Dreamy Fashion at Selina Farooqui's Showcase



Selina Farooqui Fashion



So on Thursday, as I told you I would be, I went to recent Virginia Commonwealth Qatar (VCU Qatar) graduate and award winning designer Selina Farooqui's showcase at the W Hotel Doha. By far it was the best showcase I have been to.

Selina won the W Doha and VCU Qatar Fashion Award for being an outstanding student while at university and the award included getting the exciting opportunity to hold her own fashion showcase at the swanky W Hotel Doha, in one of its uber-cool EWOW suites on the 15th floor. Apparently Kate Moss stayed in that suite!

But forget the suite, it was the clothes that were impressing. As I said before, Selina's designs are really opulent, luxurious and dreamy, but feel really light and are easy to wear. Selina showcased her current senior collection as well as collections past; the suite was lit up with a sorbet of different colours and prints from pastel shades to nudes and from summery brights to blacks.

Everyone, including me, went crazy over the pieces - if I had the money I would have bought every single thing in that suite! (Although I don't think I would have been allowed to.) Imagine, luxe jackets, waistcoats and cocktail dresses made with gold and rose gold Indian brocades, fluffy skirts made from tiers of lace or pleats in beautiful lilac, pink, purple and violet colours, and gorgeous floaty chiffon dresses in magenta and midnight purple shades. Many of the pieces had beautiful bead, lace and rope embellishments and detachable crystal, sequin and rope belts which Selina makes by hand. Sigh.

By the time I had left, there were visible gaps on the rails were people had bought the pieces. The prices are really affordable - from 500 riyals for a cocktail dress, 1000 riyals for a jacket and 2000-3000 riyals for an evening gown. Selina can take your measurements and tailor them to your size and she can even make custom-made designs for you. One woman saw gold fabric she liked on a black dress and Selina said she could make an abaya for her incorporating that same fabric. 

I managed to grab Selina for a few minutes for a few questions. She really is one of the nicest, sweetest and most humble designers you will ever meet. When I asked her where she sources her amazing prints and fabrics I expected her to tell me a list of exotic countries, but many of them she found here in the textile shops of Doha! The pieces with Indian brocades and prints she sources from Bombay. Some of the pieces in her collection were designed to go with the theme of the W Doha (I'm guessing it was all the purple chiffon dresses then).



Selina's actual sketches



Up next? Selina is going to work on developing her eponymous label, Selina Farooqui Fashion and she hopes to break into Dubai and make it into Dubai Fashion Week. I think Dubai will welcome her with open arms.

For more information on Selina Farooqui, check out her Facebook page.

You can contact Selina by emailing her at selina.farooqui@gmail.com or ringing her at (00974) 3306 5743.

Photos shown courtesy of Selina Farooqui.