Get to know the founder of Dara Hamarneh

Mar 28, 2023

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Dara Hamarneh is a Jordanian designer. Her passion began with musings over the range of luxury bags that were a part of her mother’s closet.

The brand is woman owned, and has roots in Italy, and London but mainly in the Middle East.

3oud.com connects with the talented Jordanian Designer as she discusses her sustainable handbag brand and how it reflects the future of fashion.

How did you get started as a handbag designer? What inspired you to start your line?

I’m very lucky that the course I studied was so broad, I was able to see so many aspects of the fashion industry - that also made me very unlucky because I wanted to do everything! The only way that made sense to do so was to start my own business, this coupled with my boredom of the bags on the market today, I saw all these beautiful vintage bags and thought of ways to update them and make them relevant again.

What’s your first memory of fashion?

Growing up in the Gulf, every day was a fashion show! That and growing up in the 2000s Watching The Simple Life series, The Hills series.

Where do you take inspiration from for your designs?

My designs, I think, are a collection of everything I’ve consumed and retained - from desert landscapes of the Middle East, style icons from all eras Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy to Amber Valletta to Audrey Hepburn to Naomi Campbell to Paloma Picasso, people watching in the streets, characters in the books I read. Sources of inspiration are all around constantly.

When did you start working with leather and how did that transform into creating bags?

At university we did a lot of product development and were encouraged to source the materials we were presenting, I was lucky to be in Florence, which is basically the heart of leather. I’ve always been obsessed with textures and color, and of course handbags, so it was only natural for me to get into creating bags.

What’s your favorite bag from your collection, and why?

I love them all. They all represent a different vibe but at the same time they’re all practical and go with everything. I love our Bulles Bag, which is a more playful take on our Tube bag - I would say it is the most underestimated bag. It fits so much yet looks so great for a night out or a lunch when you want to look more put together.

What are some of the setbacks or challenges you faced when starting your brand?

The biggest problem with fashion school is that we never really learn about the hard parts of setting up a brand, maybe they always assume we would get someone to help with that aspect. So, I would say the legality of setting up a company, the accounting etc was particularly challenging. And of course, as a young brand, there are a many daily challenges, but that’s part of the process! Convincing people every day that this brand has a product you should invest in is always going to be challenging but if you truly believe it people will as well.

What’s on your bucket list for Dara Hamarneh, the brand, in the next year?

I would love to continue meeting our clients and start taking the brand all around the world so people can experience the product in person. I don’t like talking too much about things that haven’t happened yet but hopefully more exciting things to come.

What should the world know about Dara Hamarneh the brand? And Dara Hamarneh the person?

The brand is for those that genuinely have an appreciation for quality over a brand name. It’s a world of juxtapositions, playful yet serious. As a person, I’m very superstitious!