Mira Toukan waves her hands as she speaks, a turquoise blue flash flashing on her ring finger. She’s wearing a ring from her latest collection for her eponymous label: a colorful set of jewelry adorned with beautiful Arabic calligraphy bearing the words ‘Love’, ‘Freedom’, and ‘Peace’.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – October 08, 2021 – Entrepreneurs
“I call it the ‘OG’ group,” says the young designer, and it focuses on these three pillars that spread a message of peace and positivity from our region. “And I love the use of colors.”
Toukan’s work blends Middle Eastern and Western influences to form a new hybrid style. The Jordanian designer is adding to her existing collection of glass clutches that are very popular in the region. The fragile and compact clutches are made of fine material and are true works of art with Arabic calligraphy, Palestinian keffiyeh designs, and candy colors. Bright colors, combined with messages of harmony, propelled her to popularity as a designer of regional accessories. Each of her designs is handcrafted by artisans in Jordan, with locally sourced materials, and custom orders take three to five days to make.
Toukan grew up in Oman but moved to London to study Fashion Management at the University of the Arts London, and went on to attend Regent’s School of Fashion in London, where she majored in Fashion Marketing.
“There weren’t many other Arab students in my classes, so I felt that this mix of Eastern and Western influences had not been explored in the global fashion market,” she says. “This was my chance to stand out.”
I started experimenting with street fashion, including hoodies with quick slogans, cheeky emojis, and Arabic words.
“I enjoyed making this kind of clothing, but the idea of ??developing accessories using plexiglass never left me,” says Toukan. “It’s an innovative material that can be used in jewelry and clutches, so when the pandemic hit and plexiglass became easy to come by, I knew it was time to try.”
Although it continues to offer seasonal hoodie designs, its primary focus has become the unique glass clutch designs available on its website and e-commerce site Kinzzi.com. The designer also displays her collections in pop-ups across the region, including Homegrown Market in Jeddah and Filtered in Dubai. While her entire collection is available online, Toukan showcases highlights on pop-up sites, focusing on branded pieces that carry messages of love, freedom, and peace.
“I got the feeling that during the pandemic people wanted to feel a little bit of normalcy – wear a nice handbag even for a brisk run in the supermarket or a nice ring around the house,” she says. “It was a great time to experiment and finally confirm that accessories are an exciting market, especially as we all recover from the pandemic and start going out regularly again.”
Her family is supportive, as her older sister shares her creative flair. Instead of fashion and accessories, her older sister has ventured into home décor. They also make custom pieces that are handcrafted in Jordan by the same artisans.
“We work together side by side with local artisans,” explains Toukan. “Our artisans create intricate, custom embroidery and embroidered flowers, all made to order.”
Sustainability Mira Toukan handbags. Her team manufactures each and every piece custom, never in large quantities except for occasional samples that customers can see. It hopes to expand internationally. Some of her designs, including clutches bearing the Arabic word “hob” or “love”, are especially popular with clients in London.
“My focus at the moment is the GCC, but I hope to expand my brand presence in European cities and experiment with other materials, including wood,” she says. “I found Dubai a great place to start fashion.”
Toukan always carries a blue spiral notebook with her so that she is ready to jot down regular inspiration from her daily life. She says she loves when clients order her bags as personalized gifts, especially brides who carry them on their special day. Her only word of caution was to be careful with the plexiglass clutches, as they could easily break if they fell off the table.
“Fragile, but bold, just like love,” Toukan says with a laugh.
Source: Ukrgate
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