Fawzeyah Alsabah

Research

Subject

Her West End: Exploring London’s West End Department Store through the Voices of Arabian Gulf Women, 1960-onward 

First and second supervisors 

• Dr Barbara Penner
• Prof Jane Rendell

Abstract

The study of the West End department store has produced a rich body of literature in architecture, fiction, and gender and social studies. These works evidently overlooked the lived experiences of Arabian Gulf women despite being photographed or mentioned in newspaper articles for decades. This thesis aims to address this significant gap in existing research by highlighting the lack of scholarly interest in centring t(he)i(r) voices. 

By situating Gulf women within the context of the West End, this thesis explores how department stores function both as spaces of concealment and as sites of spatial liberation. It argues that these settings offer unique insights into the complex interplay between hypervisibility and invisibility, enabling a deeper understanding of how Gulf women constantly navigate while, at other times, resisting social constraints within public urban realms.  

Biography

Fawzeyah Alsabah is an architect pursuing an MPhil/PhD at the Bartlett School of Architecture. She obtained her master’s degree in architecture history from the same institution and her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Kuwait University. Her research interests lie in transdisciplinary studies, particularly in the intersection of feminist, socio-cultural, architectural and urban studies. 

Links

• Visit Common Threads
• Department Store History

Image: Her Post Card Illustration by Fawzeyah Alsabah