Inspired by her love for Egypt despite being raised in Australia, 16-year-old Rahma Soliman and her brother decided to get back to their roots and launch “Soliela”, a fashion line that bridges the old and modern culture with a mix of Egyptian, African and Arab vibes. The idea behind the name came from joining her last name (Soliman) with “yala”(ييي) – the Egyptian slang for ‘boy’ in Arabic – to create “Soliela”.
Soliela’s main goal is to have all their products manufactured in Egypt using Egyptian cotton, as it is one of the Egyptian resources used and respected globally in the fashion scene with a reputation for being ‘luxurious’.
“We realised that there was a lack of tasteful African/Middle Eastern representation in the fashion industry,” she said.
Recently, she was featured in a short film titled ‘Solibet’ by a young Zimbabwe-born director in Australia, Tig Terera. He was inspired by her uniqueness and her love of boxing as a sport, and the movie shows the merits of diversity and of not being afraid to hold on to your own identity while doing the things you love.
Soliela already has its own pop-up store in Australia at Saint Side City Store, but Soliman is working to also sell in Egypt in the future once she finds the right audience. “Hopefully we will be working on some awesome new things and different concepts too,” she says. “We are trying to make simple, cool garments that are basically appealing and desired by all.”
