This International Women’s Day, we’re looking at the women behind a wave of brands bringing a new perspective to the region’s creative and business landscape. From jewellery and fashion to beauty, interiors, and wellness, these founders are building with a strong sense of identity, creating brands that feel current, culturally aware, and distinctly their own.
STONE Fine Jewelry
Founders: Ghadeer Taher and Joumana Jallad
Ghadeer Taher and Joumana Jallad founded STONE Fine Jewelry in Amman, Jordan, and have built it into a recognised name in modern fine jewellery. Over the past 12 years, they have reinterpreted classic jewellery codes through a contemporary lens, with a strong focus on craftsmanship, technique, and quality. With backgrounds in finance and political journalism, they bring both creative direction and business insight to the brand. Under their leadership, STONE Fine Jewelry has become known for pieces that reflect strength, fluidity, and timeless appeal.
Mariyeh Ghelichkhani
Founder: Mariyeh Ghelichkhani
Emirati designer Mariyeh Ghelichkhani’s journey into jewellery began in childhood, shaped by rare gemstones, artistry, and the world of her father’s workshop, where she spent hours watching master craftsmen at work. Having lived between Tehran, Dubai, Marbella, Istanbul, Lisbon, and London, she brings a layered cultural perspective to her designs. Today, Mariyeh creates jewellery that pairs fluidity and imagination with lasting craftsmanship, with pieces that speak to strength, emotion, and personal transformation.
Farah Khan Atelier
Founder: Farah Khan
Farah Khan has spent more than three decades building one of the industry’s most recognisable jewellery brands. Known for her strong design point of view and meticulous craftsmanship, she creates pieces defined by bold silhouettes, intricate detailing, and a clear visual identity. Her work draws from travel, nature, and architecture, with each influence translated into jewellery that feels considered rather than decorative. Worn by names including Beyoncé and Serena Williams, along with figures across Hollywood and Bollywood, her creations have established her as a longstanding force in fine jewellery.
Samra
Creative Director: Katia Abou Samra
Katia Samra has helped shape Samra’s modern identity while staying rooted in the house’s heritage. Raised within the family business, she built her understanding of jewellery early on and later strengthened it through studies in marketing and advertising, diamond grading, and jewellery design at GIA. She now leads the brand’s artistic direction and international positioning, with a focus on design, storytelling, and strategic collaborations. She also founded Dream Big with Samra, an initiative that supports emerging talent and reflects her wider commitment to women’s advancement.
Kayaa Jewels
Founder: Aashna Sanghvi
Aashna Sanghvi founded Kayaa Jewels to make fine jewellery feel more relevant to everyday life. Coming from a fifth-generation jewellery family known for its work with natural diamonds, she is the first in her lineage to work with lab-grown stones, bringing a more current approach to a traditional industry. Through Kayaa, she focuses on pieces that are versatile, customisable, and designed for regular wear, with an emphasis on accessibility, individuality, and more conscious production.
Lana Al Kamal Jewelry
Founder: Lana Al Kamal
Lana Al Kamal is an architect-turned-jewellery designer who launched her namesake brand in 2018. Drawing on her training in architecture, along with studies at GIA and L’École School of Jewelry Arts, she creates 18K gold and diamond pieces shaped by structure, restraint, and wearability. Crafted in the UAE, her work reflects a clear focus on craftsmanship, symbolism, and contemporary design.
Tripat
Founder: Sanah Khurana
Sanah Khurana founded Tripat to create jewellery that carries the sentiment of heirlooms without feeling locked into occasionwear. Inspired by a childhood in India surrounded by inherited pieces rich in meaning but seldom worn day to day, she built the brand around designs that feel personal, practical, and emotionally resonant. Her approach brings together memory, modern wearability, and a strong understanding of how women want to wear jewellery now.
Peristylia
Co-founder: Sally Negm
Sally Negm is the co-founder and creative director of Peristylia, where she shapes the studio’s design direction across luxury interiors. With a background in engineering and interior architecture, she brings both technical discipline and spatial sensitivity to her work. Her approach is grounded in human-centred design, with a focus on spaces that are functional, considered, and visually lasting.
MINIAAR
Founder: Tinaz Bodhanwala
Tinaz Bodhanwala founded Dubai-based label MINIAAR in 2017 with a clear point of view on modern dressing. Through the brand, she focuses on clean lines, modular styling, and strong silhouettes across couture and luxury ready-to-wear. Her work is rooted in craftsmanship and a more conscious approach to fashion, with an emphasis on pieces that feel purposeful rather than seasonal.
My Fancy Closet
Founder: Bashayer Al Mahmoud
Bashayer Al Mahmoud founded My Fancy Closet in 2013, growing it from a single handcrafted design made for her home photography studio into a fashion label shaped by cinematic references and vintage dress codes. Drawing from classic film, soft femininity, and detailed craftsmanship, she creates pieces that feel thoughtful, romantic, and distinctly personal. Her work reflects a slower, more intentional approach to fashion.
Burn Room
Founders: Meerah Al Matrooshi and Alia Al Mazrouei
Founded in Abu Dhabi by Emirati entrepreneurs Meerah Al Matrooshi and Alia Al Mazrouei, The Burn Room brings a more design-led approach to boutique fitness. Built around a performance-meets-recovery concept, it was among the first studios in the UAE to integrate professional red light therapy into a Lagree-based training space. Alia brings broad entrepreneurial experience across industries, while Meerah shapes the studio’s fitness vision through a strong focus on discipline, environment, and intentional living. Together, they have built a studio centred on strength, recovery, and community.
OLAH Haircare
Founder: Alia Al Marzooqi
Alia Al Marzooqi is the Emirati founder of OLAH Haircare, a Dubai-based brand launched in 2023 and inspired by her grandmother’s traditional haircare recipes. She turned a personal family practice into a modern business, building OLAH around natural formulations rooted in both heritage and product performance. The brand has quickly established itself in the UAE beauty space with a focus on clean, results-driven haircare.
