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A chat with Nadia reveals the journey that Layali al Asalah has taken over the years. “We started off in 2006 wanting to do something exciting related to fashion,” says Nadia, adding that they also realized that there were a lot of women in Oman into designing who nonetheless lacked formal fashion know-how. They started off with a competition, When Authenticity Speaks, whose theme centered on the embroidery of three countries, Oman, Morocco, and India, and called for women to participate in categories including Omani outfits, jellabiyas and abayas, and handbag designing. Awarded prizes of scholarships in fashion and business industry, the competition’s three winners then went on to study fashion designing and create their own brands. The competition’s success led the friends to establish their own company, Layali al Asalah; they have now organized two more When Authenticity Speaks competitions, in addition to other events as well as created an Asalah villa, a space which is open to home-grown businesses and allowing them to rent space for a year. “The advantages that businesses have of being located here means that we will do our best to promote them; it also enables them to participate in workshops and create a client base,” Nadia outlines, adding that it could be described as an incubator of sorts. Layali organizes workshops in basic training in fashion, introducing the designers to aspects such as mood, design and material boards. Nadia says that Layali hopes that the designers are willing to think outside of the box when it comes to their designs. “We are trying to expose them to international trends and markets through Layali,” says Nadia. Nevertheless, given the rich regional variation within Omani costumes themselves, Nadia feels that they should make most of the wealth of differences in regard to Omani fashion; for example, recognizing that traditional Omani costumes are laden with heavy bead embroidery and fabrics, she has suggested the idea of working on more casual interpretations of Omani wear instead. “The women are hesitant to experiment so they just need a little push from us,” Nadia remarks. Nadia felt that the 2008 and 2009 When Authenticity Speaks competitions definitely demonstrated that the women were becoming open to taking risks. For the 2009 competition, unlike previous ones in which competitors were asked to assemble a collection of 4-6 pieces over a period of few months, competitors were asked to produce only a single piece and were asked to put their best into it. Winner of the Creativity Award, Samia al Busaidi produced a fun, flamboyantly hued and textured bag, for instance. The prizes were short scholarships for courses such as accessory designing at University of Milan, Italy. “We wanted them to be immersed in the fashion capital of the world, get that something extra out of there,” Nadia emphasizes. Nadia is keen to emphasise that Layali works towards promoting fashion as a great medium to showcase the designers’ creativity as well as being empowering, teaching the girls about business and entrepreneurial skills. With such tremendous support, Omani fashion designers can only surge ahead! For more information, visit their website www.layalialasalah.com |
