Reemami designer Reema Al Banna is always on the move. From boxing to rock climbing, her latest hobby is wakesurfing, the water sport whereby one is towed behind a boat, riding its wake, surf style. And like her boxing (Spring 2015) and climbing (Spring 2017) collections, her latest athletic foray is being translated to fashion with a wetsuit-inspired, 22-look collection. “Progressing took a while, it’s been a challenge. But the adrenaline rush and the feeling of satisfaction when I’m on that wake is beyond this world. It’s also about motivating my followers to be healthy and active,” says Al Banna of her new obsession. “I want to encourage the women around me to pursue their goals; always look for something that excites them, uplifts them, and makes them the best version of themselves.”
Using mixed media, Al Banna combines hand-sketched illustrations and water-colored paintings with her signature fabric manipulation techniques for Reemami Fall 2019. “I want to convey the feeling I get when riding the wake,” shares Al Banna of her collection. “A translated dream of an ideal surf day mixed with a vision of the sun, sea waves, and surfboards,” she explains of the new prints that she spent six months developing at her atelier in Sharjah.
Inspired from wetsuits (but thankfully using duchess and silky satin, crepes, denim, and stretch cotton), most of the looks can be easily transformed, with the use of multiple zippers. Other styles can have accents detached to transform sleeves, the collar, cuffs, or even tighten the waistline or raise or lower the hems of certain looks. Sleeveless dresses invite to be layered making this an alluring collection for the modest dresser, too. Al Banna’s confidence is growing exponentially, as she is proving with this tightly-edited fall season shot on the beach in Dubai. She has come into her own, and is inviting her tribe of self-assured women looking to surf a horizon of opportunity to come along for the ride, in Reemami, of course. #buyarabdesigners Reemami.com
REEMAMI FALL 2019
Shot on location at Watercooled watersports in Jebel Ali, Dubai
Photographer Anna Grytsan
Make-up and hair Ann Chandy
Model Alzbeta Czerna