Renowned Fashion Designer Sahar Madani was born in Cairo Egypt and has lived most of her life in the United States, building a career in fashion by following her own set of rules. Known for her celebration of the exuberant and the embellished, Sahar has taken the fashion industry by storm with her unique and original Abaya designs.

Sahar has lived in Dubai for seven years now as a Diplomat since 2009 as her husband is the Saudi General Consul in Dubai. She has four grown boys, one is married and she has a beautiful granddaughter. She founded “WE GROUP” – The Women Empowerment Group six years ago to educate women and give them the tools to be come better in what they desire.

Having a database of women that continues to grow, Sahar hopes to give more time helping women with their achievements. She mentions that she learns as much from them as they learn from her getting to know different cultures plus having the opportunity to attend amazing formal events and meeting very interesting people.

Sahar was the President of the Diplomatic Ladies Group for five years, but stepped down from this position in March 2014 to focus more on the Women Empowerment Group and to take it to a global level and grow stronger as a fashion designer. She designs traditional Abaya and shawls while meeting her social obligations as a Diplomat.

Sahar’s commitment to remain true to her one-of-a-kind vision has afforded her continued success in the ever-evolving Abaya design industry. With an Art background, Sahar has been surrounded by art for most of her life, right from her education as a Fine Art Major and then as a Graphic Designer.

Having studied Interior Design and Architecture from in Washington DC, Sahar exquisitely intertwines the cultures of both Saudi Arabia which is her motherland and the US, where she grew up. She combines her knowledge and taste of the two worlds and brings a completely new approach to her Abaya collection, adding rich fabrics with colours to enhance the elegance and femininity of the Middle Eastern women.

Sahar emphatically believes that Abaya designs these days are not just a cultural image but also a fashion trend that most women follow to keep updated. She believes all women have the right to be independent, strong and to show their personality through her designs. Sahar’s knowledge in graphic design and advertising fields have helped her encapsulate a design philosophy that looking beautiful should not be a luxury, but the right of every woman.

Testing new limits every day with creativity, Sahar is her own worst critic, which helps accentuate every woman’s confidence and femininity. For someone who pursued fashion design with passion, determination and hard work, Sahar’s childhood aspirations to be a designer and her love for costumes laid the foundation for creativity and inspiration, which is still evident in her designs today.

Her trademark Abaya look has the perfect mix of everything from inspired flowing fabrics, detailing to most importantly, a fabulous fit, coupled with the ethnic styles identifiable with the Middle East. Both the woman and the label, Sahar constantly move forward to build a strong foothold in the fashion industry.

Sahar owns homes in Dubai and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and is working on opening a concept store for her designs with other designer, hopefully by the summer of 2016. Her husband and family are her greatest support with close friends who are part of her family as well.

Sahar loves swimming, walking with her music and reading when she is free. She is an Art lover and loves to travel for work and relaxation and every few months she sees her family in Saudi. On the personal front, Sahar enjoys crunchy salads, Kit Kats, everything in the colour Turqoise, inspirational books, documentaries and spring/winter seasons.

Oprta Winfrey influences Sahar most for her support to women and HRH Princes Haifa Alfaisal AlSaud is Sahar’s role model. Her parents have also influenced her greatly on life’s lessons. Her kids and Granddaughter make her most happy.

Sahar mentions that having family and great friends in your life to support you and listen when you need them is the best wealth one can have. Honest pure friends are not easy to find these days, but she is lucky and blessed to have quite few in my life. Her strength is getting along with people from all ages and nationalities and being transparent and as a cancer sign, Sahar is a good listener and finds pleasure and satisfaction in helping people.

Sahar’s full of life social skills and love of detail and design is evident in everything she does in life and in business. Her enthusiasm, creativity and boundless talents are set to keep her at the forefront of the fashion scene and help her grow abundantly for years to come!

By Shereen Shabnam

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A detailed version of this article has been published in Millennium Millionaire Magazine January – March issue 2016.