It has been a busy year for Sandra Al-Dabbagh. The emerging designer launched her eponymous label in January of 2015, showcased her first collection at Fashion Art Toronto in April, started a new full-time position as an Engineer in Training (EIT) in October, and got engaged in December.
Always a creative spirit, Al-Dabbagh has long possessed a love of art and drawing, but decided to pursue a more stable career path in the engineering world beginning in 2011. After a few years in the field, she found herself looking for a way to turn her day job, which she describes as "very linear… very black and white,” into something more stimulating. “I started finding that my mind was wandering off to what I could do with everything I see everyday," she says. That’s when she discovered her passion for fashion design.
Al-Dabbagh, who currently splits her time between Toronto and her family home in Stony Creek, is the Cinderella of the engineering industry – imagining her everyday world of math and science, computers and concrete into edgy, fashion-forward pieces she dreams of one day selling at Hudson’s Bay. "A lot of my inspiration comes from what I do everyday... because I breathe it everyday... Because I'm surrounded by it…” she explains of her geometric prints and laser cuts. “I question: ‘What could I do with this to make it fun and exciting?’”
In 2013, Al-Dabbagh’s fashion sketches caught the eye of friends and family who asked why she hadn’t pursued the world of design further. After extensive research on fashion education, she selected Toronto Film School for its fast-track program, small class sizes, and large amounts of one-on-one time with teachers. "I told myself if it's not for me, I can always cancel within a month…” she says, …“But I realized it was the best decision I'd made.”
Since graduating in late 2014, Al-Dabbagh has gone on to establish her namesake womenswear label – one she proudly sources and manufactures within Canada – which is targeted at a client very much like herself. “I basically design what I would pick off of the shelf,” she says. Allowing her daytime and dream worlds to collide, Al-Dabbagh finds inspiration in what she does everyday, proving that the world of mathematics is far from boring along the way.
Defining her target market by what she knows best also means taking her own shopping habits into account when establishing a price point for her garments. “I want it to be accessible to my customer and my customer is very similar to me,” Al-Dabbagh explains. “I look at my pieces and ask: ‘How much would I actually pay for this?’ Price is so important to consumers… It's one of the first things they will look at.”
Al-Dabbagh works hard to keep prices down by communicating with wholesalers, being careful of her fabric choices, and finding a balance in her production methods. “I try to think of ways that will reduce [production costs] while still having the same impact,” she notes – something that is becoming increasingly difficult as fabric printing minimums and their associated costs continue to rise.
Long-term the designer hopes to expand her label to include belts and handbags, but for now, she is focused on her next idea. Al-Dabbagh says she plans to explore new types of imagery inspired by broken glass and cracked concrete. “My ideas are very random,” she laughs, “the inspiration comes from anywhere. There's so much to explore... I can't get enough!”
Al-Dabbagh has taken the leap into online sales by teaming up with Art Calorie to make her designs available for purchase via their online platform, where her exclusive laser cut selections are sure to be a big hit. Al-Dabbagh’s pieces will be available in the Art Calorie shop beginning of April, 2016.
Art Calorie by//
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