THE CREATIVE SET

OHLALA - How do you balance all the positions that you hold in Damas? And, from your point of view, how are they related?

Myreine Massih - The way I see it, marketing, communication, and creativity/design are intrinsically related. It all starts with the client’s desires and needs, concerns and behaviours. The design comes next, bringing to our clientele expert craftsmanship using the most exquisite materials. Communication and marketing follow, catering to our audience on all online and offline platforms and making sure their wishes for their jewellery and personal lives are reflected both in the product as well as in the story, inspiration and creative direction. I am able to balance all of these aspects well because I realise this and I aim to merge the three by ensuring that all our messages and creations are aligned, reflecting Damas’ vision and values and having the client at their very core.

OHLALA - Do you believe that your strong managing skills and communication awareness help to give focus to your creative director role? Would you say that the creations end up closer to customers’ expectations? Myreine - Absolutely. My management style is reflective of my passion for the ever-climbing success of Damas as a brand, the industry and the clients, of course. I aim to ensure that Damas functions are like a well-oiled ship, giving each person in the company the freedom to express themselves and bring their well-earned experience and expertise to the core of our designs and communication. Where our creations do not fulfil our clients’ expectations, they go above and beyond, bringing a distinct edge in terms of the overall brand experience and the products themselves. For example, we have introduced the first evolved diamond to the region, starting from a diamond seed and developed in a lab, to bring clients a taste of the future and scientific advances. I can list so many other areas and cases in which we have surpassed clients’ expectations, thanks to our continual striving for excellence, innovation and industry disruption.

OHLALA - Can you tell us about Damas’ collections and what they stand for? What is your main source of inspiration?

Myreine - At its core, our main source of inspiration for all our collections is, put quite simply, women and everything they represent. We believe that women of the world and the region deserve to be continuously celebrated and their achievements acknowledged as ones that are not only necessarily in theory, but also intrinsically linked to the advancement of society and the world. We aim to give the modern woman, with all our designs and creations, a reason to celebrate, feel precious, special and empowered – to feel their best and be the most authentic, genuine and elevated version of themselves and carry these feelings of empowerment with them in all their endeavours. To name a few of our latest collections, we have Farfasha, Dome, Lace, Gaia and, our most iconic, Alif.

OHLALA – Can you describe each collection?

Myreine - Farfasha is a legacy collection – celebrating femininity with every new iteration. Its source of inspiration is nature, with all its radiant and soft colours and elements. The latest Farfasha line uses the Arfaj flower, also known as the daisy of the desert. Dome is a richly diverse collection, inspiring awe and wonder with its dome-shaped, diamondencrusted pieces and reflections of the region’s majestic and heritage buildings, palaces and mosques. Lace is another of our most well-loved designs, representing the intricacies and underlying architecture present in nature and Arabic culture. Gaia is our evolved diamond collection, originating from a diamond seed and developed in a lab, preserving all the top indicators of quality: cut, clarity, colour and carat. A truly innovative diamond, Gaia aims to bring to our clients supreme quality without the environmental toll of mining. Following the GIA standards and certified by HRD, Gaia is a diamond for the future-minded among us. Finally, Alif is our most iconic flagship collection. Inspired by the first letter of the alphabet and representing the origin and beginning of all things, Alif is our core collection, symbolising women’s empowerment and independence.

OHLALA - How essential is it to Damas to promote women’s empowerment? Is it one of the aspects of the brand’s values?

Myreine - Damas’ core vision is to make women feel empowered, unique and exquisite, we are able to achieve that thanks to our understanding of women’s goals, dreams and desires. We believe that happy, confident and strong women are the future. We aim to make women feel better and express themselves with expertly crafted jewellery using the most coveted and luxurious materials. In the same vein, we aim to become the ultimate house of jewellery design in the Middle East and continue delivering an unparalleled customer-centric experience, from product design to retention. Similarly, we intend to delight all women with our collections, conceiving and crafting them with stories of real women in mind. Each new edition and iteration of our jewellery addresses a different aspect and quality of women, who remain our main source of inspiration in all that we do. As the choice house of jewellery design from the region for the region, we believe our edge is in understanding and catering to Arab women exceptionally well.

OHLALA - What is the inspiration behind the store’s interiors, and why has Place Vendôme been picked for its location?

Myreine - We recently launched one of our new luxury boutiques in Place Vendôme in Lusail, Qatar. We chose Place Vendôme for its plethora of beauty and lifestyle boutiques and shops, with Place Vendôme dubbed the ‘New Home of Luxury and Fashion’ in Qatar. Our newly designed luxury boutiques have taken on a fresh creative direction, featuring beautiful interiors that inspire a sense of wonder.