Rami Al Ali in full bloom with rainforest collection

The Dubai-based couturier Rami Al Ali reveals the secrets behind his latest rainforest-inspired creations, presented at Paris Haute Couture Week.

Rami Al Ali at his rainforest-inspired fashion show at Paris Haute Couture Week. Courtesy Rami Al Ali

The historic Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris was the backdrop for the Dubai-based couturier Rami Al Ali’s rainforest-inspired autumn/winter 2014/15 collection, presented on Monday.

Congratulations on the show. Talk us through the collection.

I picked up the theme by chance when I was travelling in Brazil. I abandoned my previous theme when I saw the phenomena of the country and the mysterious jungle where it’s all about camouflaging, and trees would be disguising fruit, butterflies, flowers, all sorts – it was beautiful. So the spark for my collection were those wild, vibrant rainforests of the Amazon.

The colour palette naturally paid homage to the rainforest, too.

Yes, when I was there I was surrounded by such intense greens and hints of vibrant colours within that. So I used lots of shades from deep emerald to aqua-ish, a pale beige-green, etc. There were also hints of vibrant colours such as ruby red, egg yellow and royal blue, in addition to touches of pastels of peach and beige.

The collection featured much intricate embroidery, weaving and use of matte sequins and crystals. The show was also awash with voluminous multilayered skirts and you gave the classic A-line a reworking.

Yes, there were plenty of short and long silhouettes. We also worked a lot on the inside of the dresses in this collection, creating contrasts. For example, the fabric outside may be royal blue and yet inside, there’s a heavily detailed yellow fabric. Again, I was striving to create the contrasts I saw in the rainforest.

How have pre-orders for the ­collection been?

I think in September/October we’ll start the first delivery for this collection as most of the pieces have already been selected by clients. Many of my regional clients wanted the collection ahead of time, as they couldn’t go to Paris during Ramadan.

So, as soon as a presentation piece was ready, and if clients have events to attend in September or October, we would show them the prototype in advance. We’d then start sending the digital look-book to those clients requesting appointments. Once the pieces are selected then we start mapping them, as they are never repeated. Meaning, if it’s been booked to a client in Qatar we can’t repeat it to a client in Saudi. Then we have fittings and adjustments to the pieces, which may either be too short or too open for some clients.

What’s the story behind the finale dress?

It’s a gold strapless piece, and a completely new technique for us. We developed something similar for spring/summer 2012, with laser-cutting, but this time we’ve used a new material for it. It’s a modified version of what you’d usually use for embroidery sequins – which is closer to plastic than fabric.

In fact, we wanted to challenge ourselves this season using a lot of different qualities of fabric. Trying to get similar results from different textures was really interesting, whether it’s thick and heavy fabrics, such as satin duchesse and organza, or lighter ones, such as tulle and lace.

You designed shoes for this ­presentation. How did you settle upon the style?

I wanted to do something simple and classic with a touch of modernity; no platforms or thick heels. It’s a really classic flat-soled shoe with an ankle strap, Perspex strip and thin heel to give a nice silhouette to the foot and leg. It’s something that someone who’s very classic would admire just as much as someone young and funky would.

Is Paris getting better for you each year?

Yes, it is. From the international positioning, better articles, more photo shoot requests, better attendees and a different quality of client – even from the Gulf. These are clients who go to the other major fashion houses shows, too, such as Chanel and Dior; we’re getting requests and appointments from them as well now. So it’s a brand build-up that’s going in the right direction.

With Paris conquered, how will you unwind?

Ah, actually I can’t unwind in Paris because there are still a million things to do [laughs]. Later, I’ll take a trip somewhere, a place where there’s no emails, no phones – as quiet as possible so I can relax. I’m a big fan of the Mediterranean, where the food and the mood is guaranteed in ­advance to be good.