FOUR OTHER FASHION START-UPS TO WATCH

Little Wren – Emirati Aisha Alkhaja co-founded this newly launched site with her husband John Campleman after struggling to find unique baby items – apart from what is normally available on the high street – during her own pregnancy with first-born Lawrence, aka “Wren”.

“We created Little Wren for the whole family,” says Ms Alkhaja. “It is also very important to us to include dads. We noticed during my pregnancy that dads get overlooked very often, which is not fair.”

The couple provide brands including Max and the star, Done by Deer, Milli Ecodesign, Tiny Turtle and We Might be Tiny, as well as gender neutral items for children, fashion for mums and dads toys and homeware. Fashionvalet.com – One of Asia’s fastest-growing online retailers, based in Kuala Lumpur and offering about 400 brands, just launched an Arabic site in Dubai. The concept was created in 2010 by the Malaysian social influencer and reality show star Vivy Yusof – who was recently the first woman in a hijab to be named a “friend” of the luxury brand Louis Vuitton – and her husband, Fadzarudin Shah Anuar.

The group counts Start Today, owner of Japan’s e-commerce store Zozotown, among its investors.

Miella.com – Launched in May by Dubai entrepreneurs Rami El Malak and Haya Dabbagh, Miella designs and manufactures fashion in the high street segment for the $200 billion (Dh734bn) Muslim/modest global fashion market. Miella targets women between 20 and 45, offering them timely designs and a variety of basics, all with a faith-neutral approach. HouseofBallerinas.com This brand was launched last year by Paris-born, Dubaibased Aurelie Avogadri, who worked for more than a decade in brand management and marketing. Frustrated at a lack of good-quality footwear at an affordable price, she decided to design and produce her own.

House of Ballerinas is the first brand in the Middle East devoted to exclusively producing the iconic “ballerina flat” in a variety of colours, materials and styles starting from Dh315.