After taking a leap of faith and moving from business studies to fashion design at the ESMOD fashion design university in Dubai, with her third collection, Maryam Omaira continues to explore her Emirati roots and uses her “new couture” as a medium of expression.
ON EXPLORING HER CULTURAL IDENTITY
I wanted to explore things around me—things that were related to the United Arab Emirates. I have always been fascinated how the Japanese have something in common in their designs—and in this vein, I want to have something from my identity to come through my work, as well.
This can be seen via palm tree and 3-D embroideries. For example, I just took parts of the palm tree and made darts to form a palm tree frond on a dress.
ON HER CHALLENGES
As an emerging designer in Dubai, a big challenge is the quality and quantity of the textiles. If you go to a fabric store, you will be told that something is one hundred percent silk, but you will not be told the exact components. Or, if I want to produce ten dresses, this is not always possible because the shop does not supply the necessary amount of fabric. That said, and despite these challenges, my dressmaking remains in Dubai.
ON NEW COUTURE
This is a term I learned in university. It means that I use both mediums—handiwork and machine work—to produce my clothes. This makes my dresses more affordable than traditional couture dresses.
ON DESIGNING ACCESSORIES
This is the first time that I do accessories. Since the trend of using transparent clutches became strong, I thought to follow it and created acrylic and glass clutches which are entirely handmade.
ON HER DREAM CLIENT
I would love to dress the actress, Blake Lively. She is one of my favorite celebrities on the red carpet. She can pull off any look. I’ve never seen her in a dress where she looks tacky. She makes everything look interesting.
ON HER HOPES FOR THE FUTURE
I am currently selling at Symphony Boutique in the Dubai Mall but I hope to one day open my own boutique. I want to have a place where people can understand my whole concept and have something that I can call completely my own.
