New designs on looking good

IMAGE consultant Abir Achkar is used to suggesting the right look for her clients and now she plans to go one step further by shaping them up with a special design.

She has launched a new ready-to-wear clothing line, entitled Ash by AbirAchkar, to add a further string to her business venture, Personage Image and Fashion Consultancy.

Abir, 36, launched her image consultancy four years ago and believes the time is right to expand her portfolio with a new summer collection which she unveiled during a recent talk at the Capital Club in Bahrain Financial Harbour.

The mother-of-three, from Riffa Views, said: “I designed a collection that is a contemporary luxury ready-to-wear brand to compliment Personage.
 
“It’s an unexpected clothing line that is elegant and has a twist to it. It’s very wearable for Bahrain and can easily be worn from day to night. I am not necessarily inspired by fashion but rather by my surroundings and what my clients ask for.

“I make designs for the self-assured, sophisticated and fashion-forward woman and as there are many of these in Bahrain, I think that image and fashion consulting services are needed in the kingdom.

“Arab women are very much into fashion but many don’t know how to pull off that final look, and they need help ... I provide it. Initially, most people were not aware of the concept but interest for it has grown rapidly and they now find it useful.”

As well as being a certified image consultant, Abir is a stylist and a fashion designer. After noticing the gap in the market, she started sketching and designing clothes to suit her clients, and offering them advice as well as a whole new wardrobe, like BBC TV’s style specialists Trinny and Susannah, though without any offensive or vulgar remarks.

Not only does she show her clients how to present themselves depending on their shape, size and age, she also advises them on what is best suited for their character.

“I get clients from different age groups visiting me for fashion consulting in terms of what colours are best suited for their skin tone and body shape and not to mention, their personality,” she said.

“From the consultation we can customise a whole new wardrobe from the Ash Collection. It’s very convenient and you can find all aspects of fashion under one roof!”

Abir started sketching designs as a teenager, but it was only when she studied interior design at the University of Beirut that she realised her observing eye for the ideal fashion trends was a better suited career path and she went on to study image consultancy in New York in 2007.

 “Although I studied interior design, I believe fashion isn’t very different.

“I always had this passion for art and fashion inside me, so I found that introducing image consultancy to the region would be a new and interesting concept.”

Abir, a member of the Association Image Consultants International (AICI), the leading professional association of personal and corporate image consultants worldwide, has starred on Bahrain TV with her own fashion segment on Hala Bahrain.


Abir’s designs are produced in Lebanon. It takes her a season to prepare for a new collection, giving her time to plan the designing and fitting, and lastly, displaying her creations. However, she often creates outfits based on a client’s needs and deadline.

“I love pieces that are simple and elegant, yet still have a touch of edginess to them. Personally, I do not produce in bulk, I find this the biggest differentiator from other labels in the market,” she said.

Abir says her family is very supportive. Her husband, Samer Naser, the managing director of his own construction company, and her three children Lee, 16, Tala,13, and Adam, nine, are with her every step of the way.

“I always share my ideas with my little ones, I show them my sketches – they are my little fashionistas!” she explained.

Abir hopes to expand her business out of the Middle East and also looks forward to designing luxury handbags and clutches to add to her clothing collection.

Ash by AbirAchkar can be found in outlets in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Beirut as well as Bahrain and she can be contacted by emailing abir@personage.me