At the heart of New York-based luxury brand SemSem is founder and creative director Abeer Al Otaiba’s mission to support and invest in women’s and children’s well-being around the world. In this spirit, the brand is helping to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic by supporting non-profit organisations based in New York – Egyptian-born Al Otaiba resides in America where her husband is the UAE Ambassador to the United States – as well as creating reusable protective masks from unused fabrics in their New York atelier. “We believe in the power of supporting our community and protecting all those who are on the front line every day,” says the founder.
Founder and creative director Abeer Al Otaiba
SemSem is supporting the Afya Foundation with USD20,000 in aid (approximately DHS75,000), which will be put toward distributing donated, unused medical supplies to healthcare workers battling Covid-19 on the front line. It is also supporting the NewYork-Presbyterian Patient Care Fund to the same value, to support general patient care needs including the purchasing of ventilators and personal protective equipment such as masks, the hiring of additional clinical staff, capacity expansion and clinical research.
The fashion house – popular among celebrities such as Blake Lively, Taylor Swift and Drew Barrymore – is also offering hand-washable face masks to essential workers.
Read SemSem founder and creative director Abeer Al Otaiba’s lockdown diary here
