Beena Soni always thought she’d end up doing something creative. However, she entered the world of design quite by chance. She started as a make-up artist in 1993, but her fascination with fabrics and colours meant her clients frequently asked her for outfitting tips, and it wasn’t long before she was asked to design a clothing collection.
‘I believe I took around 10-15 days to create 15 designs for my first client,’ Beena chuckles. ‘I think that was the fastest collection I’ve ever designed. My first client still remembers how fast I was then – and she asks me why I don’t complete collections as quickly as before!’ But Beena has a lot more on her hands now: she tells us that, due to handling three UAE stores, as well as dealing with thousands of clients on a personal consultation basis, designing a collection to the standard her fans have come to expect, understandably, takes her a lot longer these days.
Impressed with her work, her first client proved to be a loyal customer and, through word-of-mouth, the orders started rolling in. Giving up her job as a make-up artist, she threw her heart and soul into creating jalabiyas and now designs them for some of the UAE’s most prominent women. Some clients even give her yearly projects to handle, which involves listing up their yearly social and business calendars, based on which Beena creates an entire ensemble especially for them – tailor-made for each occasion, quite literally.
Such sudden success has been a pleasant surprise for Beena, although she truly believes that if you give 100 per cent, the results are bound to show. Even so, it was difficult for her to digest her good fortune. ‘I wasn’t sure that I would be so successful. After my first collection, it was a shock to receive calls from potential clients telling me they wanted to speak to the designer. It took me 24 hours to go from being a make-up artist to a designer.’ Considering her lack of formal training, is this knack with clothes down to innate talent? ‘Things just fell into place for me.
I feel like I was born to do this. I can’t see myself in another business or any other field.’ With her new store recently opened in the Souk Qaryat al Beri, the high-flying designer must be busy, and we can’t help but wonder how much Beena is still involved in the day-to-day making of the jalabiyas. But she assures us she is more involved in the work than ever before, though she continues to enjoy her extra-curricular pursuits. ‘I am creative and artistic, so when I have free time, I paint,’ she says.
Beena tells us that there have been many positive moments since she started her journey as a designer. ‘Some of these moments are too personal to share, but there is one particular client of mine who I’ve known for more than 15 years now. She always gets me something touching on my birthday, or for a store opening. Each time I ask her why she does this she tells me I am an amazingly creative person and I deserve all that I get. It’s so hard to explain how I feel when I hear such beautiful things.’
So what’s next for a designer who seems to have it all? In the long term, her aim is to capture the entire GCC market, and she hopes to accomplish this by next year. In the short term, she is launching a new range of jalabiyas in collaboration with B’joul jewellery designs by Binduu, simply called ‘Beenas with B’joul’. The jeweled jalabiyas will have real gold and diamond embroidery – they can carry up to four kilograms-worth of gold. This collection will be available from October.
Before she heads off, we ask Beena how she’d describe her designs to someone who had never seen them before. ‘I would just tell you what my clients say about them: if you want something new, if you want something different that you can’t even imagine, just go to Beena’s.’
Beena’s latest outlet can be found at Souk Qaryat al Beri. Prices range from Dhs1,900 to Dhs50,000. The price of the Jewel Jalabiya range is available on request.
