Meet the Dubai-based fashion designer at the helm of the Emilia Ohrtmann label

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Meet The Locals, we meet Dubai-based German fashion designer and entrepreneur Emilia Ohrtmann.

Transcript

00:00 [upbeat music]

00:02 - Even as a small child, I was cutting off my own jeans,

00:14 dyeing them, doing tie-dyes to my T-shirt.

00:17 So this interest in fashion and styling

00:19 has always been with me.

00:21 But then I couldn't draw, and I was told,

00:23 you need drawing for fashion design, so you can't study it.

00:26 Plus, you will never earn money with fashion design.

00:28 There were these other voices, so I studied business.

00:33 Eventually, I became a buyer for sportswear,

00:36 and that's where I found this passion

00:39 for the design part again.

00:40 I was taking evening classes and weekend classes.

00:43 I learned to draw, finally,

00:45 and then my husband got a job in Dubai.

00:49 So we moved to Dubai, and that was 10 years ago.

00:52 People were constantly moving here with new ideas.

00:56 I got approached for some new ideas.

00:59 I had three kids.

01:00 Honestly, I was pregnant, almost giving birth, working.

01:04 They were born, I was working again,

01:05 and I wanted time with them.

01:07 So I had to find a way to do both, be a mom and work.

01:11 And then I met so many women that they wanted to start here

01:14 and start a business.

01:14 I decided, okay, I'm gonna design their websites.

01:17 And that's what I actually did for five, six years.

01:19 And then COVID came.

01:21 Then I started writing a book for my children.

01:23 I wanted to give them something that they can read

01:25 just in case I'm not there anymore at some point.

01:29 I was writing, follow your dreams,

01:31 do what you're passionate about.

01:32 Don't listen to other people.

01:34 And that's when I sort of came down on me.

01:37 I've always known what I wanted to do, but I didn't do it.

01:40 So in the middle of lockdown,

01:41 I decided to start my own fashion line.

01:44 I also knew I wanted to do this confidence part within it.

01:48 So I realized I wanted to use sustainable fabrics,

01:51 organic cottons, fabrics that will feel beautiful

01:54 on your skin, that you feel good about.

01:56 Good about wearing them, but also good about buying them.

01:59 Also the whole minimalistic approach to the clothes,

02:02 because when you have something in your wardrobe

02:05 that you can pair with almost anything,

02:07 it gives you confidence because you know

02:09 whatever you pick, you will look great.

02:11 I see it in my customers now all the time.

02:13 You know, they try something on,

02:16 they look into the mirror and you see this,

02:18 like their eyes light up.

02:20 And I love that.

02:21 It's essentially that I do want to give confidence

02:23 to women.

02:25 When you feel more confident from the inside,

02:27 you can follow your own passions and actually go

02:30 for the big dreams and big goals that you have

02:33 that you might be putting off.

02:35 Dubai is in such an entrepreneurial state and spirit.

02:40 So many things are possible here.

02:42 I mean, anything is possible, really.

02:43 I want to grow my online business into the whole region.

02:46 And then I would love to have my own store

02:50 where I can style a woman every day.

02:52 (upbeat music)

02:54 (upbeat music)

02:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]

Category

Transcript

Recommended