Dubai is a can-do environment for entrepreneurs.
Handbags: Luxe bag designer Zufi Alexander has found a fan base among such fashionable red carpet walkers as Cate Blanchett, Sienna Miller, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé.
After a university education that combined the US with the ivory towers of Oxford, she cut her business teeth at one of London’s most established auction houses. “I love art and vintage jewellery and have always been good at drawing,” she says. “A role at Christie’s fitted the bill perfectly.”
It soon became clear that the surroundings – and perhaps the sale of the odd vintage Chanel clutch – were inspiring her own artistic aspirations as a handbag designer.
Zufi Alexander’s eponymous label now sells more than 10,000 bags a year to women across the world. Married to an Englishman and living between London and Dubai, she personifies the international woman she designs for.
“Dubai is a land of opportunity and that opportunity is not tied to a particular bracket or class of people,” she says. “At the same time, I love it because I get to experience all different types of people and culture.”
That vow has been superseded by her love of what she has achieved: “It’s all worthwhile when I see a confident woman walking down the street clutching one of my bags.”
Luxury Leather goods: Nicole Silvertand, founder of luxury leather marque Complete, grew up every inch the sophisticated lady. Nurturing an appreciation of elegant, quality product, her craftsman father spoilt her generously with one-off handbags and shoes he made especially for her.
Inspired by the vibrant business culture of Dubai, Silvertand took the plunge in 2002 and set about launching her own leather business. Complete’s range of leather goods are made bespoke for key movers and shakers of the region including Armani Dubai, Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa and Burj Al Arab.
Silvertand offers clients a range of 12 leather colours from black and brown to vibrant turquoise, orange and silver. All of the items are made to order so everything can be uniquely branded and personalised.
“Because of spending so much time in my father’s atelier while I was growing up, with education, age and experience I became aware of the vast opportunities for a company providing commercial organisations, government departments and five-star hotels with beautifully designed leather goods,” says Silvertand. “The word ‘Complete’ perfectly summarises that sense of entirety; of being able to satisfy all clients’ needs.
