A hall at the Corinthia Hotel, in the heart of London, was sounding with an unusual vivacity. Traffic in the street, and long queues of men and women wearing their evening garments and patiently waiting for the doors of the hall to open. The picture inside wasn’t different. The backstage was like a beehive; some were ironing dresses, others were putting makeup or trying dresses.
Omani Rayan al-Suleimani, owner of the Atelier Zuhra brand, was moving like a bee among the models while finishing their makeup or rehearsing with their heels on. With her Abaya and white veil, she didn’t seem nervous. On the contrary, she looked cheerful, sending her smiles around, unlike the other designers, as if she knew the result in advance. Her designs have gained momentum, and her name has been echoing worldwide recently. She just returned from Dubai, where she took care of Beyoncé’s look during the Atlantis the Palm concert.
“It will be a surprise in all means and so different from my previous works. I humbly hope people will love it,” she said when we asked her about the new collection.
The show kicked off, and the collection was indeed surprising and impressive. Its only weakness was that it was fancy and luxurious as Haute Couture in a fashion capital known for weirdness and madness. “It must be like this because it was inspired by the lily of the valley, its scent, beauty, and tenderness,” Rayan said.
The models swayed on the white podium wearing evening and cocktail dresses in natural colors. The lily petals creatively adorned the round skirts and their pleats, but with the magical opera pieces and the models swaying like peacocks, the show was more like a swan dance than a garden of blooming flowers. The swan dance idea was emphasized with the remarkable quantity of feather the designer used, the long tails, and the colors.
Rayan al-Suleimani is the CEO of the Atelier Zuhra brand, which was founded by her mother, Mouza Al Awfi, in Dubai in 2015.
Rayan didn’t study fashion design, but she was passionate about it, and with time, she turned her expertise and passion into a profession, especially that “she understands women and what they dream of.”
Rayan managed to upscale her brand from local to international in no time, and her designs by far were chosen by stars including Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, Aishwarya Rai, Amanda Holden, Kareena Kapoor, and last but not least, Beyoncé.
