Qommunity Voices: Qatari Abayas go international with The Black Pearl!

Nabeela

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Qatar’s very own Abaya brand ‘The Black Pearl’ is making waves in the world of international fashion. It was chosen to take part in a fashion show called "Stories from Arabia" on 14 September 2019 that was showcased as part of the London Fashion Week. They are the first Qatari brand to participate in the London Fashion Week and their magnificent collection was called “Al Lulu” which means ‘pearl’ in Arabic. They used the colours of the pearl as a base for their collection which was a huge hit.

The Black Pearl was conceptualized by two long time Qatari friends - Hanan Al Shammari who works in Aspire Logistics as the manger of communication and Maryam Al Atteya who is a business student at Qatar University. The idea behind the brand was to create Abayas that are designed with love, passion and worn with elegance and confidence.

Within a span of less than two years, this dynamic duo has taken their brand The Black Pearl from the fashion streets of Qatar to the fashion ramp of the exclusive London Fashion Week and rubbed shoulders with the best of the best making Qatar proud.

We recently talked to these two passionate women who make up The Back Pearl to find out more about what makes their Abayas unique in the Qatari markets and their experience at the recent London Fashion Week.

1. What is The Black Pearl?

Hanan and Maryam: The brand came into business in February 2018 and the word 'pearl' was chosen because it’s one of the things Qatar is famous and the black was chosen because most Abayas are black. Hanan and Maryam believe the Abaya is one of Qatar’s traditional pearl’s and a part of its rich culture and heritage. It’s the traditional attire of Qatari women who never go out without it. So, really, the name is actually quite apt and defines their concept.

2. There are many similar businesses offering Abayas in Qatar. What separates you from them?

Hanan and Maryam: We are not the only Abaya clothing brand; their are many, but what make us different is the special fabrics we use and we always make sure that the customer get the perfect Abaya that is created with hard work, passion and love. Our motto is Quality is the best business plan“, and we make sure we deliver on that. Along with the quality, time is also important to us we and we make sure our customers never get what they ordered for late.never be late on our customer.

3. How is the response like from your customers so far?

Hanan and Maryam: Our customers are very important to us and we always look out for everything they need. It is also important to us that we our loyal to our customer, and that they keep coming back because they are happy with our brand and the work we do. So, far the response is good, and even though we are a new company, we have customers from other countries as well as local ones. They like our Abayas because we follow everything new and trendy and we get inspiration from it and showcase that inspiration in our contemporary Abayas.

4. How do you want women to feel when wearing your clothes?

Hanan and Maryam: We want every woman to feel that she’s unique, powerful and elegant. We always work hard for our customer because we want them to connect with the brand and feel proud to be wearing The Black Pearl Abaya.

4. How was your experience at the London Fashion Week?

Hanan and Maryam: It was one of our favorite experiences; meeting a lot of people from different cultures, discussing about fashion and learning about different opinion was nice. We got to know many designers from different countries and we discovered a new fashion journey. Also, as we are the first Qatari designers to be part of the London fashion week and we were able to show the whole world our traditional Abaya brand.

How did you feel to be the first Qatari brand to be part of the London Fashion Week?

Hanan and Maryam: It was a very nice feeling. We feel proud that we were able to raise our country's name and our brand and make it global. It was a unique experience and a wonderful feeling to do something for our country, and London was a great destination to start. London is the home for fashion. It's our favourite destination for every new fashion and we always wished to start our first global steps from such a place. We admire Princess Diana for her style, so it was great to open our first global door from her country.

Qommunity Voices: Qatari Abayas go international with The Black Pearl! — Image credit: The Black Pearl

5 What kind of response did you receive from the audience there?

Hanan and Maryam: We are so thankful about the audience's response. They liked the “Al Lulu”collection a lot. Many women from the audience who had never worn an Abaya started to order from us because they liked what they saw in the fashion show.