Online fashion destination

Fashion entrepreneur Payal Patel has created an on-line catwalk to highlight the work of Bahraini and expat designers living in the kingdom and its neighbouring Gulf States.

The former St Christopher’s School pupil, who helped launch Bahrain Fashion Week (BFW), believes her FashLink site will provide them with an invaluable, interactive marketing tool.

Payal, 29, now living in Dubai, said: “My passion is to support regional talent, especially in Bahrain. I founded BFW in 2008 and discovered some amazing designers in the country that no one had heard of because there appeared to be so few places for them to showcase their creations.

“Bahraini designers have that certain X factor in my opinion. They have their own take on things. They are also able to successfully place their Arabic culture into their work and that’s what makes it so unique.”

Payal launched FashLink as an interactive site allowing purchases to take place in August after several months of highlighting brands from the Middle East on an online platform.

The site now works like an online shopping centre, where customers can either find what they’re looking for under certain tabs or shop by designer, colour, delivery time, size, price or simply browse around in a high-tech version of ‘window’ shopping.

Items chosen are delivered worldwide and already the site feature locally produced clothing, accessories, bags, shoes, beauty products and even children’s attire. It also provides a drag and drop service where people can put different items together through an interactive gaming system to help create perfect outfits.

As soon as FashLink was launched, Payal made a return trip to Bahrain in an attempt to scout for more talent. Whether they design watches, dresses or T-shirts, Payal was interested in making contact.

She says has already been in talks with four Bahraini labels - Haraka, Ash by Abir Achkar, Amal Al Mulla and Walla by Walla Al Alawi.

“I want to promote Bahrain and its talent. I grew up here and to me this is home. I can see the talent and it’s a business at the end of the day. They need to sell their products.”

Payal, born in the UK to Indian parents, studied management sciences at the London School of Economics after leaving St Christopher’s School and continued studying events and entertainment management in New York.

She said: “I also worked for a boutique while I was in the US and was exposed to a lot of labels, so when I came back to Bahrain I was full of fashion ideas.

“I personally worked with a lot of designers and volunteered to support them during the fashion week launch. The biggest frustration was finding enough buying channels, so I thought of starting backwards and becoming the link to the buyer.”

Calling itself the ‘Middle East’s favourite online fashion destination, Payal is working on a commission basis, so her success depends on the site’s growth and popularity.

Payal said: “About a year ago, when things were really quiet, we wanted to do something that was very interactive in the world of fashion. We took it step-by-step and didn’t go straight into online shopping.

“The West loves Middle Eastern designs because it gives them something unique. We may be very new but we are getting hits from the US and London, which is a great opportunity for these talented designers to gain exposure.”

The site aims to introduce a cash-on-delivery service throughout the region. Payal said: “Technology is always changing, so we are hoping to become strong in a social aspect. A cash-on-delivery service is something that is needed because people like to see things and try them on before they purchase. In Europe and the US, people are more used to online shopping, but it’s still relatively new in the Arab world and some shoppers are not comfortable with the thought and would prefer to see and feel the clothes before parting with their bank card details.”

Designer, Muna Yateem, 25, from Adliya, recently came to the fore with her dazzling Haraka watch creations and has now expanded her collection with a range of T-shirts.

She said: “Fashlink is carefully hand picking a wonderful group of local designers to join them in launching one of the first multi-brand online websites in the Gulf.

“They want to find the many talents that the Middle East has to offer and give them a platform to promote their products. In essence, Fashlink is actually creating a ‘link’ between regional and worldwide brands, which is encouraging for young Bahraini designers to hone their talents and evolve their brands to an international standard.”

For more information visit www.fashlink.com or email info@fashlink.com