Since the beginning of early civilization, clothes and textile materials have always been on the sustainable side, early history of cavemen needed to keep their bodies warm during blizzards. Many techniques and styles have risen since the clothing productions have modernized and refined clothing over the years.

When you think of sustainability, what comes to your mind first?

Sustainable fashion has been popularized during the early ’80s, and ever since then, fashion has taken a turn into becoming environmentally friendly. However, as technology evolved over the years and the fashion economy rose, the fast fashion scene quickly took a turn and became popularized, by fast production they are able to keep up with changing trends and consumer needs. With trends changing at a vast speed, consumer needs have risen as well, taking fast fashion to where it is today and making the fashion world almost the 3rd most polluted, alongside, making it the most unethically produced industry.

Sustainable clothing doesn’t necessarily mean boring clothes, many individuals may have an idea that sustainable fashion isn’t stylish. That’s when I took a turn in my life and decided to form a brand incorporating sustainability; Nine Lives was born early this year in 2021, taking a leap into designing sustainable clothing from reworking and upcycling pre-loved items, deadstock fabric and material leftovers, as well as carefully choosing materials that are organic and don’t harm the planet. Creating this brand was important to me, acknowledging the fact that there aren’t many brands in the UAE that are 100% sustainable and are ethically producing garments. As a fashion designer, I wanted to challenge myself and break the boundaries surrounding the fashion industry. Fashion isn’t just stylish trends and pretty clothes, fashion is essential, it is the way we express ourselves every day, every outfit you put on your body has a meaning, we tend to choose our outfits depending on our moods, so might as well, choose your clothing depending on where and how it was made.

Newest Collection

Nine Lives’ newest collection drop “Spring Capsule”, was created entirely inspired by the most powerful women in my life and around me, this collection screams body empowerment and feeling comfortable in your own skin. This collection is Nine Lives’s second drop, the collection took some time to thoroughly decide how each outfit will look like as I try to visualize around pre-owned items and fabric leftovers, so it was thrilling to see what I could come up with. Each outfit has a story behind it, it’s fascinating to know that each piece of clothing made was in a different era of time or used for something else completely away from fashion. It is compelling to see the before and after the process, to see the revolution of each garment and bring them to life. This is the best part about designing, envisioning a design in your mind, and see it being pieced together in reality.

All the designs in the collection revolve around different aspects of my inspiration, as a lot of my inspiration comes from people, nature, and just the world we live in. With that being said, the highlight of this collection, was the photoshoot; during the photoshoot, I distributed the outfits among the models that were there, and I realized how comfortable they all were wearing the clothes, the models felt comfortable in their own skin and felt empowered. Designing clothing that can lift someone up to look and feel like the best versions of themselves is highly important as a fashion designer, nobody wants to model something they don’t feel comfortable in, you just wouldn’t feel like yourself. The entire collection consists of fourteen outfits and each outfit brought a certain personality out within the models, it was captivating to observe the way each model felt while getting their pictures taken.

Nine Lives caters to all body types, by implementing personalized customizations, such as size, preferred color, and materials. I was very keen on having that open diversity emphasizing my brand, as I want everyone to feel included and liberated. This allows the brand to expand its horizon and celebrate an open space for women to widen their wardrobes and step into the sustainable side of fashion. Nine Lives will allow you to experiment with your style, not only will you feel beautiful, but also deeply empowered within yourself, knowing where and how your clothing was sourced.