Ahead, together.

My earliest memories of creativity begin with my mother.

For as long as I can remember, she has been the unofficial designer for our family, our friends and the whole circle of people around us. For weddings, celebrations and every occasion in between, she was the one imagining what everyone would wear. She collected fabrics, saved beautiful pieces of lace and played with colour and detail, then took it all to the tailor and turned an idea in her head into something completely her own.

She notices the details other people overlook. And wherever she went, I went with her, to fabric shops and tailors, on the hunt for the smallest finishing touch. I think that is where I first understood the joy of making something that didn’t exist before.

Growing up, making things became my own language. I was always sketching, photographing, scrapbooking and crafting, and I saw design in everything around me. I was the friend whose birthday cards came handmade, full of notes, photographs and tiny details that probably took far too long.

While I was still at school, my sister looked at everything I was making and told me to start selling it. So I did. At seventeen, I made it official and opened my own small business, The Kraft Store (its Instagram, from those years, opens in a new tab). I made little booklet keepsakes, layered with photographs, messages and embellishments. I even embroidered straight onto the paper.

For me, everything was about the person it was for. Each piece was personalised and customised down to the smallest detail, so it could only ever belong to them. Before long, the store had grown a following far bigger than I ever imagined, and it stayed with me through my school and university years. It closed long ago, but its Instagram is still there, a little time capsule of everything I made back then.

Later I found my way into creative and product development work, from the first idea and design through sampling to production. Watching something begin as a thought, a sketch or an idea on a screen, and then holding the finished thing, still excites me every single time.

Living in the Middle East, I was surrounded by women who dress modestly in so many different ways. I fell for the silhouettes, the fabrics, the layering and the craft, but even more for the individuality behind them. Modesty could look different from one woman to the next, and still let each of them feel completely like herself.

That stayed with me. I began imagining pieces that give women room to be who they are while honouring the way they choose to dress, pieces that feel considered rather than conventional, with personality, detail and a point of view.

From the beginning, I knew Aurre would never be just about abayas. The idea has always been modest clothing for every part of a woman’s life, from occasionwear and statement pieces to the things you reach for on an ordinary day.

We begin with the occasion, finished in lace. Next come the pieces you can actually live in, for work, coffee runs, travel, dinners, weekends and everything in between. Effortless enough for every day, and special enough to make you feel like yourself.

I have so many ideas for where Aurre can go, but I never want it made in isolation. Your thoughts, your stories, the pieces you reach for and the things you wish existed all matter to me. I want Aurre to grow alongside the women who wear it, not simply design for them.

This is only the beginning, and I hope you’ll be part of where we go next.

Suha

Founder and creative director