Barjis exclusive interview with Sheikha Hissa Al Nuaimi.
I was introduced to Sheikha Hissa 3 years ago by a mutual friend. She spends her holidays in London and we make it a point to meet when we can as Sheikha Hissa has always shown an interest in collaborating with BARJIS. With a natural flair for Fashion, Sheikha recently launched her new abaya collection.
GMASH is her brand name and after a little persuasion I have managed to interview Sheikha Hissa. She is naturally shy and very softly spoken. I wanted to know more about her new collection – which I have been appointed to represent in the West through my project Barjis & Co.
Barjis & Co. is a new platform to showcase collaborative work between Barjis and designer brands. I have been approached many times for collaborations and through Barjis & co. I will showcase the brands that are special to me and launch collaborative projects with new and established brands. This will include jewellery, shoes, accessories and home furnishing as well as beauty/gifts products.
I have never had any issues collaborating with brands in my shoots and strongly feel that each brand has it’s own unique soul which cannot be replicated by other brands. In the creative process you bring your own story and life experiences and in today’s world no customer from top to toe will only wear one brand. I have customers who team up my pants with an Alexander McQueen top and a TopShop accessory. This is the real world and it’s wonderful to tie up with other brands.
This is an exciting period of growth for BARJIS and what a better way to launch Barjis & co. by having our first designer on board to be a Princess!
You have launched an abaya line – what inspired you to design abayas?
My talent in drawing helps me a lot in expressing my passion for fashion. My friends liked my clothes which I designed and this inspired me to enter this field .
With no formal design training when did you realise that you are creative?
Since a young age I used to design my dolls clothes.
Please tell us about your brand Gmash? What does it mean?
It means Pearls in my local dialect and the meaning of my name Hissa.
Who is your ideal customer?
My friends
Who is your favourite designer?
Chanel
Where do you draw your inspirations from?
From everything beautiful around me , even from my paintings and geometric sketches and sometimes the designs comes from the fabric textures.
An elegant abaya designed by GMASH.
Handcrafted abaya by GMASH
What are the prices of your abayas?
They start from £160 to £550
What are your future plans?
I am planning to expand my presence and enter the western market as I have seen poor quality abayas and Arabic style clothes sold in the West. I would like through Barjis & co. to introduce my line in the UK and Europe and look forward to collaborate with yourself on an exclusive Barjis x Gmash abaya collection.
I am also very excited to be working with you in the coming weeks – in the meantime I feel privileged to have you as our first brand on Barjis & co. Goodluck!
Sheikha Hissa interviewed by Barjis Chohan
You can view her new collection on our website soon and order directly from there. In the meantime look out for all our collaborative ventures on our new project Barjis & co.
BARJIS X GMASH will be launched in 2017 – subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates and latest news.
Read about Barjis & Co. http://barjis.co.uk/about-barjis-co/
