Story of Alia by Al Mayyasa

Al-Mayyasa is a Dubai-based fashion label by Emirati designer Fatma bin Fahad. She is the oldest of two brothers and two sisters and was born and raised in the UAE. As a young child, an inspiring environment surrounded her, as both of her parents were artists. Bin Fahad’s father’s love for photography and her mother’s passion as an artist exposed her continuously to creativity.
“Our parents encouraged us to pursue different forms of art and this allowed us to broaden our own perspectives,” she said. “We were allowed to develop our own outlets and I chose to pursue fashion.”
Bin Fahad was always drawn to fashion from a very early age, but she was also interested in interior design. She pursued that first and graduated before coming back to take up fashion full time.
“My experience in my subject allows me to combine the structure and technicalities into fashion. I’m hoping to design my own brand print and I think the combined experience will allow me to tap into the two. I think having artistic parents meant that I was destined to be in a creative field,” she said. “Growing up in a family where discussions revolved around poetry, art, photography was in itself an inspiration for a child. By the age of 9, I was sewing little dresses for my dolls and at 13 I started sketching,” she added.
Although Bin Fahad graduated in architecture and interior design, it was fashion that she wanted to take on as a full-time career. She went to fashion school to develop and nurture her passion.
“I was intrigued by fabrics and textures. Combining materials for each garment became fascinating to me. I wanted to experiment and fashion school became my haven,” she said. “With the support of my family and friends I embraced my new challenge and officially launched Al-Mayyasa in 2009,” she added.
Today the label has gained recognition and supporters and the designer is constantly searching for inspiration that allows her to create beautiful pieces.
Al-Mayyasa is an Arabic name, which means the woman's perfect body. “Many poets and artists have written songs and poetry about a woman's figure so I wanted to have a label that celebrates the essence of a woman. Being an Arabic brand I wanted to have an Arabic name and integrate this into the label,” said Bin Fahad. “Al-Mayyasa is an innovative, creative and stylish label and its main philosophy is affordable fashion. We believe that everyone should be able to wear great designer seasonal pieces without breaking a bank. The brand is keeping up with international seasonal trends,” she added.
Al-Mayyasa is designed for women who are strong and intelligent - women who are empowered go-getters.
“When any woman wears my collection I want them to embrace these feelings. I want her to be mesmeric as well as look elegant and sophisticated,” said Bin Fahad. “The designs are creative and unique, so she should feel and look stunning wearing Al-Mayyasa. We are about individual strength and each piece exudes a feeling that is unique to the wearer,” she added.
The designer usually opens herself to the universe when she is looking for inspiration.
“Any creative person will tell you that inspiration comes from several elements. The simplest things can easily trigger creativity, whether it’s the surrounding environment, spices, dunes, flowers, cars, stories or a fashion icon, I'm constantly pursuing inspiration and influences from the ingredients of life,” she said. “From then on I start developing and translating these inspirations into sketches and technical patterns for production,” she added.
Al-Mayyasa’s latest collection Wyanet is the ninth collection so far. This year the designer launched three collections already: The Story of Alia, a teenage line she designed for the avid young fashionista and Pearl Allure, the Spring/Summer collection that is inspired by the fashion era of the 50s. “I’ve been looking at style icons like Audrey Hepburn who have influenced several fashion designers around the world,” she said. “Over the years I have launched collections called Spice of Life, Serene, Mystery, Dunes, Kujaku and Chloris. I'm planning to launch two additional collections before end of this year and I have already started working on the inspiration board for these end of year designs,” she added.
Wyanet, or "One Whose Beauty is a Legend", is the pre-fall collection by Al-Mayyasa. “The theme is an inspiration from the ancient Native American, therefore the colors of the selected fabrics reflect on the tribes that lived by the rules of nature and principles of the universe and the designs include braid elements, which are typical to these ancient people,” said Bin Fahad. “When I was looking for inspiration for this specific season, I wanted to bring something different into the fashion industry. Not many designers seek inspiration from the American Indians and true to the spirit of Al-Mayyasa I was keen to seek inspiration that is not common to the industry here,” she added.
The Native Americans were a great civilization and one that was spiritual as well. I think it’s important to honor them as they have been forgotten. “For the collection itself I have used the beautiful yellows, olive green and blues, combining these colors in chiffon, lace and tulle – the collection is receiving great reviews already,” said Bin Fahad.
The Al-Mayyasa brand is about simple elegance and ultimate sophistication. Each design carries the embodiment of these qualities allowing women to feel beautiful every time they don Al-Mayyasa. “When it comes to fashion I tend to maintain the essence of simplicity – its important to realize that less is more when it comes to fashion and this is something I continuously endorse in my collections,” said Bin Fahad. “The collections cater to diverse nationalities. We are able to reach out to a wider clientele because we are not targeting a specific demographic. The brand fuses UAE & GCC cuts, materials and items to give it a unique and innovative signature style, which is very interesting to our clients,” said Bin Fahad.
“Story of Alia” is a collection that features exuberantly colored jackets, vests, jump suits and dresses for 13 to 19-year-olds. The collection infuses bohemia and glamour to give a stylish yet comfortable look for the young fashionista. The collection uses traditional textiles and other fabrics like jersey, tulle and chiffon to give a sense of depth and scale. The colors used for this collection are fresh and vibrant and fun. The off-white, fuchsia, blue and black are easy colors for the teenagers to accessorize as well.
According to Bin Fahad, teenagers are fashionable and experimental in mixing colors, patters, textures and accessories. “Fashion is an important part of teenagers’ life as they tend to identify this as a place and space where they can express themselves. Teenage can easily bring a rock and roll personality with a sense of humor into their style and be able to get away with it,” she said. “They don’t take fashion seriously and that allows them to break all fashion rules - there is no responsibility or seriousness required from them so they can enjoy the freedom of trends,” she added.
“This is why I wanted to create a collection that allows them that designer outfit in their wardrobe as opposed to their primary choice of denims and T-shirts. This collection is fun with bohemian chic and super-girly with the right amount of feminine sophistication,” said Bin Fahad.
For this collection Bin Fahad was keen to merge culture and modernity. “It was not easy, especially since each has its own representation and identity. I decided to bring modern designs to life using traditional fabrics like tulle and Motaraz textile which allowed me to mix current trends, cuts and silhouettes with a traditional collection of materials to give a new twist to the collection,” she said.
Al-Mayyasa can be found at Bullet and Butterflies, O Concept Store and USH Boutique as well as Al-Mayyasa store on Sheikh Zayed Road in the Dubai. Bin Fahad would like to extend to several locations in Dubai and across the UAE as well as exploring boutiques in key countries within the GCC. Internationally she would like to explore cities like London and Paris.

Email: [email protected]