Feeling like a rock star today? Wear a robe with wide shoulder pads, armed with spikes and studs galore. In a romantic mood? Pick the flowing one, adorned with cream-coloured silk roses. For red carpet occasions, there's the magnificent one with shiny-sparkly embroidery on the back and shoulders. Dubai-based designer Huda al Nuaimi, 30, is the one making these exceptional robes, each a fashion statement. But these glamorous garments are not normal dresses, rather they're versions of the abaya, the customary Arabic cloak.
The abaya is meant to cover a lady’s body while she is in public. Traditionally, it is black, plain and has a loose fit. The path to high fashion was laid by designers creating luxury abayas, adorning sleeves and hems with crystal ornaments and embroidery while keeping to the traditional pattern. Huda's stylish abayas go further by varying in length and shape, introducing previously unseen details and ornaments, as well as nifty little innovations like tiny belts hidden inside the robes to enhance the cascading effect of the flowing fabrics.
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| Huda al Nuaimi |
The daughter of a fashion designer, Huda studied design in London and Dubai before acting on the need she felt. “I personally needed abayas that I like wearing”, Huda says. So in 2010, she started her own label with each collection sporting a different theme. Her first fashion coup was a line of short-sleeved abayas, challenging fashionistas to pick their own long sleeve tops to customise the look.
Huda
is aware of the challenges she faces by re-designing traditional
attire. “Basically, we can be as fashionable as we want, but we have to
cover, and my customers want certain areas covered”, she explains.
Pattern making for such garments is a challenge. It is not part of
design studies yet, so certain techniques taught in fashion school just
would not work.
Style, though, has no boundaries. Malaak’s latest collection introduced the shoulder pad to the abaya, and the look was all about studs and glam rock. The collection also featured a range of blazers. “We did not get a chance to wear this trend”, Huda says, explaining her inspiration. “So I thought I really had to do it, because I have always wanted it. If I can't get one, I will make it myself.” The look of her collection was so stylish and unique that the Malaak pieces made it to SAKS Fifth Avenue stores in Dubai and Bahrain and brought the label much attention and appreciation.
The pieces are usually tailor-made for each customer to ensure perfect fit and perfect shape. Orders are pouring in from the Arab world, Huda says, but also from farther afield. She is now hoping that other luxury department stores around the globe might stock her creations. “The last collection was for you to make a statement, and my customers do like to make fashion statements”, Huda says. “The upcoming collection is more wearable. So it depends on the mood what you pick. Some of them are more floaty, some of them are more hardcore.” The new creations will come with turbans, another novelty Huda is introducing. With towering head wraps, the elegant robes get a retro twist. “These turbans are going to be huge, and they come in different colours and finishings. It’s a very fashionable way to cover your hair.”
Malaak’s signature pieces are not just making fashion and tradition meet for the wearer, but are also helping to change the international perception of the abaya, Huda says – especially when fashionistas are wearing abayas outside the Arab world. “The more fashionable an abaya is, the more accepting the reactions towards the abaya are abroad.”
(http://www.centurion-magazine.com/sections/post/cloak-and-swagger.html)
MALAAK - http://www.malaak.ae/
Style, though, has no boundaries. Malaak’s latest collection introduced the shoulder pad to the abaya, and the look was all about studs and glam rock. The collection also featured a range of blazers. “We did not get a chance to wear this trend”, Huda says, explaining her inspiration. “So I thought I really had to do it, because I have always wanted it. If I can't get one, I will make it myself.” The look of her collection was so stylish and unique that the Malaak pieces made it to SAKS Fifth Avenue stores in Dubai and Bahrain and brought the label much attention and appreciation.
The pieces are usually tailor-made for each customer to ensure perfect fit and perfect shape. Orders are pouring in from the Arab world, Huda says, but also from farther afield. She is now hoping that other luxury department stores around the globe might stock her creations. “The last collection was for you to make a statement, and my customers do like to make fashion statements”, Huda says. “The upcoming collection is more wearable. So it depends on the mood what you pick. Some of them are more floaty, some of them are more hardcore.” The new creations will come with turbans, another novelty Huda is introducing. With towering head wraps, the elegant robes get a retro twist. “These turbans are going to be huge, and they come in different colours and finishings. It’s a very fashionable way to cover your hair.”
Malaak’s signature pieces are not just making fashion and tradition meet for the wearer, but are also helping to change the international perception of the abaya, Huda says – especially when fashionistas are wearing abayas outside the Arab world. “The more fashionable an abaya is, the more accepting the reactions towards the abaya are abroad.”
(http://www.centurion-magazine.com/sections/post/cloak-and-swagger.html)
MALAAK - http://www.malaak.ae/
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