Reema Al Banna is the founder and creative talent behind the fashion house Reemami, which she launched in the UAE in 2010. Since then, the house – which specialises in sustainable fashion and lifestyle collections which empower women – has gone from strength to strength. The Palestinian designer sat down with A&E magazine to discuss, the inspiration behind her latest collections, taking her label to Milan and Paris Fashion Week, and what she plans to do next, in 2024 and beyond.
We last spoke to you in 2020. Please, could you tell us about your journey since then and any standout moments for you?
Oh my gosh. To go back to 2020, [since then] I’ve launched a new collection, which was a deep dive into my identity as a Palestinian who’s living in the diaspora. And it was really interesting to just go back and look into what makes me intrinsically from that culture without actually living there. So, I created a whole collection from that, but I also created a big print fat archive which is inspired by that collection.
I then showed the collection “A TIN OF OLIVE OIL “in Milan. That was really cool. It was my first international runway. It went well.
How was that received by the international audience in Milan?
The response was great. It was nice because the audience was new. I didn’t know many people in the audience, just a few faces. And the audience complimented the collection, and I received good feedback. That collection was the first time that I’ve worked with Palestinian embroidery, so I commissioned Palestinian women based in refugee camps, they’ve done a very cool embroidery for that collection.
I then showed a collection recently in Paris this September. It was the second part of the TIN OF OLIVE OIL collection. Which included so many prints. It was my first time to showcase on a Paris runway. And it was fun and special. But then I stopped celebrating it because Palestine got bombed, Gaza got bombed, and I’m from there. My parents are from Gaza, and so I kind of just stopped posting about it.
Do you feel that you have – because of your platform and your brand – a responsibility to communicate the message of Palestinian culture to the world?
Yes, so as designers and creatives, I think we all have a platform, and we have the medium to speak in our own way. It doesn’t have to be super political, but it could be in a way talk about what’s happening that’s not right in the world. And I’ve dug deep into my culture because back in 2019, there was another war on Gaza, and I was like, “So what can I do? Let me do something about it.” And that’s when I dove deep into it.
I just love to share my culture, my upbringing, the food that’s also been taken away a little bit from us. But for us, for my mom, my family, it is a happy place, [with] great memories. And I mean, I think everyone, all designers, and creatives, we have to tell the story in one way or another. I mean, we have the power in our hands to kind of divert and show our truth rather than what the propaganda is showing.
You’ve always been quite diverse as a creative. What other collections have you been working on?
Recently I launched tableware. We created a tablecloth and we launched that with a dinner party. I also have a lot of hobbies which influence my creativity. I wake surf, skate, and also do slacklining, and then got into surf skating. The community kind of led me to surf skating and then to surfing now. So maybe next season it’ll be surfing.
What is the most important message you try to convey through your different capsules and your different collections?
I love to tell stories. And every time I dive into a new collection, it’s always super personal, but it also has a lot of subliminal messages of empowering women, of a sign of resistance, of helping to give women a voice.
And it’s always there subliminally. Even with my hobbies, I kind of put the dots together yesterday. I’m like, “Even the hobbies that I’ve been trying to tell the stories of, it’s to show the world that women can do everything even at an older age. You can pick up any sport and learn it, and you can reach your goals no matter where you are in your life.” And that’s been a line that connects all my collections in every capsule.
That makes sense with what you said about your tableware and obviously, you have your prints, it’s not strictly just womenswear and menswear. So, is that part of that as well in terms of challenging yourself and learning new things?
Yeah, exactly. I dove into wall art during COVID and it’s doing well. So, the prints and textiles that I’ve created for my collections are now on the walls, which as a person with a graphic design background, just makes a lot of sense. Because I spend around 90% of my time creating prints, and then it’s always last minute. “Okay, the fabrics are all printed, and everything is here, let’s start designing it.” But I also have very deep detailed wood boards, like the Surfskate collection. I have a massive mood board, which includes a lot of things like little elements in the sport. So, there’s a lot of knee pads and shin guards involved, and all these protection elements and helmets and I tried to kind of translate that in the collection. So, it’s kind of a merge with fashion and functionality or utility in menswear, let’s say.
I feel like maybe there’s a nice metaphor there too, about getting back up again when a person faces adversity?
It’s true… and you keep going. It’s true. Oh, my goodness, I haven’t been surfskating a lot. So I’m in a skate park with all these ramps and stuff, every time I unlock a ramp, it’s a little win. And one of the days I fell and I kind of twisted my knee… But then, yeah, that just makes you stronger. And you go back and you’re more focused and you’re like, you’re ready to take the next challenge or ramp, and you just become more alert. It’s amazing.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Honestly, just be more confident with your ideas and go for it. Even if you thought it was the wildest dress. Don’t listen to the boring people. I would tell myself not to limit myself with all the feedback that I used to get… from people who wanted very commercial pieces. I was extremely brave, and I think, confident, by releasing collections that are not very common.
So, pushing the boundaries and pushing the norms always pays off. I mean, even if it’s different, don’t try to fit in anyone else’s shoes or criteria. You will create your own path if you just follow your vision and believe in it. That’s what I would tell myself.
Your designs have been worn by some big names around the world. Is there a look that you are particularly proud of someone wearing?
Honestly, every time I see anybody that comes and shops and buys my clothes, it’s always a little happy energy and dance that I do. It’s just fulfilling to see the clothes.
I’ve loved seeing my clothes with celebrities. Queen Rania was amazing. She wore two of my items and she carried it so well. And Bella Hadid also wore one of my denim pieces, which I also was a great win for me. But honestly now I’m kind of really focusing on having organic sales right now. Women of all ages are wearing all kinds of brands, they’re here to express themselves. I’m sure you know Iris Apfel? She’s 102 years old, she’s amazing. And she has such a cool, distinctive style. She’s such an inspiration.
What do you have planned for 2024 and are there any creative projects that fans of your label can particularly look forward to?
I’m currently on the production of the last collection I showed in Paris. So definitely watch out for a drop. There will also be an expansion on the collection that was shown on the runway. I’ll also be creating more capsule pieces, which are easier, smaller pieces, smaller than the dresses and the big items that have a smaller price tag for that, for everyone to just not break their bank. I’m also working on a T-shirt line, but I’m just going to try to make it my way and make it fun and artsy and make it feel good. Not just a T-shirt with a logo on it. You know? What else am I doing in 2024? [My next pop-up] is going to be in one of the cool department stores. So yeah, I’m just working towards that. And then after that, let’s see.
