Redefining Essentials – Interview with fashion designer Lama Jouni

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? Have my coffee, then I start by checking my email and reading the latest articles on BOF. How did your previous roles support you being able to launch your own brand and how did you know it was the right time? I moved from Paris to Dubai in 2015 after having worked in Paris for two years across different roles. I always knew what gap I wanted to fill in the industry and have worked towards that goal ever since. I believe it is very important to understand your vision to be able to execute it and if you have any weaknesses to work on them. How challenging was refining the manufacturing process and ensuring consistency in fit and fabrication? This aspect was the most challenging because the process is not only about the fit and fabrication it is also about margins, numbers and having an attractive price point to be able to appeal to consumers and wholesalers while being profitable, and the fact that our region’s infrastructure is still almost nonexistent it was very challenging. But you have to keep trying different formulas and explore different options until you find the right one for your business model. Where do you produce tour pieces and how have you had to adapt as the brand has scaled? Most of our production is in Dubai, however, now that the brand is growing at a

fast pace, we are exploring different options. How do you balance the creative and commercial sides of the business and do you feel more drawn to one than the other? I think you need to have both because they both complete one another. I feel like my strength is knowing what women want design and price point wise and I always try to continue aligning them. How do you balance wholesale with retail and why did you decide to extend your brand to ecommerce platforms? The way it happened for the brand was that I launched my ecommerce platform in 2020 and focused on growing my D2C then everything followed. I will always keep my main focus on my clients, and I feel by doing that you can manage to grow the wholesale side of the business. How many people are in your team now and did you start out alone? Yes, I did start alone but I always try to make sure that the growth happens gradually and now we are expanding our team. What would be your advice to other entrepreneurs regarding taking on investment from external parties? Is it necessary? It is necessary in the beginning if you don’t have the funds. But I would always advocate to not having debt on the company in the beginning. What have been the biggest challenges to date and how did you overcome them? Production and scale. Overcoming any challenge requires research and trying different methods to know which one works best and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past two years. How have you found social media in terms of supporting brand growth? It is very effective. Aligning the brand with the right influencers and having interesting content is crucial to social media growth and sales. How do you approach scaling without compromising on quality? The only way to do it is to build trust between the brand and the suppliers, managing quality control as well as deadlines and remain on top of everything. Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart? My parents were always role models when it comes to entrepreneurship. Growing up around them and seeing how persistent and hardworking they were taught me a lot. I also was always encouraged to do what I love and to never be afraid of failure which I think is very important aspect of being an entrepreneur. What advice would you give to your younger self? Never worry! Everything works out at the end. This is The Entrepreneur Issue – what does this mean to you? I’m very happy to be considered as an entrepreneur in an industry that I am passionate about.