The wonderful women of this nation deserve to be celebrated every single day, but today in particular, the festivities are ~slightly~ more official. Collaboration is the theme of this year’s Emirati Women’s Day which falls on August 28, 2023.

Via @ihaifa.8 on Instagram

To mark the occasion, Cosmo ME has organized an exclusive interview with Emirati entrepreneur Haifa Al Marzooqi. Owning (and co-owning) not one but two successful businesses, Haifa is proof that there’s no ceiling to what Emirati woman can accomplish.

Via @ihaifa.8 on Instagram

Cosmo ME x Haifa’s exclusive Emirati Women’s Day interview…

Cosmo ME: What is Alpha, and how did you start the business?

Haifa: Alpha is a fashion brand that was started with passion. The passion was looking for something that was not available in the market: I wanted to created abayas with classy silhouettes and tailoring. The idea was to do something original and create something that suits Haifa’s style. I love sharp cuts, shoulder definition, blazer cuts, and abayas, all of which did not exist in a abaya in the market when I started doing alpha. Alpha is mostly for an alpha girl, the girl who wears sharp clean-cut quality abayas, something that’s not the usual abaya that we wear, but still the abaya that fits our culture.

Cosmo ME: Which signature Alpha abaya or piece is a stand-out and why?

Haifa: Alpha’s signature piece was the denim abaya. When we launched it, denim on denim was everywhere – so why not wear it in a abaya? So, we created the denim abaya, and people absolutely love it. You can wear it absolutely anywhere, and you can even wear it when you’re traveling to cover up. We love the denim abaya; it’s our signature piece and we’re very proud of it.

Cosmo ME: Why do you think the denim abaya is a fan favourite?

Haifa: The denim abaya went viral because it was not very common and usual. It covers up, but at the same time, it gives you a great trendy look. As I said, we love that ladies can wear it with a sheila in the UAE, and that others can wear it when they travel just to look trendy. It’s not just a abaya: It’s a blazer cut, a trendy piece.

Cosmo ME: When you had just gone live with the denim abaya, what were the reviews? And were you surprised at the reviews?

Haifa: When we went live with the denim abaya, we weren’t even ready. We were still working on branding and all the main elements. I remember wearing it myself first. When I first wore it, I was simply testing it out on myself, and I wore it out for an event. The amount of questions I received on the denim abaya made us work harder on finishing up with the branding because we knew we had to launch it immediately. So actually, we weren’t even ready to launch the denim abaya at the time as we were still testing it. It’s a moment of pride, actually. I’m very proud of this piece, and so many other brands started creating denim abayas after we launched ours. I wouldn’t say that we started it, but denim was very trendy last year. The denim abaya is something we’re very proud of. We didn’t know that people would love the denim abaya, we thought that not everyone would be keen to wear such a denim abaya since not everyone is used to going out of the box.

Cosmo ME: As an Emirati woman, what do you believe abaya is a symbol of?

Haifa: Wearing our abaya makes us feel not just beautiful, but also strong. It’s not just a clothing piece, it’s a piece that represents our culture and our values. As an Emirati woman, clearly every single Emirati Woman is proud of wearing this abaya whether it be black or colored, as long as it represents our culture and we feel proud, strong, and empowered while wearing it.

Cosmo ME: To you, how important is collaborating with other female Emirati entrepreneurs, especially regarding your marketing and events company Sleek?

Haifa: As Emirati women, I believe that there are no limitations for us. We always try to pursue our goals, and doing so together makes us stronger. We always have each other’s backs, all Emirati women. So I wouldn’t say that I collaborated, but rather that hand in hand with my partner, we created Sleek as a marketing and events brand. Sleek wouldn’t have been this great had it not been with a great partner.

Cosmo ME: Why is celebrating Emirati Women’s Day so important in the context of entrepreneurship?

Haifa: Everyday is Emirati Women’s day, but I would say that it’s a reminder for us that there is no ceiling to what we can achieve. Every year when we celebrate Emirati Women’s Day, we get stronger. All i would say is, i’m extremely proud to be an Emirati woman.

Cosmo ME: Is Alpha planning on expanding internationally?

Haifa: Alpha is already aiming to have a strong presence internationally, in the near future. Since we concentrate on quality and customer experience, I don’t think that’s going to be very hard in the next few years.

Learn more about Haifa’s abaya brand Alpha here.