Poccaa by Alia
Alia Alsadek, Founder
Images of lace-up kaftans with necklines reaching almost to the navel are posted on fleeting Instagram stories, followed by photos of dreamy, cropped quilted vests finished with white scalloped piping. Hours later, many have sold out. Designer Alia Alsadek coined the phrase ‘Poccaa Gems’ for these sought-after block-printed creations that breathe new life into heritage textiles, available exclusively through social media and occasional pop-ups.
Starting her own label was perhaps always on the cards for the Lebanese-Palestinian fashion enthusiast, who began her career in luxury magazines before working for some of the region’s biggest multi-brand shopping destinations. “It was an exciting time,” says Alia, who was part of the team that launched Level Shoes, and was also a buyer for Symphony in Dubai Mall, working with over 60 luxury brands and heading the store’s personal shopping concierge service. “It was a role I had always aspired to — it taught me so much, which eventually led me to start my own businesses in the industry,” she tells MOJEH.
Alia, who now lives in Athens, says that launching Poccaa in 2021 felt like an “inevitable” journey for her to embark on. From florals and animal stripes to tie-dye and sea-inspired patterns, statement blockprints are central to her brand. “It’s the prints and embellishments that truly define each collection. Whether it’s the use of mirrors, eyelets, sequins or even plain textures, these elements bring a unique flair to our designs,” she explains. The canvas of each piece is a cotton block print — a textile technique dating back to the 13th century in India — where hand-carved wood blocks depicting different designs are used as stamps, transferring ink on to lengths of fabric. It’s an art form passed through generations of fabric makers and merchants in the state of Rajasthan, and over the past decade has increasingly attracted designers from abroad.
“Poccaa is deeply rooted in Indian artisanal craftsmanship,” says Alia, who draws inspiration from traditional Indian styles with a contemporary twist, by balancing busy prints with streamlined silhouettes. She creates wrap skirts, kaftans and tunic-trouser sets in a one-size-fits-most model. “Cuts are clean and easy; simple and basic,” says Alia. “What more can you ask for?” Demand for her pieces skyrocketed after she organised a small pop-up event in Dubai. “I envisioned designs that were playful and accessible for all my friends to enjoy, and the response was overwhelmingly positive,” she says.
Her textiles are all sourced from local markets in Jaipur (the capital of Rajasthan), and production takes place between India and Lebanon. “We also take pride in creating our own prints in-house to add a unique touch to our collections,” adds Alia. One recent custom pattern features a chain encircling kitschy mushroom icons; another showcases a smattering of starfish and seashells. A zebra print, meanwhile, is adorned with tiny, thread-bordered mirrors, available in both black and red colourways. A client once wore one of these zebra cotton sets to a daytime wedding, dressing up the ensemble with ornate earrings, and exemplifying Poccaa’s penchant for blurring the lines between everyday casual and formal dress codes. In Ramadan, Alia released a collection featuring crescent moons in navy, tangerine and cherry-toned colours, making cosmic kaftans and sets for the Holy Month. She also offers customised services for clients seeking their own bespoke textiles for special occasions, with the added option of embroidering slogans and names on the clothing.
And while block prints may have earned a reputation for being resort wear, Alia transitions the textile into winter through quilting techniques to make them thicker. Vests, gilets and jackets by Poccaa feature floral patterns contrasted with striped lining. She views hundreds of block prints every week when making her selections, and is ultimately guided by her own style preferences. “The prints I know I’d love to wear myself are the prints I go for,” she says.
Poccaa is a one-woman show, with Alia handling everything from design and production to shipping and fulfilling orders. She hosts regular pop-ups, and also answers each message on social media personally. “Balancing all of this alongside my personal life can be challenging, which is why I choose to release collections whenever I’m able to,” she says. “It’s all about maintaining the joy and passion behind Poccaa. If something feels stressful or overwhelming, it takes away from the enjoyment.”
By Teya
Laura Chahine, Founder
After Laura Chahine gave birth two years ago, she found that getting dressed lacked the excitement it once held for her. For the self-professed lover of print and colour with a background in luxury fashion, changes to her body, coupled with the scorching summer heat, made dressing up challenging to say the least. “During this phase of my life I felt like I was completely at a loss for inspiration,” she tells MOJEH. Almost a year later during Ramadan in 2023, she had a simple dress tailor-made in different block print fabrics, and wore these to a few Iftars. They were a hit, and her friends asked her to make some for them too. A few weeks later, Laura experimented with matching sets, and soon had enough stock to host a small pop-up at her house, signalling the birth of her label, By Teya.
Helming her own label was never part of Laura’s early career aspirations: “It all happened really naturally and organically, and this project has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined,” she says. Born in Paris and raised in Beirut, Laura attributes her sartorial perspective to her upbringing in a Lebanese family that’s proud of its Arab roots, but at the same time strongly influenced by French culture. “My mother and grandmother were always well-dressed with bold accents of colour or accessories, while remaining very elegant. I think that seeing them transform a simple and comfortable look to a really unique one with small changes, is what marked me,” she says
“My parents always encouraged me to travel and discover new places, which definitely has helped shape the way I think and work today,” adds Laura. After studying styling and artistic direction at Istituto Marangoni in Paris, she moved to Dubai, working in PR and communications for Chalhoub and HFA Consultancy, in addition to producing branded partnerships for luxury magazines. Laura also worked with luxury modest wear e-tailer The Modist, which gave her access to the realm of e-commerce — a dimension she hopes to add to her own label, along with international shipping. The PR-turned-designer prefers keeping her brand personal and small-scale, so that she can remain involved in every detail — from building relationships with fabric suppliers to hosting pop-ups in-person.
Laura’s experience with motherhood has had a profound impact on her personal style and brand aesthetic. “When you work in fashion or love fashion, you sometimes give up comfort to wear a beautiful piece — but after becoming a mum, my perspective on this shifted,” she explains. “I try to design for a woman who is active, in movement and can take her outfit from day to night. Whether a working woman, a stay-at-home mum with a busy social life, or a young adult travelling a lot, she’s looking for comfort without compromising style.”
Her best-selling Alma set features cotton block-printed trousers with ruffled hems, paired with a blouse with subtle lapel collars, flared, accordion sleeves and front tie closures. Although head-to-toe block prints often come across as intrinsically bohemian, Laura’s are elevated with these design details. “It’s a very versatile set that offers simplicity with an edge,” she says. The Lila set, meanwhile, features shorts with short-sleeved blouses finished with oversized bow ties in either matching block-print fabrics or bold, solid hues. “As comfort is key, I really try to focus on silhouettes that are wearable and timeless,” says Laura, who sources most of her fabrics from Jaipur. “I am lucky to work with amazing artisans that hand-block the prints, and our next step is to create fabrics exclusively for By Teya with them.”
Acutely aware of the ways in which heritage prints can be reworked for a contemporary clientele, Laura embraces an eclectic East-meets-West aesthetic that celebrates culture and colour — and also marks a departure from the minimalism and muted hues that have been popular of late. “I think the quiet luxury trend is beautiful and elegant, but I'm a maximalist at heart,” says Laura. “Middle Eastern women in general are bold and confident in their fashion choices and are a daily inspiration to me.”
Rai The Label
Ghalia Gharbawi and Cherine Samadi, founders
It’s past midnight, but Cherine Samadi is sitting in her Beirut home with fabrics sprawled on the floor around her, cutting snippets of each and pairing them with one another as she envisions which print combinations will look best. From pastel floral patterns to bold geometric stripes containing intricate vines and foliage, in a spectrum of hues like mustard, mint, pistachio, periwinkle and every shade of pink, these block-printed cotton fabrics are used to create breezy kaftans and two-piece sets. They’re produced in Beirut and then shipped to Dubai where her daughter Ghalia Gharbawi handles the rest from her Nad Al Sheba home, that she shares with her husband and three poodles.
“I used to collect lots of interior fabrics for the house, and make palettes,” says Cherine, who studied interior design in London. During the pandemic she and Ghalia decided to put her passion for textiles to use, creating their very own brand, Raï — a word that means ‘trust’ in Japanese, reflecting the close bond between them. They launched the label in 2022, starting out with embroidered raffia bags that helped empower female artisans across villages in Lebanon, before turning their focus to Indian block prints from Jaipur. Cherine sources the textiles, designs the clothing and liaises with the suppliers and the factory, from Lebanon. Ghalia, who lives in Dubai and previously worked in PR at YOOX Net-a-Porter Group, handles logistics, deliveries, finances, social media and pop-ups. Today, Raï is sold at London boutique Serra Kirdar as well as in stores in Jordan and Qatar, but Ghalia says that they focus mainly on direct-to-consumer sales. “To be honest, we sell very quickly, so it’s hard to provide outsourcing to other retailers. We’re just a team of two, and every two to three weeks we have 300 to 500 new pieces coming in,” she tells MOJEH
The brand’s signature classic kaftan with balloon sleeves — which was the first piece Cherine designed — has remained its most popular style to date, featuring a long, A-line printed silhouette with side slits and voluminous sleeves in a contrasting yet complementary pattern. Other designs include blouse-and-trouser and vest-and-shorts sets which Ghalia designs. “Because she is younger, she has these ideas for the newer generation,” says Cherine, who prefers dresses, and is happy to hand the torch to her daughter on such occasions. “She’s my soulmate,” adds Cherine. “We disagree and fight sometimes but in general we get along very well.”
Cherine meets her dealers regularly through Zoom, where they show their new offerings over the screen. “They stay with me for hours, showing me different colours and matching patterns,” she says. Last year, the duo travelled to Jaipur to meet their textile suppliers in person. “It was nice to see the process of block printing — when you’re overseas you don’t get the full experience,” says Ghalia.
For some women, a wardrobe with one or two block print garments may be sufficient, but many of Raï’s clientele have a long-standing love affair with these textiles. “Some of our customers will buy the classic kaftan and then get 15 more, all in different prints,” says Ghalia. “Our designs are very breathable and airy, and when you wake up and don’t know what to wear, you can throw one on — it can take you from your errands, to school pick-up, to lunch or dinner.”
Earlier this year they expanded to offer children’s clothes, through the brand’s Little Raï line of tiered and ruffled dresses. Ghalia hopes to one day see Raï stocked at Ounass, Bloomingdale’s and Net-a-Porter — but says that until then, the pop-up model works well for the label. Their first-ever pop-up was with Dina Zahran’s popular Dina’s Picks event and, soon after, they participated at Ghizlan Guenez’s Sawa Ramadan exhibition. “That was the big boom for Raï,” says Ghalia, who says their highest sales occur during Ramadan. “But in this region’s climate, our pieces are relevant year-round; they never go out of style,” she adds. While they reproduce silhouettes, prints and colourways are available in limited runs, and a kaftan featuring a particular textile combination will be one of only three pieces.
“We keep changing and updating our fabrics,” says Ghalia. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
