Positive Luxury – Interview with Khulood Al Nakhi, Founder & Creative Director of BEYOND

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Positive Luxury

.BEYOND instills confidence in its clients. Founder of UAE-based brand, Khulood Al Nakhi, explains how the label is embodying the concept of ‘Positive Luxury’, putting sustainability at the forefront of her brand

Can you talk us through your career? For the last 20 years, I have been working in corporate banking and gained the knowledge and experience that I found fundamental to my own company, which I started two years ago. Corporate and entrepreneur careers are two different worlds. The moment you start your own business, there are no “working hours” and weekends, on top of it you have to manage everything by yourself, but I truly enjoy this journey. What inspired you to go into the fashion industry? Over the years, I have considered exploring business opportunities and fashion was always dear to me. After a careful market overview, I found the niche in the market for modest fashion and this is how .BEYOND started. Can you talk us through the concept that is .BEYOND? Founded in 2019, it’s a luxury, sustainable niche fashion brand which offers limited editions of unique abayas and kaftans. We offer a modern twist to garments and guarantee a long-lasting impression with an eye for detail and uncompromised attention to fabric quality. The team selects fabrics from sustainable international suppliers and hand pick the most exclusive from the best manufacturers. Next year, we are going to launch a ready to wear collection as a part of the brand strategy expansion. The brand is committed to keeping no stock. Can you talk us through the process in order for consumers to purchase from .BEYOND? This is one of our main pillars in terms of sustainability which .BEYOND is committed to. The concept of .BEYOND is to produce quality over quantity which enables us to keep no stock. When we launch the new collection, it consists of only a few pieces of each style. We build strong relations with our suppliers and they understand and support our concept which allows us to offer pre-orders. That concept works well when it comes to distribution as buyers placed the orders in advance. As a first Middle East brand, you signed a commitment with ‘Positive Luxury’ alongside luxury brands like Dior, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton. fashion”. A woman with a vision as a designer and an impressive understanding of the business side of the fashion industry. How do you feel the fashion space in this region differs from other parts of the world? I consider our region as an emerging market that is still in the development stage. We can observe many new brands across GCC but only several with a vision, strategy and business knowledge. Establishing a luxury fashion brand is a journey, not a destination. One of the crucial aspects are the customers who understand and appreciate luxury, which is a strong feature of Arab culture. As a UAE brand owner, I observe that one of the biggest challenges is to build clients’ loyalty and trust in local brands. Customers know how to celebrate luxury fashion and that’s why the UAE has become an important shopping destination. Where does your motivation come from? I am driven by my passion which is to establish the first Emirati modest Luxury fashion brand with international exposure. It’s still a long journey, but I am here to enjoy the ride, where I have the opportunity to meet many inspiring people from the fashion industry. What advice do you wish you had received at the beginning of your journey to success? Can you explain to us what this means? One of Let me share the sentence from Sophia the main pillars of my brand is sustainability Amoruso which might inspire those who which means that signing the commitment consider starting their own business: “Don’t with Positive Luxury was a natural next step. give up, don’t take anything personally, and Sustainability awareness in our region is still don’t take no for an answer.” at an early stage, so as the brand owner it is Looking back over your career and since my duty to share the knowledge and commit- launching the brand, can you tell us about ment. Nowadays, it’s not a choice anymore but some major hurdles you’ve had to overcome? a must when it comes to the fashion industry, Running your own business is a commitwhich is the second most polluting field. ment within itself, I am a mother, wife and How has .BEYOND evolved since you a full-time employee in the financial seclaunched? When I started .BEYOND was tor. One of the biggest challenges is finding a brand offering classic abayas and kaftans work-life balance, and that’s where I found made of the finest Italian fabrics. Since my family to be very supportive. then, each collection was different and On the opposite end of the spectrum, what shifted more into fashionable pieces. We lis- have been the key milestones? As an Emirati ten to our customers’ needs and our expan- woman, my career milestones are linked to sion with under abaya pieces will be a part my country’s development and how supportof our ready to wear collection, which will ive our system is for women. My biggest mileallow us to build a total look by .BEYOND. stone was launching the .BEYOND brand Our team has great experience in the luxury and then establishing international business industry and a mix of nationalities brings relations with my suppliers with exclusive different angles to each collection. access to the finest Italian fabrics. The same Who would you say your mentors in the companies which provide fabrics for brands fashion space are? There are several names like Chanel, Ermenegildo Zegna or Dior. which I truly adore and learn from their ca- Last but not least is the trust and appreciareers and expertise. One of them is Miuccia tion from Royal Family clients across GCC Prada, pegged by the press as “oracle of high where we provide bespoke service.