24 Hours With Shaikha Al Ali: How The Emirati Fashion Designer Spends Her Day
The Emirati fashion designer’s days are filled with family, friends and a community of artists who help inspire and bring her visions to life
8:00am: I am a bit of a fitful sleeper. I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and I’ll add random things to my notebook and then go back to sleep.
When I finally do wake up, well… I’m not sure this is healthy, but I take a peek at my email. Just a peek so that I can try to calculate how I want to plan the day accordingly. Also, I like my room to be very minimal and organised with everything belonging in a certain, calculated space. I used to be messy, but then one day it just changed, and honestly it has helped me keep a clear mind.
After I make my bed I take a quick shower. I love using Aesop tea tree oil shampoo, it really exfoliates your scalp. Then in terms of creams and shower gels, Byredo Bal d’Afrique is my go-to.
For make-up, I love a good sharp flick of eyeliner, paired with my signature electric blue mascara from Shiseido. I’ve come to realise blue is my colour, a full blue liner and mascara pairing spells ‘Shaikha now’. Also, I never forget to apply my Kiko Smart Urban Shield SPF Cream and Dior’s Forever Skin Glow Foundation is magic. As for my style, it’s quite dark and experimental.
I usually decide which abaya I’m wearing and this dictates the rest. If I’m going for my metal carabiner abaya, then I’m wearing my Yemeni silver jewellery and my contrasting Kuthub heel. If I’m going for something more simple, then I’ll choose rosegold jewellery and pair it with comfy Jil Sander flats. If I’m feeling super experimental, I’ll take out my Hodakova upcycled belt bag for a super statement look.
My style is built on a lot of items I’ve collected over the years. I really believe character is key to any person’s style. My daily uniform consists of a full black outfit, usually a black turtleneck with black straight-leg trousers. I am often wearing my Gemini heels. I like the way they transform any outfit and give it this fun feel. I also love wearing my purse abaya, I can place my phone, wallet, and lipstick in it and get to business, it’s one of my favourite pieces.
“I can get a bit obsessive with a project when it truly consumes me,”
Shaikha Al Ali
9:00am: Breakfast begins with coffee. I love coffee so much that I have two speciality coffee machines at home. I decided to invest in my coffee-making skills so I took a course a little while ago and haven’t looked back since! Every morning, making coffee has become a ritual, from grinding the beans to measuring the extraction, to making the latte art. But I try to stick to one or two cups a day (usually a flat white).
As I live with my parents, I enjoy spending time with my mother in the morning. She really gives me great insights when I ask her for feedback on anything I’m working on. And before I start working I’ll let out my caique parrot. I try to let her out of her cage as much as I can during the day as she is very social. I have a home-based studio, so it’s pretty convenient as most of my work is here with me, and that means I can keep working even at super-late hours if I need to.
I love turning an idea into reality. Seeing the prototypes, touching them, and working at perfecting them. And I enjoy listening to instrumentals while I am working; anything from Ólafur Arnalds is great to set the mood. As I work alone I can get a bit obsessive with a project when it truly consumes me. It’s for this reason I find it hard to really switch off from work mode. But for me, it feels like my work is a part of me. Fortunately, I have a good circle of suppliers that I work with on a daily basis. And I always take the time to meet with different creatives and explore their practices. I feel this really creates a healthy community and allows me to stay social with the design community.
1:00pm: No matter how busy I am, I always plan time to have lunch at my grandmother’s house. I set meetings around it, and try my best to make it. It makes such a big difference, I get to see her, see my aunt and uncles, and have a nice family meal with them. It really grounds me.
4:00pm: As I work from home I tend to go back and forth to my studio throughout the day. I could stop at 4:00pm, then go back at around 7:00pm, and stay till 10:00pm. It really depends on the deadlines on the day. But dinner time at home is usually ‘me time’. I put on some headphones and really zone out while in the kitchen. I love getting to cook myself and my family a good meal.
If I am going out with friends I like to go to old Dubai when the weather is nice and explore the area. And when the weather is great, my group of girlfriends and I will head out into the desert. It’s always fun and unexpected. Looking at the stars and enjoying the cold weather, that’s my favourite type of evening. I usually go to bed early, at around 10:00pm.
10:00pm: My bedtime routine consists of freshening up for bed, putting on my creams and lighting some oud in my room. Then a bit of journalling while in bed. I am also reading Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey. I find it so insightful because you get to learn about how creative women practised what they do across history. My mind tends to stay awake for an hour or two after I’ve got into bed. But I appreciate it because the ideas are invariably relative and important, that’s why I always have a notebook close by.
Shaikha’s Picks
