year’s Spring/Summer collections have in store 

Powder pink 

Rather than the bold Barbie-inspired hot pink trend of recent years, 2025 will see a softer, playfully versatile shade with greater staying power and easier wardrobe integration. Simone Rocha quashed any antiquated gender rules with a spring/summer collection that proposed relaxed tailoring for the boys in a subtle blush, while Alaïa presented cocoon candy floss pelts, shimmering oyster mesh dresses and puffy quilt skirts in the palest pink. Loewe subverted the norm and pink’s traditionally sweet associations with larger-than-life shapes and floral print bell-shaped dresses. The collective result suggests an air of both optimism and nostalgia — fashion simply made for embracing joy. 

Working overtime  

If professional endeavours top your New Year resolutions lists, make sure your wardrobe complements your ambitions. Stride into boardrooms with cool self-assurance in sharp tailoring, served up best by Anthony Vaccarello’s outstanding SS25 collection for Saint Laurent (pictured): think iterations of statement suiting paired with leather bomber jackets or Wall Street trench coats — an Eighties power dressing redux complete with shirt, tie and oversized eyewear. At Bottega Veneta, silhouettes were languid and relaxed, tapping into one of the year’s most wearable micro trends: artful layering. Experiment with pants under asymmetrical wrap skirts, topped with tunic shirts or supersized suit jackets. Remember, new-look office wear aims for balance — masculine with feminine — and contrasting fabrications, always worn with confidence. 

 
Animal instincts  

While its cultural cachet may have fluctuated over time — from Hollywood starlet to gaudy, It-girl status, to sartorial sin and back again — animal print has remained a constant in fashion’s consciousness. Iconic moments made all the more memorable due to its presence include Naomi Campbell wearing head-to-toe leopard print in Guy Laroche’s autumn/winter 1991 show; Kate Moss showing the world how a leopard print coat can look great with just about anything; and Scary Spice claiming big cat prints as her girl-power signature. 2024 was a big year for leopard (the streets were flooded with the predatory motif), and for 2025, designers have added other abstract animal prints to the pack: see snake shift dresses, coats and bags at Dries Van Noten; zebra pencil skirts, loafers and mules at Jacquemus; and elevated spots on modern silks at Nanushka. 

Parachute parade 

From a palette inspired by light clouds set against a blue sky to swaths of dramatic drapery, fashion’s antidote to ‘hard times’ comes in the form of maximalist bubble-hem dresses and eclectic separates reminiscent of deployed parachutes. Unlike last year, which looked at the trend through an Eighties lens (puffballs galore), 2025’s offerings focus on shape and form, with outfits primed to inspire escapism and elation. Look to It brands such as Chloé, Issey Miyake (pictured), Loewe and Stella McCartney for ice-cream toned skirts and enveloping trains, flowing parka jackets, and plenty of exaggerated draping on maxi dresses. 

Make mine a mocha  Pantone’s Color of the Year 2025 — Mocha Mousse — is a deliciously evocative brown that blends shades of toffee, cacao and coffee. Think of it as the perfect balance between comfort and luxury. Seasonless, genderless and a breeze to mix with existing pieces of your wardrobe (pair with pale yellow, or with other earth tones including burgundy and olive green), Mocha Mousse also taps into the ‘polished minimalism’ movement that has dominated runways over the past couple of years. For SS25, the shade was used by Tod’s, Max Mara and Hermès (pictured) via tonal tailoring, suede jackets and soft leather accessories. Pantone describes it as a reflection of our connection to the natural world, “infused with an inherent sophistication and earthy refinement.” 

Balance your checks 

Threatening to replace animal as the reigning print of 2025 is plaid, which may be synonymous with fall, but its presence in the spring collections takes on a contemporary charm. Acne (pictured) did it best via soft check blazers, bow-detail skirts paired with button-up shirts in contrasting colors and spliced maxi dresses overlayed with sheer white chiffon. Elsewhere, designers including Dior coupled checks with a throwback Nineties palette and styling — a nod to a rebellious Nirvana-inspired spirit, perhaps — or embraced a classic, sophisticated tweed (Chanel). Looking for something to pair with slouchy denim? Take your cue from Bottega Veneta and add an over-oversized check shirt. 

Luck be a lady 

The jacket silhouette and twee signatures that Chanel (pictured) has held strong for decades serve as a foundation for this year’s ladylike look. Faux-fur coats and polka dot twinsets (Valentino), retro chunky stripes (Max Mara) and pussy bow blouses (Louis Vuitton) signal a return to refinement — just add a modern pillbox hat (Chloé, Marni and Loro Piana), a top-handle bag, a feather or lace collar, gloves and peep-toe heels (although not all at once). While SS25’s ladylike look may nod to a 1950’s tradwife uniform, this is clothing designed through a thoroughly modern gaze — a nuanced interpretation with an intangible coolness.  

Elevated athleisure 

Luxury fashion and sportswear brands began collaborating in the Eighties and ever since have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship, thriving through traded creativity and profitability. Almost every season, designers offer a new spin on athleisure and SS25 is no exception. Anoraks, parkas and hoodies were everywhere on the runways, often paired with a cocktail dress (Prada, Rabanne), or something equally elevated. The high-low contrast will be key this year. At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to emphasize intention and function when it comes to dressing, and reinvented various pieces from the house’s archive in a way that allows the wearer to move freely. Think of a luxury take on leotards, tracksuits and relaxed tailoring.