The day I arrived in Miami late last month, it seemed as if I was back in Abu Dhabi because I spent the evening into the early hours of next morning with two Emirati friends.
Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, designer and owner of Grafika boutique, was showing her new collection of evening gowns at Miami’s International Fashion Week. The well-known artist Jalal Luqman who is Sumayyah’s husband was there as well.
Not counting taxi drivers, porters, and waiters, Sumayyah and Jalal were the first people I saw in Miami, and it was wonderful to be with them in a completely different environment and get some of their impressions of Miami Beach.
The fashion show at the Miami Beach Convention Center was glorious. Sumayyah’s collection is called SEEN, and while I expected something like dressy abayas, her 20 gowns were international evening clothes, the kind that Emirati fashionistas wear at private parties.
The gowns were simply beautiful in brilliant colours, all with slim skirts. My favorite had a gold lame top and white skirt embroidered with gold flowers. Shumayyah said in one of the interviews that followed the show that she liked to use Emirati traditions like embroidery in designing the gowns.
Another I especially liked was a deep pink printed with white flowers. At least two were black livened up with couture details. Only later did I realize that these clothes which looked terrific to my western eyes were relatively modest with at least cap sleeves and always covered almost to the neck.
Fabrics were universally silk or silky, following the body loosely. The models looked gorgeous in the gowns, but a woman of any age or ethnicity could wear them, as long as she was reasonably slender. Bulges wouldn’t work.
Almost each model wore decorative headgear although nothing like a shayla. Most often it was a gold filigree cap that showed plenty of hair and gave the effect of delicate jewelry. The other version was black with jet strands. Either looked perfect with the dress and could be worn by someone who didn’t usually cover her hair.
The evening ran very late. Sumayyah’s collection was supposed to be shown around 10.30 pm. She actually went on around 11.45. By the time the show was over, and Sumayyah did the designer’s traditional triumphant walk down the runway, it was well after midnight. Then she was mobbed by journalists and did a series of interviews, sounding terrific from what I saw and heard.
While that was happening, Jalal and I packed the gowns into two suitcases – and we didn’t do it nearly as well because everyone was tired and hungry after the excitement of the event.
Finally, around 1:30 am we bundled into my rental car and drove to the News Café about 10 minutes away on the other side of South Beach on Ocean Drive just off the water. It is open 24 hours a day – something not unusual in Miami Beach.
While Jalal and I went Italian with fettucini and shrimp, Sumayyah ordered French toast with blueberries and cream, all of us going for comfort food after a really long and very successful day.
Our waiter was a young guy, probably what most Tempo readers would consider typically American-looking. As he took the orders, he asked where we were from. I said from here, coming back after eight years in the Middle East.
Then he looked at Sumayyah and Jalal. We’re from Abu Dhabi, Jalal said, and we all expected the guy to say, where’s that? Didn’t happen. Instead, he said, smiling, ‘Awesome. My sister lives in Dubai. I’ve visited her several times!’
That’s what happens when you try to leave the UAE!
By Alma Kadragic
Photos by Jalal Luqman
