October’s – ‘The Bravery Issue’ – Download Now
Words & Creative Direction: Amy Sessions
Photography: Greg Adamski
Hair & Makeup: Melanie Meyer
Production: Kelli Maddock
Fashion Assistant: Camille Macawili
Combining her entrepreneurial spirit and extensive experience in culture and design, Khulood Thani is focused on bringing innovative global fashion to an international platform.
What do your first 30 minutes of the day look like, your morning routine?
Meditations are my kind of special morning rituals, it’s something I am loyal to practicing and I cannot remove this from my morning schedule. For me, meditation sets a wonderful mood for the day because it helps to clear the mind and maximize your focus on priorities.
Tell us about your role as a curator?
As a curator – and as an Emirati – I feel so much responsibility for building content that represents the United Arab Emirates in the best possible way. We all know the UAE has a very rich history and there is still a huge opportunity to develop further in this sector, especially on the front of dress history or contemporary fashion. I definitely enjoy working with other cultural institutions in commissioning designers from different disciplines to create new display objects that represent local stories across cultural platforms, some of these examples are “Defashstruction” and “Fashcultivate”– co-curated with Fatma Al Mahmoud in 1971 Design Space.
I have also worked with museums, archive libraries and I consult some collectors in building and growing their own personal collection portfolios. As a designer, the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council commissioned me to create embroidered pieces that incorporate the Talli, an Emirati handicraft. The beauty of this project is that it includes the work of the artisans and documents folkloric stories from the UAE.
When you’ve moved in your career or taken on new challenges, did you go with your gut?
I always trust my gut feeling, I have a special connection with the universe around me, and I like to follow the messages it reveals to me.
Which Instagram accounts do you follow for inspiration?
Three of my favourites are @dazedfashion @irisartadvisory @peachwithlove
What effect has social media played on the fashion industry’s growth?
Social media has contributed a lot in changing the way we live. We now often meet people via Instagram before even meeting them in person, so it’s become another way of networking.
What advice would you give to your younger self starting out?
Always look at your inner strength and build on that, because that is what makes a person unique in all forms of work or life.
This is ‘The Bravery Issue’ – what to you is bravery?
Taking brave steps in life always rewards you with more knowledge, learning and experience. Getting rewarding opportunities is always challenging and inspiring at the same time.
When have you been brave in business and in life?
Moments where we can act bravely always appear in our lives. Bravery is being thoughtful and considerate of yourself, the community or the environment around you. One of the brave moments in the design industry for myself along with other designers such as Nadine Kanso and Khalid Shafar was coming up with a collective design initiative, Design Ras Al Khor, to support local and regional designers in more than 11 design disciplines through providing them with a platform and sharing their work.
What’s next for you?
This year, I’m focused on researching “A Manifesto for Collecting”, an agenda, which looks at a historical garment in the UAE and seeing how much of this has survived over time. I believe that objects tell us stories that oral history may have missed during documenting. Objects are so personal and they tell a story about a person or people through the function of how it was used.
