A trystwith fashion

Manama : The designs of Reem BuQais epitomise a culture, which is still alive for the discerning. This talented fashion designer is an alumna of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, where top designers like Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors studied.
Reem interned under designers like Norisol Ferrari and Houghton, and attended numerous New York Fashion Week shows, such as Anna Sui’s.
After pursuing her dream in fashion and completing her studies, she set up ‘Reem BuQais-Rivera,’ a brand that embraces the essence of Reem’s Arab-Latin background.
Reem won Bahrain’s Top Stylist honour in 2013. She was a guest speaker at the 2nd Leading Women in Business Forum and Bahrain International Design Week.
She became a finalist in The Mission TV Programme and represented Bahrain in the Ship for World Youth Leaders Programme through the Japanese Embassy. She had also taught a Fashion Design course in Youth City, Al Riwaq and Bahrain National Museum.
Recently, Reem BuQais collaborated with studio artist Ramah Al Husseini and successfully launched a Spring/Summer 2016 collection called ‘A Dash of Japan’ in Akkas Gallery.

Reem Buqais-Rivera
“Reem BuQais-Rivera is a well-tailored luxury ready-to-wear brand with Latin and Middle Eastern influences. My collections are elegant, fun, unique and define a woman that embraces her natural elegance and expresses her individuality with confidence,” explains Reem. “I always admired fashion but it was during my second year in college I realized that I wanted to pursue fashion as a career.”
According to her, the most exciting thing about fashion design is when the design on paper becomes real attire that’s the best feeling. “I love to design luxury ready-to-wear pieces that can be worn easily.”

‘A Dash of Japan’ During her trip to Japan as part of Ship for World Youth Leaders batch SWY27, Reem was inspired by the country’s culture and architecture. Later she decided to collaborate with local artist Ramah Al Husseini and launch a collection of clothing and artwork all inspired by Japanese culture.
The collection features skirts, tops, pants and dresses with subtle colours and flowers resembling the Sakura as well as Ramah’s paintings of Matcha, Sumo and Geisha.
She expressed her excitement in working for a unique collaboration and collection that she wanted people to be immersed in the same way she experienced the culture of Japan.
“Each collection I design helps me develop as a designer. ‘A Dash of Japan’ collection is the first collection I designed by drawing inspiration from a trip. It’s also my first collaborative collection,” she says.
Speaking about her trip to Japan, Reem comments: “It was an amazing experience. I wanted people to experience the different elements chosen through my designs. The artwork that Ramah AL Husseini created for these designs is also unique.”
“We wanted to design a Spring/Summer 2016 collection with a minimalist approach. Both Ramah and I worked together to ensure that each piece is elegant enough to stand alone, yet comfortable for the modern day woman,” she elaborates. “I liked the idea of collaborating with an artist to add a unique artistic touch to my designs.”
As a designer, Reem has a deep insight into her creativity and she scouts for more experiments in her designs.