Belyed Handcraft -An exclusive & outstanding brand of Luxury Resort Wear.
Yasmine is an unconventional designer who believes every woman should have her own unique style & look, which is why every collection is created with a limited number of pieces, allowing brand exclusivity! She has also started designing her own fabric to remain entirely unique & utterly different from common market tendencies.
Yasmine’s undaunted vision boldly aimed to create an outstanding collection of the most elegant & unique luxury resort wear. Being the founding core of this brand, Yasmine believed strongly in building a leading brand that essentially focused on the three elements that form its DNA. Free Size, Timeless Pieces & Versatile Styles.
A Free Size Wear to offer women of all body types & sizes the pleasure of enjoying a luxurious collection of fine handcrafted wear, relish & stand out in their very own styles.
What inspired you to pursue a career in fashion design?
To be honest, I didn’t choose to have a carrier as a fashion designer, I studied business administration and worked for the European Commission, but then I switch to the fashion industry where I worked for Channel for 10 Years in Los Angeles, then I moved to the UAE where I was the Retail director for Christian Dior, so it was never my dream or plan to become a fashion designer however my background working for fashion for almost 20 Years was for me very helpful to find my way when I decided to change my career
How do you stay ahead of the latest trends in fashion?
We don’t try to stay ahead of the fashion trend! BELYED we really wanted to be a timeless piece, something that we can wear through generations, so we don’t follow the trend, we try to have very classic and very chic & elegant. we target a variety of ages that is very large from the 20s to their 60s and we keep it somehow decent and graceful even if sometimes we have some pieces sexy but keep it elegant.
How do you differentiate yourself from other fashion designers?
I differentiate myself from the other fashion designers, maybe because I’m concentrating on more practical fashion, something that women can wear on many different occasions, and this where comes as a part of the DNA of BELYED as we concentrate a lot on the versatile pieces. We don’t create resorts where it is only for the beach because so many of our designs can be dressed for dinner, brunch, or a day out, it all depends on how the lady, or the customer would like to style it. We insist a lot also on the finishing and this is something that is very dear to my heart, that we give our customers the best quality, a very high-end design with an excellent finishing when we use the embroidery, we tend to make it very elegant and very nice. For me I’m always keen to keep the standard of BELYED consequent, I have never changed it’s been since 6 years that we are trying to maintain our quality and of course trying to improve it at the same time as much as we can.
Tell us about a design project that you are particularly proud of / a celebrity that you have worked with?
One of my dearest projects that we worked with was the Egyptian actress YOSRA who is for me an Iconic woman in the Arab world with her charisma and her personality and the way she is, and she choose one of our summer dresses that she wore actually during the Venice film festival, and she wears it beautifully! The dress was a summary dress, and we were very happy because she is the one who liked the design, and I couldn’t be happier
How do you use fashion to empower women and promote positive body image?
In BELYED we really focus a lot on body image. Today there is a kind of stigmatization that has been done by the media through magazines, social media, Tv, etc… It’s a certain image, certain perfection, it is this Literally perfection that everybody is looking for and especially a lot of the fashion of today is made for the genesis and today the genesis is mainly the focus of even the higher brands or the smaller brands because they are the future consumer.
In my brand we try to focus on 3 segments, which are very important in the DNA of the brand. So, we focus a lot on the free size, the timeless pieces, and the versatile pieces. As I said, the free size today allows a lot of women, when they see any designs, to picture themselves wearing them.
So, what I always tend to say on our Instagram page we can post even pictures of women that are 60 and above or sometimes in their 50s and they can wear our design for so many occasions. I have some caftan that has been worn in Greece for a wedding and I have some beautiful young ladies wearing some kimonos to the beach or going out as an abaya so.
What challenges have you faced in the fashion industry as a woman designer?
To be honest with you, I’ve never faced any major problems or difficulties being here in the UAE. When I opened BELYED 6 years ago, I found it very easy to open a business.
The process is very easy and smooth & there are so many ways and so many things that can allow you to open a business . Personally, I think it was very easy for me as a woman to grow up and prove myself in this country. The UAE is literally an amazing country for women to grow up in.
It is the right place for women to be able to realize their dreams. As long as they are working hard and serious, they can do that. I think I’ve faced it personally, more challenges and more difficulties. When I was living in the US and this is where I lived most of my life.
What do you think are the challenges faced by women in today’s society?
The challenges are part of the process of growing. I think we all do have challenges, depending on the society we’re living in. If I have to speak about the challenges that we have here as women in the region is very minimal because again, I’m maybe repeating myself.
The UAE honestly is one of the platforms that is allowing women, and you can see them in so many sectors having very high positions, so you don’t feel this frustration, let’s say I can at least speak of myself as a woman coming to the region.
And I’m not against that at all. I think it’s something that this country is offering a lot of respect, a lot of opportunities, and a lot of openings and positions for the woman. So, to be honest with you, I think Dubai for me is one of those countries, and especially for the coming years, they are giving so many rights. That is amazing.
What advice would you give to young women looking to enter leadership roles?
My best advice for the coming generation or for the woman who wants to enter the leadership role, they have to work hard. They have to be very patient. They have to learn from their mistakes. They have to be consistent, believe in themselves, and believe in what they are doing, but also learn how to do it the right way.
These are the major keys to succeeding, whether in your life or your business.
