Dubai’s melting pot inspires House of Nomad

House of Nomad is a new and innovative fashion brand based in Dubai founded by two creative individuals, Saleh Al-Banna and Ahmed El-Sayed. Saleh, an Emirati, graduated from the American University in Dubai in Graphic Design and Ahmed, an Egyptian, graduated with a BFA in Fashion Design from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. The two friends collaborated and created a line based on their Arab heritages and inspired by their love for travel. House of Nomad is a minimalistic comfort chic clothing line for both men and women. Their designs are based on comfort chic and are sophisticated, yet easy wear.
House of Nomad was created through mutual love for fashion. Ahmed has a background in fashion design and Saleh has a love for vintage and unique pieces; both men are great friends and have put their minds together to create the line that is making a buzz in the Arab fashion world.
“I would be occasionally sketching and Saleh would always give in his input. So we decided to take our skills and talents to the next level and create this clothing brand that caters to both men and women. The brand is born in Dubai, where we both reside, after creating a few custom pieces for our friends, we started getting a lot of positive comments from outsiders, and so it was a push for us to create a full collection. We also noticed a gap in the market where the GCC doesn’t have two arab men running a clothing brand that caters to both genders,” said Ahmed.
Having debuted their first line early this year, both cofounders searched for the right designs and color palette for their first line; their choice of colors would be single tones with an Arab twist. Having found a fabric and color of choice, the two then created a line based on pale nude. With bomber jackets, sweaters, skirts and gowns, House of Nomad provided a wearable option for both men and women that made it easy to turn a day look into a night look using this one single fabric type suitable for all their designs. It was a challenging first attempt but a successful one with back to back orders. Their “nomad” sweater in Arabic calligraphy was widely on demand.
With the success of the first collection the duo then tested the waters to create a line using their Arab heritage as a sort of muse but still keep the concept of their clean cut pieces, sleek designs and single color palette, making the line not only unique but clearly not a follower of seasonal trends as it is in the fashion world.
Each collection differs from one to the other depending on what inspires the duo, the main factor is choosing a certain culture that both agree on and incorporate it with their original cultural DNA.
Resort 15 came along this summer with crisp clean white colors, perfect for the hot summer days. The choice of single color palette was still used but with a twist, bright navy blue beetles were used in some of the pieces that were presented. The uniqueness of the splash of color as well as keeping the designs minimalistic and polished, made their line demandable, able to cater to both night and day looks depending on one’s choice, something that goes well with their customers in both the GCC area as well as their international customers.
“Our first collection was based around the desert, we represented this culture with our cuts and silhouettes and definitely the color palette. Since this is a resort collection, we wanted to go with a more palette cleanser approach and use a fresh summer color ensemble; navy blue and white,” assures Ahmed about their latest line.
When asked about the choice of the name “House of Nomad,” it was clear that there was a personal attachment to the name. According to the duo, nomad means the wanderer with no geographical boundaries like the original inhabitants of Dubai who were in perpetual motion from one temporary dwelling to the other.
“The core inspiration of our modest homemade brand that we aspire to nurture and grow to take globally is because Dubai is a multicultural melting pot of transient souls that come here to create their own individual imprint.”
The outlook that is intended to reach customers is how everyone is essentially a nomad in life by each individual’s choice of dress, which in turn inspires the creative process for the “House of Nomad” collection. As to what to expect in their next line, it is sure to comprise more play in colors and textures being merged with a variety of new designs but still managing to uphold the original concept.
All clothes can be purchased through the line’s website www.house-of-nomad.com; the line can also be viewed on their Instagram page and you can communicate with the founders personally. Their collection is also available at all Sauce boutiques, Mahani and The Luxury Arcade in Abu Dhabi. As to when distribution in the Kingdom and GCC will begin, talks are still going on and supporters of the brand are to keep an eye out on what is coming up through their Instagram account House_of_nomad.
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