Dubai’s continuing rise as a global fashion hub has provided just the inspirational spark for local designers to flourish. One promising example is Madiyah Al Sharqi, daughter of the ruler of Fujairah, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi.

She seemed born to live and thrive in the world of fashion. She noticed how tailors on duty fine-tuned the custom dresses with great finesse. That’s how her infant obsession took off and then turned into a lifelong career and passion. “I grew up with tailors around the house and my mum would be designing clothes. I would see the process of designing and tailoring which I really enjoyed and so I always knew subconsciously that this was something I wanted to do as well,” she says.

Asked what the world of fashion means to her personally, she replies, “I am really happy to be a fashion designer and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I had a dream and I fulfilled it – If I look back, there wouldn’t be anything I would have done differently.” To make her dream come true, she went on to study at the acclaimed Esmod where she learnt the technical side of fashion. During her studies she interned with various designers which gave her a lot of insight into the creative process.

Talking about her designs and what really makes them stand out from the rest in the region, she explained, “I think every designer is unique with his or her designs. All the emerging designers in the region that I know produce distinctive collections. Personally, I believe my collections are very unique as I like to experiment a lot with color, juxtapose fabric and get creative with lengths and layers.”

More in Velvet’s July-August 2014 issue