Yama is a kaleidoscopic, vibrantly-hued fashion line that’s handmade with rare fabrics sourced from around the world. Satwa-based duo Kamal Rasooi and Beth Hopper are the creatives who launched it this January. Since then the brand has been earning a name for its loose, comfortable fit, its bold patterns, and its unique backstory.
“Our interest is in fabric that looks like it’s from the 60s and 70s,” Rasooi said.“Our criteria is simple: anything tropical and exotic.”
Yama is influenced in equal parts by the founders’ love of travel and of world music. Rasooi is particularly fond of Ethiopian Jazz and Ghanian High Life music.
“I grew up in Bahrain and my parents would always tell me how in the past there were no retailers. Back in their day everyone had to make their own clothes. Today, I guess I’m continuing thathistorical legacy,” Rasooi told us.
The founders’ favourite place tosource fabric is SouqNaif in Deira. But recent excursions have also takenthe twosome to far-flung locales like Brick Lane in London.
The brand plans to extend its offering of women’s and menswear with accessories like bucket hats and clothing for kids. You can shop for Yama via the brand’s Instagram and Etsy or at pop-ups like Right Market and The Mine Pops, where Rasooi likes to set the mood by playing Afrobeat and Latin Funk cassettes.
Rasooi and Hopper believe thatthe magic of the brand is in the sense of discovery. “Essentially we’re curating and digging deep for fabrics that arewarm, vibrant, and hard to find anywhere else,” Rasooi said.
“Everything is ethically made in the UAE and we’re proud of that,” Hopper said. “Our goal is to design things that make people say: ‘Wow. I’ve never see anything like that before”.
{gallery}FashionablyLate-October2015{/gallery}
