The women’s majlis: Fashion far from a simple calling

Fatema Nasser Habib AlRedha still dreams of the day when the UAE will become a fashion hub.

Will a passion for garment designing help somebody become a good fashion designer? Is fashion designing simply about drawing pretty sketches and applying those sketches to clothing or does it entail something more sophisticated? In the recent past, my answer would definitely have been yes. I strongly believed that I could be a good designer just by sketching my ideas on paper and asking our private tailor, Arif, to bring my sketches to life with his tailoring skills.

Nevertheless, every single garment had three different versions: one very delicate, fancy and beautiful imagination in my mind; a second with a good-looking outline in my sketchbook; and the final one was an altered reality of my vision in the form of a poorly executed garment by my tailor.

One garment after another, my frustration grew with this long, daunting experience. I never comprehended why the final garment always had excess fabric in bizarre shapes. Why the fabric was not folding or draping as I envisioned it in my mind. The only thing I could design with an acceptable outcome was a shapeless abaya.

The fashion world turned into a big mysterious fantasyland for me. Everything was so glamorous and mesmerising, put together by magical forces beyond my grasp. The idea that some day I’d follow in the footsteps of legends like McQueen and Chanel was out of the question.

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it," said Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist.

Life’s hidden forces were in what happened next. I moved to the United States with my husband, so that he could build his career. Enrolling in a professional fashion school went from a luxury to a reality, and everything changed from there onwards. My first day at school started with pattern-making and garment-construction courses. That day, I learnt that a mistake of 1/16 of an inch on a single pattern piece can alter the final garment to one full size. I learnt how to thread the scary industrial sewing machines.

I learnt much from that first day until today. The intensive, hands-on training developed and refined my talents. Facing the critiques of my mentors pushed me beyond limits that I never thought I could cross on my own. I learnt sewing a perfect garment isn’t about just putting fabric under the sewing machine foot with matching thread colour. I needed to know the right fabric and choose the right textile. I needed a profound understanding of the fibre characteristic and type of weave, and how to utilise the grain line of fabric. From then onwards, every single garment that I sewed was a new journey in an uncharted territory, with lessons to be learnt at every turn.

I dream of the day when the UAE becomes a capital and the hub of this industry, just like Paris, Milan and New York. This dream can only be achieved by schooling young, talented and passionate designers to become competent and professional. I will try to do my part and live my dream, one stitch at a time.

Fatema Nasser Habib AlRedha is a 31-year-old fashion designer.