Building an international brand as a Middle Eastern designer is no easy feat, yet it is something that Rami Al Ali has succeeded with. A master of faultless drapery, the designer combines decadence with streamlined geometry and romanticism to create his exquisite gowns. Rami Al Ali grew up in Deir ez-Zor, a small city in Syria, and in 1991, he joined the College of Fine Arts to study Visual Communications, where for his finals he had to create a campaign for a fashion show. Ignoring the instructions, he designed dresses instead, receiving the lowest grade possible and began his journey as a designer. In 1997 Rami travelled to the UAE to gain valuable international experience within the prestigious fashion houses. He quickly gained respect from the industry, resulting in an immediate, loyal client base, which ultimately led to the creation of the Rami Al Ali label in the year 2000. In January 2012, he debuted during the Couture Fashion Week in Paris, showcasing his Spring Summer 2012 collection, and now as he celebrates his tenth consecutive season he presented his first couture show.
Tell us about the transformation of your brand over the past 10 collections?
Each season we delve into newer techniques and experiment with different fabrics, cuts and silhouettes. Over the past 10 collections we have sharpened our skills and tried to outdo our previous shows. That in itself has transformed the brand over the years, incorporating and offering the latest and best in fabrics and processes.
This is your tenth time showcasing your collection in Paris, but the first time you are showing couture as a runway show, how does it feel?
It feels amazing. I feel like we have been preparing for this moment for the past nine seasons now and it was about time. It feels great to showcase our work on a larger scale amongst friends and industry peers.
Has this milestone moment changed how you have prepared for the show and created the collection?
My team and I have worked very hard to offer the best to our clients each season and this is just a stepping stone for what we have in store for the future. From establishing my line in 2000 to my debut in Paris in 2012, each moment has been a pivotal turning point in my career. This milestone feels no less and my team worked tirelessly, as always, to prepare for it. We have a lot of factors to work on, such as choosing the make-up style that suits the collection with our make-up partner MAC cosmetics, compiling the guest list, picking out the venue, casting models. There is a lot that goes into creating and then showing a collection and I have a large team of wonderful people who work to make all this happen.
How do you predict being granted access by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture could change things for the brand?
It’s a privilege and an added value to be on the official calendar of the French Fashion Council. It provides great support and it helps designers to be acknowledged as international couturiers. The official calendar provides more focus and attendance because of the well-studied timings and locations of the shows, hence you gain more attention, more reviews and coverage, and a larger attendance by couture buyers.
How do you find the differences between designing ready to wear pieces with couture?
Couture production and designing is slightly different because everything is made by hand and made to order. Each detail or embellishment is added individually which takes time, precision and talent, no shortcuts can be taken. Ready-to-wear is also distinctive in terms of the logistics behind the collections, buyers and marketing studies. In terms of sourcing materials, I source luxury fabrics from across the globe, from exhibitions for instance. Over time I have also developed excellent relations with suppliers who favour to show and provide leading designers with samples before they reach the mass market. I don’t like to cramp my creative flair but it is important to consider whether a design is commercially viable, so I do always try to keep the consumer in mind when creating. I think the beauty of couture is that, whilst the pieces are unique, often with intricate detailing, they are also timeless pieces that people are willing to invest in.
What drives you to continue creating new and inspired designs?
I love what I do, I love creating new designs and dressing women and seeing the looks on their faces when they try out my creations. This keeps me motivated to keep evolving and creating. My travels also keep me inspired and I always want to do more and experiment more because of that.
How does the fashion industry in the Middle East differ to other locations?
While we have great talent in the Middle East, and the fashion industry has come a long way from what it used to be, I still think we have a long way to go before we reach the heights of say Paris and Italy. However, having said that, we have a great infrastructure now that promotes young talent a great deal, and we have a lot of support from industry veterans so it’s only a matter of time before we get there. I think we should focus more on manufacturing here and creating the infrastructure for that, otherwise the consumer here is well-aware and very fashionable, ready for whatever innovations come their way.
Tell us about how you founded and began your eponymous fashion label?
I had always been interested in fashion from a very young age and I knew that my career would always take a creative route. I moved to Damascus where I studied Visual Communications at the College of Fine Arts and it wasn’t until my graduation project, where I decided to conduct a fashion show, that I realised fashion would form a big part of my future. After that I just focused all my energy into making my dream a reality. My label is a celebration of womanhood and I wanted to create beautiful clothes that any woman would feel good in, that would emphasise and enhance her beauty. I wanted that creative freedom to bring my ideas to life hence my label in 2000.
Does the connection with your homeland Syria inspire and drive you to create?
My Syrian roots greatly influence me. They are engraved in my subconscious and float to the surface without me even realising. Syrian design is all about focusing on the little details that make up the bigger picture, such as the ornate patterns in mosaics, or the beautiful Arabic shapes in architecture. It inspires me a great deal and is a definite drive behind my urge to create.
What would you have been if not a fashion designer?
I would have been a chef, I love to create and I love throwing dinner parties for friends and family so I’d definitely look into it.
Tell us about key moments in your career and your proudest achievements?
There’s been so many, but if I had to choose just one then I’d choose the first time I showcased my couture collection in Paris, I can still remember every moment.
Who is your dream person to dress?
I’m lucky to have dressed a number of A-list celebrities in recent years including Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Dannii Minogue, Kelly Rowland and Rachel Bilson, to name a few, and I’m looking forward to seeing who will wear my dresses this year. I would love to see Sarah Jessica Parker in one of my designs, that truly would be the icing on the cake.
What do you hope to achieve in the next 10 years?
We are working on a lot of projects and on a few collaborations with internationally renowned names, which will be revealed in the near future. As for 10 years, our vision has always been to be the go-to house for elegant, sophisticated and dreamy designs for the stylish, trend-setting woman. Our brand is built on the premise of making every woman feel good about herself, and to empower them, and promote creativity, which is what we want to remain true to whether it is 10 years from now, or 20.
By Eliza Scarborough
