All Things Mochi began in Dubai and has since taken the world by storm. Stocked internationally on Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi and Shopbop, the label, created by Ayah Tabari, has fast become a go-to brand for those looking for standout pieces that come with a story (as each collection is made in partnership with local artisans from different countries).
Now, to celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan, Ayah has created a limited edition capsule collection. The first official standalone collection for Ramadan (her others have been extensions of existing collections) will be stocked locally at the brand’s store as well as on Moda Operandi and at the Tasyourah by Symphony charity pop-up at the Burj Khalifa.
We caught up with the designer to find out more about the collection and the UAE-based artisans it was created in collaboration with…
How would you describe this collection?
This is the UAE collection. Living here for 19 years it was important for me to showcase the work [of the artisans here]. I always tend look outside the country but there’s so much here so working with [the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council] was an eye opener. Plus, the lookbook was shot at Al Qudra lakes.
Tell us more about Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council and the use of talli in the collection…
They’re basically an NGO. They take care of artisans based in Sharjah, making sure they have work. They have worked with Asprey of London in the past. Working with the women was so nice. There’s 38 of them and each one was working on the collection. It’s a huge project because we produced 1,500 pieces so each piece has the talli incorporated in it.
Talli has been a tradition in Emirati culture forever. It’s the core thing of the UAE, and because talli is expensive, it’s usually higher end brands that work with it so what we tried to do was incorporate it in a more affordable way. So we didn’t use a too-difficult braid and picked something specific to our brand.
If you look into our collection we’ve used mustard, emerald green, greige and moss as a colour palette and the talli colours are the exact colours. This was something customised for us.
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How long has the collection been in the making?
I start working on every collection about four to five months prior so I started this one in December. I knew that I wanted to incorporate this henna motif as a print and I started thinking about how I could do that whilst working with the embroidery. So it started with the print and it was built from there.
What’s different about this Ramadan collection than your previous ones?
We launch our collections with Tasyourah and this is our third year with them. Whenever we have gone in the past, people have said, I wish you had a longer sleeve, or that this was in a maxi length, so I realised the need for a more modest silhouette. Particularly given that modesty is such a big trend. It allowed me to make it modest whilst appealing to my international customer, as this collection is stocked on Moda Operandi. So I felt like there was a need, there was a gap.
We’ve also used a different kind of silk [in this collection], which you see in the robe. We used a viscose, which we first used in S/S ’19. We used a voile moss, which is a bit sheer, and we’ll use this in Resort. We’re starting to add new fabrics, I think our fabrications have improved from S/S’18.
You mentioned modesty before — what are your thoughts on the modest fashion movement that’s happened internationally?
Modest fashion has taken over. I don’t remember the last time I wore a short skirt. I was looking through my mum’s pictures and everything she wore then is what we’re wearing now.
Now, find out more about the Tasyourah x Symphony charity event that starts today.
