Haya Maraka Photographed by Shanita Sims
Haya Maraka is a stylist with a twist. She doesn’t follow trends nor does she whisk her clients straight off to the shops. Instead, she is simply guided by life and its inspirations. From her home country of Saudi Arabia to London, Switzerland, New York and beyond, this smart entrepreneur creates her own rules – and trust us, you’ll want to write them down.
How does your average day look: No two days are the same for me.
Are you a morning or an evening person: I’m such a morning person. I love to be in a good mood and get excited that there’s a whole new day to do a lot of different things.
What’s the first thing you do: I dance!
How do you decide on your outfit for the day: Music helps me. If I’m going to listen to Prince then you can guarantee I’ll be donning some metallic shoes.
How did you get into styling: It was very natural. Many women were complementing my own style choices and it took off from there.
Where did you meet your first client: Bergdorf Goodman’s. To this day we ‘ll still meet at its coffee shop and reminisce.
What’s the first thing you tell your clients: ‘Everything is already in your closet, you just don’t know it’. It’s not about running straight to the shops and getting the newest collections, there’s so much you can already do with what you have.
Anything else: I can’t stress enough how important basics are in your life – you can do a lot with them. This goes for everything, not just fashion.
Name two of your favourite brands: Azzedine Alaia and Lilianne Afshar.
How did you view fashion growing up: As inaccessible and magical. It was an aspiration and that’s how it should be.
How do you view it now: Sometimes the industry forgets about the actual clothes. It’s good to step back from the theatrics and just take in the pieces themselves.
Do you travel a lot with your work: Yes, I go to visit my clients and I’ll spend a few days with them at a time.
What type of women do you work with: It’s really women who know themselves, not women who are trying to emulate the latest runway or celebrity trends. They’re mature, they have a career and family and they’re just trying to figure out what works best for them.
Haya Maraka
Do you get style inspiration from your travels: Yes, it’s everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and be more aware.
How do you pack when you travel: My mood always dresses me, so I don’t pack with each day in mind, I’ll just make sure I have enough in my case to mix and match.
What clothes do you seek out on your travels: Vintage. It has such a strong soul, a story, even better when it’s from an undiscovered place.
Why did you make the move to New York: I needed a challenge, I wanted to explore. I had no friends there when I moved, but I wanted to go off and do something alone. I think it’s really important to get in touch with yourself.
What do you love about New York: There are so many different sets of people and no one judges. You can get so much creative inspiration from all of them.
You’ve turned to writing recently, why: I was spending a lot of time on other people so I wanted to get back into my own head.
How do you approach each new task: If I’m working on something I have to believe in it, I’m very much in touch with my soul.
Where do you write: I make it a point to move around, everyone needs a change of scenery. I’ll start at home then move to the library, later the park and so on.
Are you easily distracted: Well I just got a puppy, Cleopatrick, but he’s a creative distraction, you can go crazy writing alone all day!
What advice do you live by: Be open and say ‘YES!’ to the universe. There are no coincidences in life.
