Wadha Al-Hajri is a Qatari fashion designer who debuted her Autumn/Winter 2013 collection at the Mathaf contemporary art museum in Doha. She chose the art space to allow viewers to closely examine the craftsmanship in her pieces. Al-Hajri draws inspiration from Qatari heritage as well as time spent in other Arab countries. She creates couture-like pieces, some taking over 400 hours to complete. Al-Hajri aims to nurture her brand steadily while empowering women and promoting Qatari culture through her sophisticated, minimalist designs.

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Words by Alex Aubry
Photography by Monira Al-Ansari
An anthropologist by heart and a
designer by default, Wahda Al-Hajri
is one of Qatar’s hottest fashion recruits
styleThe
where fashion gets personal
GRand
DESIGNS
ABOVE: A black silk
organza jacket from A/W14
is made from raffia and
handmade embroidery with
a long taffeta skirt. The off-
white cut-out embroidered
top and skirt is a favourite
piece from Wadha’s
S/S12 collection. RIGHT:
A handmade silk organza
jacket in off white, one of
Wadha’s signature pieces
Qatari fashion designer
Wadha Al-Hajri
Wadha Al-Harjri’s
Doha studio
“Iwas waiting for the perfect moment to launch the
line,” confides Wadha Al-Hajri of her decision to
unveil her Autumn/Winter 2013 collection during
the closing ceremony of the Tea with Nefertiti
exhibition at Doha’s Mathaf in March. The
contemporary art museum’s setting was the perfect venue to showcase
the work of a Qatari designer known for fusing her love of research and
academia with an intense interest in craftsmanship.
“I chose to debut the collection in an art space as opposed to a regular
fashion show, because I wanted the focus to be on the clothes and give
individuals the opportunity to examine the details and workmanship
that went into each piece,” explains Wadha, while pointing out her
designs in the catalogue that accompanied the presentation. As a public
space dedicated to showcasing contemporary Arab art and nurturing
local Qatari talent, Mathaf’s Tea with Nefertiti exhibition also provided
the designer with the opportunity to discover links between her work
and the wider art scene.
“I was initially intrigued by the exhibition’s concept, which touched
on similar themes I was exploring in my own collection. How to convey
a sense of the past and tradition in a modern and contemporary way,”
explains Wadha, whose entry into the fashion world was anything but
conventional. A graduate of Qatar University with a degree in Foreign
Affairs, the designer admits to being something of a multi-tasker;
balancing motherhood and a career at a political institute, while she
continues to build her label. “My family has always been a huge source
of support for me, and they are at the top of my list of priorities,” ➤

2. 60|Harper’s BAZAAR Arabia Qatar Special
STYLEThe
architecture of old Cairo.
“By experiencing the
beauty in other cultures
I was able to appreciate my
Qatari heritage and channel
it into my work,” she says,
noting the influence of old
Egyptian movies from the
1940s and ’50s. “One of my favourite Egyptian actresses was Faten
Hamama, who was a classic beauty and style icon,” adds the designer,
who established her brand three years ago. “Looking back at my
childhood, I was always mesmerised by the way my mother and older
sister dressed. Although I was never aware of fashion design as
a profession, I was always interested in it as an art form,” observes
Wadha, whose earliest fashion memory was repurposing her mother’s
shoulder pads to create a quilted Chanel bag.
Despite having three collections under her belt, she makes it clear that
she is approaching the fashion world on her own terms. “Each collection
is a learning experience for me and I want to nurture the brand and grow
it steadily,” she says, adding that running a label in Qatar poses many of
the same challenges found in other parts of the world. “I think obstacles
are unavoidable and necessary in order to establish a strong career in
design. It’s only through trial and error that one can succeed. The key is
to learn from one’s mistakes and move forward,” concludes the designer,
who since showing her collection at Mathaf has attracted the attention
of retailers and private clients alike for her distinctive designs.
ABOVE: Neutrally decorated with bursts of
peonies, Wadha works in her home office
on weekends. The moodboard is filled with
written ideas, rather than sketches, so “I can
stay focused on each idea and then develop
it into a design.” LEFT: Drawings from
Wadha’s sketch book. BELOW: Wadha fits
a new jacket on a mannequin
“Although there was a simplicity to the silhouette of traditional Bedouin
dress, the women would always personalise them with rich
embellishments,” observes the designer, who continues this tradition by
embroidering intricate arabesques onto her couture-like creations. “This
piece took more than 400 hours to complete,” she notes, holding up
a delicate jacket, whose mesharbiyah-like latticework was created from
a web of painstakingly threaded ribbon.
“It was important for me that the entire collection be made in Qatar,”
says the designer who oversees a skilled team of patternmakers and
tailors. “We also spend a lot of time researching fabrics and have sourced
unique materials in the past from manufacturers in New York and
London. This season we worked exclusively with a fabric supplier in
France,” adds Wadha, who also believes that fashion can serve as a form
of cultural diplomacy.
“There are numerous ways for Qataris and the larger Arab World to
engage with other cultures through art and design. Art in particular is
one of the strongest forms of cultural diplomacy, especially as a vehicle
to promote contemporary culture in Qatar and reach out to the world at
a time when we should be encouraging cross-cultural dialogue,” says the
designer, who grew up in Damascus, Cairo and Amman.
“Living in different countries in the Arab World from an early age, not
only exposed me to diverse cultures, but also shaped who I am today.
Through those experiences I began to appreciate different forms of
artistic expression, which would ultimately inform my own sense of
aesthetics,” says Wadha, who recalls trips to Damascus’ old souk in
search of lustrous Ottoman fabrics as well as the Mamluk-era Islamic
says the designer who credits good time management and a lot of energy
with helping her get though her packed schedule.
Wadha’s sophisticated and refined approach to fashion is all the more
astounding considering she is a self-taught designer. “I never felt the
need to study fashion in order to become a designer. Like art, I felt it was
this innate talent that one is born with. I ultimately chose to study
politics because of my interest in history, with a particular focus on
Qatar and the Arab World,” notes Wadha, whose various interests
inevitably inform her work as a designer.
For her latest collection, she took inspiration from a book of images
published by the Qatar Museum’s Authority, which chronicled the 1959
Danish expedition to Qatar. “I was fascinated by these images, because
they are the only photographic record of the last Bedouin tribes who
lived in Qatar before they settled down with the discovery of oil,”
observes Wadha, who paid particular attention to the women who
appeared in these photographs. “I’ve always been rooted in my Qatari
background, and there was something very empowering in seeing these
women from the past, not only in the traditional clothes they wore, but
the fact that they played an integral role in the tribe’s survival. These are
incredibly powerful images of Arab women that are seldom reflected in
the Western media, and I wanted to capture that power and beauty in
my own designs,” says Wadha, who conceived her collection for a 21st
century Bedouin woman; “elegant, powerful and independent.”
A modern-day anthropologist, the designer focused on creating
a collection of minimalist streamlined dresses and separates in luxurious
fabrics dyed in a restrained palette of black, beige, silver and white. ■
Wadha adjusts the
waist on one of her
A/W13 pieces
Harper’s BAZAAR Arabia Qatar Special |61
“Art is one of the strongest
forms of cultural diplomacy”
wahd al hajri