Driven by passion and a vision, two Emirati entrepreneurs are well on the way to contributing to their culture’s fashion footprint in the UAE. Mohammed Kazim and Shareef Al Romaithi, although not known to one another, both saw a market for their ideas and went for it.
Kazim, 32, wanted to make his mark in the region, so he decided to resign from his government job to follow his dreams.
“I quit my job with another colleague,” he explains. Not long after, along with Muneera Al Tamimi, Ali Al Youha and Amine Mamlouk, he began brainstorming ideas for a project to focus on. After some thought, they concluded their project should include three main social elements – to preserve identity, represent the Emirati culture and colour people’s lives.
“We didn’t know where to start,” the Dubai-based Kazim admits. “We wanted to leave a good legacy in our community, but were clueless about how to move forward.”
Kazim and his team decided to build on the zbairiya – a traditional men’s sandal worn by people in the GCC. They went through historical photographs of the Old Souq in Dubai and the types of footwear people wore in the past.
“We wondered why such footwear died out in this part of the world,” he says, adding that the answer was simply that it wasn’t comfortable to wear.
Today, people look for style and comfort, something missing from the zbairiyas of years gone by. So they began their reinvention of the traditional footwear, adding colours and comfort with a 21st-century twist, eventually launching their sandal brand, Tamashee.
The journey was not easy. They were met with many challenges, which included the detail and logistics involved with creating their own brand through to finding the right manufacturer, but their efforts were rewarded when a factory in Spain agreed to work with them.
Tamashee released its first collection last year and it became a big hit. Today, the UAE-based Tamashee sandals are known for their range of colours and comfort. For Tamashee’s founders, “colouring life” is dear to their hearts. They place importance on integrating art and fashion in the footwear. For this reason, the team has been recruiting artists from the GCC as a means of encouraging the community to work together and represent the culture of the UAE internationally. They also make it a priority to educate the community about their products by providing background information about the materials used.
“We work directly with universities in the GCC to find artists and give exposure to them,” Kazim says. Last year in Saudi Arabia, for example, his team found some talented artists, although their families were hesitant about their daughters working with Tamashee.
“We – Tamashee’s founders – went to their homes and tried to convince their families to allow their daughters to participate for a common good,” he says. “It was amazing to work with everyone.”
The Tamashee team is also on a mission to raise awareness of people with Down syndrome. A portion of the money from every Tamashee sale supports the UAE Down Syndrome Association.
For Eid, Tamashee introduced embroidery and patterns to its footwear collection, which can be found in the Level Shoe District at Dubai Mall or online at www.tamashee.com.
Another entrepreneur, Shareef Al Romaithi, has put his navigation of the skies to one side to focus on his navigation of the virtual world. Two years ago, the 31-year-old Emirati was at home preparing to relocate. While purging and assessing his wardrobes, the contents surprised him.
“I had clothes with tags still on them,” he recalls. “I started thinking of ways to make use of these clothes, but in a creative manner.”
The Abu Dhabi First Officer aspires to make a difference in his community, even in the smallest way. For most people, juggling the demands of a career can be an ongoing battle. But Al Romaithi – who in March became the youngest Emirati in the world to hold a doctorate in aviation – knows how to focus on things that are important to him and do what he loves. “As a commercial pilot, I don’t have the routine of a nine-to-five office job,” he says.
The idea of starting an online business had long lingered in his mind. Two months ago, his efforts were rewarded when his website, Webdrobes, was born. The website is a forum where people can buy, sell, rent and donate their items. Through this initiative, Al Romaithi seeks to detox not only his own wardrobe, but others' as well.
Al Romaithi has one main goal for his online shopping venture – to revive the slowly dying tradition of working together for a common good.
“I look at this project as a way to pay back to my community and to get my fellow community members working together for a good cause,” he says. “Webdrobes came out of need. I noticed a market gap in the region and a service that is not widely provided.”
Before launching Webdrobes, Al Romaithi did some research to make sure he was on the right track. He found that the Mena market wasn’t very competitive when it came to trading used clothes or accessories – and that the second-hand garments-and-accessories-trading industry was worth US$5 billon (Dh18.37bn) in North America.
“Why not be creative in this field and do something about it?” he thought to himself, before embarking on this journey in 2013.
Through his innovative website, retailers can also get involved by promoting their oldest or latest items.
“The site is still in its infancy,” Al Romaithi says. “It is a community enterprise and anyone can participate.”
aalhameli@thenational.ae
