DAS Collection Abayas: The Design Story of Reem and Hind Beljafla

What makes a designer abaya recognisable? A label tells you who made it; the more interesting answer lies in the decisions you can see. Where does the fabric gather? Is colour spread across the garment or revealed in a fold? Does the design ask for the attention of an evening room, or leave space for the ordinary movements of a day?

DAS Collection offers a particularly useful story through which to explore those questions. This guide follows the designers’ accounts, early abayas and later collections, then considers how to use that history when looking at clothes for yourself. The dates matter: an archived runway look is a record of a particular collection, rather than a description of everything a label makes today.

Who founded DAS Collection, and what does the name mean?

DAS Collection was launched in 2008 by Emirati sisters Reem and Hind Beljafla. In Hind’s interview with Gulf News, she explained the name as an acronym formed from Daffa, Abba and Suwaieya, terms she associated with traditional Gulf garments. The name therefore expressed a relationship with dress heritage at the beginning of a contemporary label.

That distinction gives the story a useful starting point. The abaya has a history beyond any individual designer, while DAS has its own identifiable founders and modern beginning. Calling the brand itself centuries old would erase the work of the women who created it.

In the same interview, Hind discussed the spring/summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection, Goddess, inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. Even within this early account, the label’s interests extended beyond a single garment category. Following DAS means paying attention both to the abaya and to the other clothes the sisters chose to design.

Two sisters, with different ideas about dressing

A March 2009 Emirates Woman feature by Lia Jashanmal described differences within the partnership. Reem preferred more formal, restrained designs; Hind brought a more casual approach and a greater appetite for colour. Reem recalled designing abayas for herself from her teenage years and described the garment as a surface for creative expression.

The article recorded a particular material experiment: the sisters had found a lightweight fabric in Paris, had it dyed black and used it for a limited group of pieces. The decision involved material and colour together, making the fabric itself part of the design story.

Hind also explained that some fitted or transparent designs were intended for special events or women’s gatherings. Reem spoke of wearing an abaya as an expression of her own cultural identity. These accounts make room for both personal attachment and variation within the work. The same label could include different degrees of formality, different visual effects and clothes intended for different settings. Understanding that range begins with the particular garment and the woman’s own intended use.

What changed in the abayas themselves?

Layers became part of the design

Discussing their second collection in Nathalie Farah’s Gulf News interview, the sisters described returning from New York Fashion Week with ideas about colour. They also identified a practical design problem: how to layer an abaya without making the result appear bulky.

Their favourite pieces make the discussion concrete. Reem chose an abaya with green and blue layers, which she was considering for a wedding. Hind chose a black design built from layers of net and chiffon. One explored the relationship between colours; the other created interest through materials arranged within black.

The sisters said the collection did not have a single overarching theme. They also described varied customer requests, including gold, precious stones and crystals. This gives a more complicated picture of designing than simply choosing a signature colour or decoration. The work involved responding to different tastes while developing ideas about shape. When looking at these early pieces, notice the outline, the overlapping edges and the areas of visible depth as well as the embellishment.

Surface details extended beyond familiar decoration

A July 2010 Bloomberg report, published by The Economic Times, followed an interview with Hind in Dubai. It described the sisters using colour, embroidery, leather and metal studs on black abayas. The range of materials is significant: decoration could introduce a harder, sharper accent as well as a stitched or coloured one.

For a reader interested in design, this gives a more precise vocabulary than simply calling the work ornate. A stud, a coloured insert and a line of embroidery do different visual jobs. You can ask where each one directs your attention, how much of the garment it occupies, and whether the surrounding areas are left relatively quiet.

The report also situated the abaya within a complete wardrobe, mentioning the shoes and handbags Hind’s customers wore. That encourages an equally useful viewing habit: look at the relationship between the garment and its accessories. The abaya can carry the main visual idea, share it with another piece, or provide the setting against which an accessory becomes prominent.

Different occasions called for different clothes

In Gemma Champ’s December 2010 report for The National, Reem discussed designs shaped through cutting, ruching, draping and layering. She described the need to keep developing new cuts and arrangements of fabric as the label’s work attracted imitation.

She also distinguished the more elaborate pieces from the loose, flowing clothes she would choose for everyday errands. Her examples were ordinary ones: a trip to buy groceries or a visit to the mall called for a different approach from a special event. The designer herself was allowing for different kinds of dressing within her life.

That is an important part of the design story. Formal experimentation and everyday preferences can exist alongside one another. When an archived piece catches your eye, decide whether it is the occasion, the arrangement of folds or a smaller detail that interests you. You might want the full drama for one event, or a quieter interpretation of a single feature for another setting. The intended use gives the design a context.

An Eid collection built around symmetry and surface

In Fatma Salem’s archived Gulf News interview, Hind described an Eid collection combining symmetrical cuts with baroque patterns. She explained that beadwork was arranged vertically and horizontally to form a defined pattern in relation to the fabric’s colour and movement.

Her material list makes the design more tangible: fine stretch jersey, black-and-silver sequinned cloth imported from London, customised black lace, embossed fabric in gold, blue and turquoise, and Japanese glass beads. Black, gold, turquoise and midnight blue formed the stated palette.

These details describe several different ways of creating interest. Colour could be embedded in the cloth, carried by a surface pattern or introduced through applied beads. The arrangement of the decoration mattered alongside the choice of material; an embellished abaya was not simply a plain garment with an unspecified amount of sparkle added.

The account concerns one Eid collection. Its stated materials and decorative choices should stay attached to that example, rather than becoming a specification for every DAS garment.

Reem’s account of training and imagination

In a June 2012 interview with Middle East Fashion, Reem explained that she had graduated in interior design and taken fashion courses at Central Saint Martins. She also described the influence of her mother and the childhood summers her family spent in London.

Her account of inspiration was sensory and personal: travelling, handling fabric and encountering a scent could all prompt an idea. When designing, she imagined the woman who would wear the clothes and the impression she might make. Confidence and self-expression were intentions within that process.

These observations help explain the questions a designer can bring to a garment before it reaches a rail. What atmosphere should it create? Who might choose it? Which detail carries the idea? They do not mean that every wearer will feel the same way. A design’s ambition belongs to its creator; the eventual response belongs to the person wearing it. Keeping both perspectives in view makes room for appreciation without turning a designer’s intention into a promise about your own experience.

London ready-to-wear: a wider view of the label

Spring/summer 2012: pale colour and contrasting structures

Deepti Chadalavada’s October 2011 report for Khaleejesque described the spring/summer 2012 presentation through cascading gowns, separates and subdued pastels. She noted combinations of sheer and solid materials, with metallic elements and oversized tailoring providing a stronger counterpoint.

The details were varied: braided belts interrupted otherwise unified looks; pleating gave gowns depth; leggings carried metallic highlights. Among the designs the writer singled out were a peach-pink embellished gown exposing the shoulders, a white chiffon dress and a pale-blue one-shoulder creation. Open backs also appeared in the collection.

Those examples make the garment category important. This was ready-to-wear with several silhouettes and degrees of coverage. Its relationship to the designers’ abaya work can be explored through draping and composition, while recognising those differences. As a design study, the collection invites attention to contrast: a soft-looking surface beside a defined outline, or pale colour beside metallic detail. You can identify the relationship that appeals to you before deciding whether the particular garment fits your own preferences.

Spring/summer 2013: the sisters explain the change

For the following spring/summer collection, Reem described Arabic and Indian influences, strong colours and Arabic calligraphy in an email interview with Gulf News. She mentioned red, blue, green, yellow and gold, alongside two-piece outfits and familiar cuts from the label’s work.

She also made an explicit distinction: the London catwalk collections were ready-to-wear, while the abaya line remained a separate part of DAS. Hind described the international presentation as a way to introduce more people to the wider brand. Reem characterised her work as international in outlook and rooted in the UAE; Hind emphasised the respect she intended to retain for their culture.

These statements describe the designers’ own ambitions and how they understood the relationship between the two lines. They also help when photographs from several collections appear together. A colourful evening dress carrying the DAS name need not be an abaya. Look for the season, the designer’s description and the type of clothing shown. Those details explain which part of the label’s work you are looking at.

What a runway observer noticed

In a September 2012 review for Frost Magazine, Jatinder Kalsi described deep blues giving way to gold and red in the spring/summer 2013 presentation. A crisp dress with a dipped hem caught the writer’s attention, as did a red finale gown with pearl decoration.

Those observations offer another way of following a collection: through its sequence. A single image gives you one outfit; a show account can describe how colour and shape develop across several looks. Here, the reviewer’s selected details included both the outline of a hem and the treatment of an evening gown.

Clothes, styling and the complete presentation

Josh Walker’s account for the Fashion Scout organiser, dated 17 September 2012, recorded Alek Wek opening the show in gold. He described flowing fabrics, sash belts, embroidered Arabic calligraphy and substantial gold jewellery as part of the presentation. His report identified Dubai and Mumbai society among its references.

Looking at those components separately helps you understand a runway image. The garment has its own shape and surface treatment, while the belt, jewellery and styling help build the complete impression. A photograph may make them feel inseparable even when your interest lies in only one part.

Try covering the accessories in an image with your hand and looking again. Does the garment still hold your attention? Then consider the opposite question: is the styling what made the look memorable? This simple viewing exercise can help you describe your preference accurately before you seek anything similar. It also avoids mistaking a complete show presentation for a fixed formula that every wearer must follow.

A model’s perspective on the colour

In Fashion Scout’s interview with Alek Wek, published on 18 September 2012, she spoke warmly about the sisters and the colours in their collection. She also described enjoying the variety of designers at London Fashion Week and the experience of seeing other people’s creative work.

Muscat in 2013: how a fashion critic read the clothes

At Muscat Fashion Week, Hilary Alexander singled out DAS eveningwear in an interview published by The National on 17 January 2013. She described a red gown with a cape-like upper section and a full skirt, alongside a dress combining a green top with a blue, petal-like skirt and an uneven hemline.

Alexander compared some pieces with the Moroccan and jalabiya references she associated with earlier Yves Saint Laurent collections. That was her critical comparison, rather than a claim from the sisters about a direct source for every design.

The distinction matters when discussing influences. A designer can explain an intention; a critic can recognise a resemblance; a wearer can make another association entirely. Those readings may enrich one another without becoming the same account. Here, the concrete garment descriptions are especially useful: they show which colours, proportions and shapes prompted the response. Readers can consider those features for themselves rather than treating the comparison with a famous designer as sufficient explanation.

A 2014 studio visit brought the draping into view

Image consultant Imogen Lamport described visiting the DAS showroom and design studio in her December 2014 article No Ordinary Dress. She tried a draped dress and wrote about the difference between seeing it on a hanger and wearing it. The article included photographs of Lamport and another visitor, Candice, in the design.

Lamport described the material as silk and reported that fewer than ten examples were made in each colour. She also wrote that the dress could be adapted. Her response was enthusiastic enough that she imagined choosing it for her own forthcoming wedding, had she not already arranged another dress.

This is a personal encounter with one design, and the production and adaptation details belong to that 2014 visit. Its value lies in the specificity: a named visitor, a garment she tried and an occasion she had in mind. It brings the discussion away from an abstract ideal of luxury and towards an individual response. When considering a garment yourself, equally specific questions about its folds, proportions and intended use can help.

In 2016, Reem applied a design question to footwear

A January 2016 Harper’s Bazaar Arabia report on DAS Footwear introduced a leather wedge associated with Reem. She explained that canvas, cork and raffia versions felt too casual for the effect she wanted, so she explored a different material treatment.

This was a separate footwear development, but it illuminates a familiar design process: begin with something you want to wear, identify what does not quite satisfy you, and reconsider one part of it. In this case, the stated interest lay in changing the character of an existing silhouette through material.

For a reader putting an outfit together, that is an inviting question. Does an accessory repeat the mood of the garment, soften it or introduce a deliberate difference? You do not need to adopt the particular shoe to explore the idea. The report records a design intention and a launch in 2016; decisions about any footwear’s present suitability still belong to the individual trying it.

A reviewer’s view of colour, asymmetry and dark surfaces

Venus Tsang’s January 2016 feature for LUXE City Guides described two contrasting directions in the work. One involved brightly coloured, asymmetrical silk-organza pieces embellished with sequins. Another used black crêpe satin and tulle, with metal beadwork and embroidery in a pearl-white colour.

The contrast gives a more precise picture than describing the label only as decorative. In the brighter pieces, an uneven outline accompanied the colour and surface detail. In the darker examples, pale embroidery and metallic elements were set against the black ground. Shape, material and decoration contributed differently to the two descriptions.

Tsang’s piece is a dated editorial account rather than a technical catalogue. It does not identify the construction of every garment or assign all the examples to one named season. Read at that scale, it records the visual range a reviewer noticed and adds another specific perspective to the history of the label.

Turning design interest into a personal wardrobe idea

A useful way to approach an archive is to write down the smallest detail you would want to keep. Instead of saving an image under a broad description such as glamorous, try a more exact note: a coloured inner edge, a dark garment with one area of texture, a long unbroken line, or a sleeve that becomes the focus.

Then write down what you would change. Perhaps you want a quieter surface, more coverage at the neckline, a different relationship between the waist and the rest of the garment, or fewer accessories. These preferences are part of your interpretation. They need not be justified by a model’s styling or a reviewer’s approval.

A short comparison can help:

What attracts you	A question to ask yourself	A way to describe your preference
Colour appearing within a darker outfit	Do I want the colour visible all the time, or only at an edge?	A restrained main colour with a deliberately placed contrast.
A sculptural outline	Which part of the shape matters most to me?	Emphasis at the sleeve or shoulder, with the rest kept quieter.
A richly decorated surface	Would I enjoy that much detail across the whole garment?	One focal area, or a repeated motif with open space around it.
A complete runway outfit	Would I choose the clothes without the styling?	The garment, the accessory combination, or the relationship between both.

This vocabulary helps when discussing an idea with a maker or explaining what you want to find. It leaves room for a new design rather than asking someone to reproduce another designer’s work exactly.

Questions readers often bring to a designer archive

How can I tell whether a photograph shows an abaya or an evening dress?

Start with the original caption, the collection name and the designer’s description. A long silhouette alone is insufficient. If an image has lost that context through reposting, keep the identification open rather than attaching a category with certainty. Save the original link alongside the image when possible, so you can return to the description later.

Does a dated article tell me what is available now?

Use an old article to understand the design and its place in the label’s history. For a present enquiry, ask about the exact garment or service you need: the model, available measurements, material information, any proposed alterations and the relevant date. A former collection image or boutique address does not answer those current questions.

Can I decide whether a design meets my modesty preferences from a runway image?

A runway image can help you identify questions, but it may not show every angle or the layers beneath the garment. Describe your own requirements clearly, including neckline, sleeves, back, openings and how closely you want the clothes to follow your shape. If the setting matters to your decision, include that too. You are choosing for your own use, not adopting every choice made for a presentation.

What if I admire a designer’s work but would never wear the complete look?

That is still a worthwhile response. You can enjoy a colour relationship, a line or an inventive arrangement without wanting it in your wardrobe. If you do want to take the idea further, identify one element and explore it in a way that fits your taste. Appreciation can lead to a more precise understanding of your preferences, even when it leads to no purchase.

A rewarding encounter with fashion leaves you able to explain what you noticed. You can name the detail that interested you, distinguish the creator’s intention from your own response, and decide which questions remain before a garment becomes part of your life. That is where a documented design story becomes useful beyond the archive.

Compare other design approaches

Continue through our guide to Emirati abayas and contemporary design, then explore the work of Mauzan and NAFS for another close look at individual creative decisions. Comparing particular garments, rather than treating every label as one style, gives these design stories room to remain distinctive.