As a fashion designer in the region, it is hard to make it because of international brands and their attractiveness. Local designers usually end up working for international brands to make a living. This is what fashion consultant, Zeina Ladki and her company Fltrd are trying to change.
The backstory
Zeina used to work for a brand consulting firm that only worked with international brands. Her belief that local fashion designers and local talents deserve a chance pushed her to quit her 9 to 5 guaranteed salary at the end of the month job as a fashion consultant and started her own fashion consultation agency for brand development for local fashion designers and talents in the region.
First, Zeina worked with local fashion designers and talents before the pandemic and then she created GiGi, her first concept store that promoted and worked with regional fashion designers and talents in Dubai.
The next step
After a smashing success that is GiGi and proving her skills as a successful fashion consultant, Zeina was approached by DIFC to create another concept store for regional fashion designers and that’s when fltrd came to light.
fltrd acts as a fashion consultation agency and aims to filter designers and encourage radical designs and concepts, to work with regional designers to create collaborations for them and to create collections specific for them.
A fashion consultant Taking local fashion designers internationally
With the help of the exposure from participating in Arab Fashion Council’s (AFC) catwalk the walk, as a fashion consultant, Zeina believes local designers will receive the recognition they deserve.
Zeina believes fltrd will flourish after the pandemic because Fltrd is an interactive concept store where fashion designers feel at home.
The importance of digitalizing for a fashion consultant
Zeina knew how important a website for her business is, which made her want to launch the website from day one. However, she had to do it gradually and had to get help because she was extremely busy.
The website and some digital marketing and paid promotion have helped fltrd reach their target market in Kuwait & Saudi Arabia.
This is where GoDaddy’s services came to the rescue. fltrd got their Domain name from GoDaddy, her online store’s WordPress hosting, an SSL certificate to keep her store secure, and a professional email address using Microsoft 365.
