Fatma AlMulla, Emirati designer behind FMM, initially made a name for herself with her tongue-in-cheek illustrations of cultural stereotypes and societal obsessions in Arab culture. Her witty and captivating artworks quickly caught the attention of the young, trend-focused UAE audience, prompting her to transform her art into something wearable. Combining her graphic and fashion design talents, Fatma launched her debut clothing collection in 2014 featuring her most loved illustrations. Despite facing numerous challenges along the way, Fatma's love for art, fashion, and designing served as a constant motivation to persist.

Fatma believes in slow fashion. For her, sustainability is when clothing is wearable and doesn’t lose its trendiness or season. Fatma points out the power of styling, as she has seen her pieces dressed up or down in so many diverse styles. The versatility of a piece of clothing is also a part of sustainability. She also believes pieces should be bought to last and handed down to future generations. To add to her sense of responsibility towards conscious fashion, all wasted fabric is made into reusable bags and included in the packaging.

Around for almost a decade, Fatma describes her customers as a very niche group who want to experiment and express themselves with clothing, “They love to take risks, fashion risks. They want to be bold. They want to stand out. They're emotionally and fashionably confident.” Undeniably, her progressive and unique pieces have resonated with a wide variety of fashion lovers and Lokal is proud to host FMM!

Advice: Always have a plan B.