It's a relief to meet a fashion designer who doesn't design clothes that only rich people can afford.
A fashion designer who isn't snotty and oblivious to the world around her ... A fashion designer who knows the local market and, most importantly, is a UAE national.
Designer Rania Al Bastaki has one quality that, for the most part, is lacking in the fashion industry in the UAE: she understands that most UAE nationals are not made of money.
"The first thing I ask a customer is what their budget is like. I know how much nationals earn and how much they are willing to pay for a jalabiya. I don't put enormous prices on my clothes and tell customers to either take it or leave it."
Her unique jalabiyas are priced from Dh500 upwards. Her most expensive jalabiya, made with plaques of gold, cost around Dh8,000.
She says: "Being a UAE national, most people automatically think that my prices will be too high but after comparing my prices with others, they find that mine are the cheapest."
Not only are her prices reasonable, Al Bastaki personally sits with her customers and designs the clothes according to their tastes.
"I don't have employees who design for me like most tailors. How can I be a fashion designer if I don't design my own clothes?
"Most designers here have a Filipino designer who assists and designs. I can't do that. I don't see how a designer from another country can understand what an Arabic jalabiya must look and feel like.
"The jalabiya is part of the UAE's culture and heritage. None better than a UAE national would know how it should look."
What are they?
Jalabiyas (kaftans) are worn on all occasions.
It is a one piece, two-piece or even a three-piece, embroidered full length gown that completely covers the arms and legs.
"What distinguishes a jalabiya from other full-length gowns is the cut and the embroidery.
"Jalabiyas are part of our heritage and it is what the older generation would wear - and still does. Skirts, blouses and pants are considered to be modern clothes. Our grandparents refused to wear these "modern" clothes and stuck to the jalabiya.
"Today, even the design of the jalabiya has changed and young national women go for unusual designs and not the traditional two-piece jalabiya which is called the Thoob and Kundra," says Rania.
She says that most of her clients like to wear the jalabiya when they are pregnant.
Don't give up
Rania Al Bastaki designs only jalabiyas. Designing is her hobby and she began by designing jalabiyas for friends and family.
She even designed her own wedding and engagement gowns.
She opened her first shop Dar Atig el Soof in Abu Dhabi in 1999 and had her first major fashion show in Beirut in January 2006.
Opening her shop was very difficult in the beginning, she says.
"The first two years were very difficult. It wasn't only that I was not making profit, I was losing money. I had to compensate for the losses from my own pocket and I got no help from anyone."
Gradually, word about Rania's shop began spreading and the money started coming in. Today, her shop is always buzzing with customers.
Her personal advice to young entrepreneurs: "Don't give up after the first or second year. It is very difficult in the beginning and there will be losses but it will later pick up. You will only start making profits after the second year."
"The jalabiya is slimming and customers like to wear them during their pregnancy because it hides their growing belly and is comfortable.
