HI DUBAI Episode 25 – FUTURE – Priyal, creative director
In today’s Hi Dubai we follow Priyal Bhartia, the creative director of the ethical fashion brand Bina. It’s a heritage brand started by her grandmother, Bina Modi, 30 years ago. “She followed her passion”, Priyal tells us. “She started the label. And 20 years down the line I joined her. Growing up with her I became obsessed with textiles and so now we work together.”
The brand supports 3000 marginalised women from around the world who didn’t have a livelihood. “They’re trained in the craft, and once they’re ready we employ them. We look after their families, we look after their kid’s education, we make sure living conditions don’t have child labour. We really nurture all the women that work there.”
“It’s a passion. It’s not about cutting corners and making profit – it’s about the art.”
Priyal buys all the fabrics from Bur Dubai and Satwa. “So it could be 5, 6 hours in Satwa on a day”, but “sometimes I’ll go to Harvey Nichols and just see what the clothes are looking like there, see how the customers are reacting to them. It’s still so exciting for me to see our clothes in this beautiful department store. It’s like a dream come true.”
On Dubai, Priyal thinks the emirates is “a constantly evolving place. It’s so dynamic. It’s constantly breaking boundaries of what is the best. I’ve lived in so many cities but I’ve never seen this energy.”
Priyal also talks to us about tolerance and the different cultures and nationalities living together here in the UAE. Plus, discover what makes her happy and why she thinks Dubai’s success is only the beginning.