Over two decades, Sahar Al Aufi has been making Haute Couture designs for the most demanding clients across the world. Her expertise has created sophisticated designs blending the East and the West, and her enthusiasm and hands-on approach are as inspiring as her bridal wear. A fusion between Italian and Arabic designs, her dazzlingly opulent gowns are one of a kind.
Launching her business Reflection in 1998, Sahar went on to create the brands Sahar Al Aufi and Melis. And recently in partnership with Clothing from Italy, she also created Weddings from Italy, a wholesale platform for wedding salons and formal wear men’s clothing.
Below, a conversation with Sahar, an Omani fashion designer, who walks us through her early beginnings and how she grew her fashion enterprise to the well-known label it is today.
How did your brand get started? What was your idea behind it?
Many years ago, I started as an entrepreneur in different fields, but I concentrated the most on fashion. I started designing before I created my brand. It was more like a hobby than work. After my marriage and having kids, I settled down with my brand name and took it as a career. The brand name is our family name. But the idea behind the style is my mixed heritage. I have mixed family roots and that helped me to be different in taste and style as it is revealed in my personal and professional life as well.
How did you name your brand? And what does the logo design show?
My family had a fashion business, so I grew up in that background. I dreamt of creating my own company and my own brand. Fashion for me is a talent, I have it within me; I create everything with love and passion. My brand name is taken from my children’s surname. I am a very proud mother of three Italian kids whom I brought up in the Arab society to know and live with an open mind to the whole world. My kids are everything to me. I wanted to build something for them to have and care about it for the rest of their lives.
As I grew in business, so did my family and kids. I want them to be capable to carry on what I started, of course, along with the actual work and studies they want to do in their future. I just place them in the path and create more possibilities for them to have a better life.
My logo shows the word MELIS, as Italian letters, written from the right to the left in the Arabic way of writing. This was to amalgamate the two cultures into one.
What is your inspiration to create the designs? What is its process?
I believe in love and passion. Love for me is everything. It is what inspires me as I always say ‘Love is All We Need’. If you look closely at my work, you will find life, love and happiness created in the designs.
Many times, I suddenly get an idea in my mind and I execute them into reality. Every artist has an imagination beyond the limit; they see possibilities in everything, and this is what I do. I use everything around me to get inspired. My YouTube channel, Sahar Style, explains how I get inspired and help the public to start their career in fashion.
Who is the best support in your work?
First of all, I use my motivation to keep moving and face every problem in the way. Secondly, my husband’ and my kids’ support and care make me do more and try harder. The third is my mother; she is my ideal person. Everyone who knows me tells me I am just like her. She is an entrepreneur as well and is the perfect example for a woman because she is strong and determined. She is like a train moving without looking back or stopping, giving love and strength and so much more. Last but not least, the Sahar Al Aufi team. I am sure without all the above people; I couldn’t be what I am now.
Where do you primarily source your materials from?
My materials are from Italy when it comes to plain fabric, but all the handmade materials are my designs and they are made in Oman. I design the fabric and the dresses.
What was the greatest obstacle you faced in your journey? How did you overcome it?
Difficulties are there in everything. They don’t disappear with time but you learn to solve them and move forward to another level. Some of them were how to put a name and brand for myself out there, and how to succeed with my designs in a traditional country like Oman. My designs are mixed with different cultures and they are not traditional outfits. How to find the balance in pricing and the request of the customers because I care a lot about quality and standard. Periods like the past year, with Covid-19, was one of the greatest difficulties as no regular business was going on and the shift to online sales increased.
I always think ahead and work in silence but effectively. I saw myself more in the international market. I have lots of customers from abroad, and this was my starting point to not stop just in Oman. So, I launched a bigger business in the USA.
How did the tie-up with Weddings from Italy come about? How is the response?
Weddings from Italy is my new baby. I am feeding it with love and planning. In this project, I’m partnering with Americans and Italians. My partners and I gathered all our experience in male and female wear, and we built this new brand to create the platform for retail and wholesale.
Our branch is in Boston, USA, until now and we are looking forward to opening another five more branches around the US in the coming five years. I manufacture everything in Oman and I send them to the USA for distribution. I do a lot of tuxedos and suits for men, and all kinds of wedding and evening gowns. My partners take care of the work in the USA and I go on work missions. The response as expected was very welcoming and I am so happy that I took this step in my professional life.
Could you provide us with an overview of your newly launched collection and what makes them special?
I added a touch of romance to my collection and it reflects the natural environment around us. My latest collection has a mix of beautiful colours and handmade embroidery combined with Italian fabric as always. It is special because of its name. I called it SOUL.
What range of products do you offer? And which of these are the most popular?
We have two types of wares: Ready-to-wear products which are just ready to use. The other one and the most important work is the custom-made one. We customise the wedding, evening, and bridesmaid gowns, female office wear; tuxedos, suits and shirts for men. The bridal gowns and the tuxedos and suits for men are the most popular category.
How has the current pandemic affected your business? What steps did you take to combat these issues?
The pandemic period helped in keeping a calm atmosphere. Everything that was going on made me focus on other important things. Although work, in general, was less than usual, I can say I really never stopped working. During the pandemic, it was hard, especially to source materials.
I did not stop working during the pandemic. I actually started working hard and focussed more on finding alternative ways to sell my products, while also improving our work online. We started taking measurements online and meeting the customers by video calls on zoom. I designed a lot of the hand-made embroidery fabric. I kept working on my new project, Weddings from Italy, to make it ready to launch. Also, during the pandemic, I created an online educational programme called Sahar Style. In Sahar Style, I talk about fashion and guide my viewers to accomplish a successful career in fashion. It is like one when a door closes, another ten opens for you and you need to keep moving on.
What do you feel is the way forward for you from here for your brand?
I feel that my products made in Oman would be all around the world, Asia, Africa, Europe and America. The world is big, so why close ourselves to a small space?
Where can we access your products?
We are based mainly in Muscat, Oman and our boutique ‘Reflections’ is at Al Ansab. Our branch in Boston caters to all the international customers and also via online on our websites weddingsfromitaly.us and sahar-alaufi.com. Sahar can be reached also on Instagram @sahar_alaufi.