From New York to London, this “golden girl” is known by her first name, Dima. One of the hottest designers to hit the fashion scene, Dima Rasheed, a thirty year-old mother of three, divides her time between Europe, the US and the Arab world. Her breakthrough into the world of high fashion has been phenomenal. In less than three years, her original jewelry has been on the cover of Vogue and worn by some of the world’s most famous celebrities. “Its an honor for me to see my jewelry worn by any woman and I am particularly happy to see women I personally like wearing my pieces,” she said.
From her elegant headquarters in Cairo, where she is currently based, Dima tells me with a smile how she received an SMS at 5 a.m. from Vanessa Williams. “She was doing a live show for CBS, wanted me to know that she had received many compliments for the huge blue Peruvian opal earrings I made for her.”
Dima is known for her brilliant use of semi-precious stones. She rightly feels that semi-precious stones help keep the price within a more accessible range and also offer an endless choice of colors. Although she is moving away from her highly successful line of bohemian jewelry, she is still keeping her flagship pieces — the eye necklace, the large gypsy hoops and the multi-layered necklaces studded with colorful stones and pearls.
“In the beginning I was influenced by both gypsy and Indian styles of jewelry which are rich, feminine and extravagant. As for my new spring collection, it was inspired by the Hollywood glamour of the 40s and 50s. In those days, a woman would wear a single strand of unique pearls that took your breath away.”
The spring and summer collections, shown in New York, Milan, London and Paris, featured a strong use of black and white. Although Dima does not follow the latest fashion trends, she admits that she is aware of them.
“In my new collection, I use black tourmaline, white topaz, moonstone and of course pearls but I cannot see myself creating only a black and white line of jewelry. It would be too severe and minimalist so I am still using colorful stones, especially opals which are one of my favorite stones. I have some wonderful blue opals from Peru, orange ones from Jaipur and some rare pink ones.”
Her commercial success has not been without its drawbacks; she knows that many copies of her pieces have been sold in Beirut. With three collections a year, working 16 hours a day and traveling constantly, Dima acknowledges that it is not always fun.