On her evolution from hockey
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“I always told myself I would never do something just for the money. This brand is my first child and I will never sell out”
£395
‘Karlie’ Gold Dress
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£72
‘Darcie’ Black Pyjamas
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£375
‘Kimberly’ Red Dress
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£315
‘Bella’ Black Jumpsuit
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£375
‘Stella’ Star Blazer
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Makeup by Shirley Anne Dapaah, using the Jordana Ticia Nude Divinity Palette and Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Silvia Olsen
Words: PENNY GOLDSTONE
Hair and make-up artist:: DemiMakeup
DESIGN: Treasa Burns
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR:
Nadine Merabi didn’t intend to start designing occasion wear. Following
a professional career playing hockey, she pivoted into events – and soon realised that there was a gap in the market for party dresses that were flattering and confidence-boosting. So, she bought herself a sewing machine, started designing a capsule collection, and now has a new flagship store in London and an internationally successful label. Here, as part of our Women Who Win series, Merabi shares the business rules she swears by with Penny Goldstone, and reveals how she juggles motherhood with running a burgeoning brand.
“In 2022 we grew 800% in 12 months and went from 30 staff to 100 in that time. It was horrific and, looking back, I wish I’d just closed the website and stopped people purchasing”
“Being present with [my daughters] helps to ground me and I wouldn’t be a good boss if I didn’t carve out personal time to connect with my family
to refocus and re-energise myself”
“I design to empower and build confidence, so meeting our community, hearing their feedback and having this connection is super-important for me to keep innovating”
“I grew up playing hockey [and played] for England for 10 years before becoming an events organiser in Manchester. During that time, I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to wear for events, so one day I decided to quit my job and [bought] a sewing machine. I taught myself how to sew by watching YouTube videos. It was a bit strange really – one day I just woke up and thought: it can’t be that hard to make a dress… and I’ve never looked back! We’ve grown so much as a business over the years and expanded from a small one-woman show, to a small e-commerce business, to a global business with stockists and a permanent London store.”
Take me back to the beginning of your business...
“There have been many. I feel like I’ve been knocked down 10 times but got up 11 because I refuse to give up. I guess my biggest challenge to date was navigating the business through Covid. I was seven months pregnant with my first child in March 2020, as the world went into lockdown. I felt like everything I had worked so hard for had just come crashing down and my hormones were all over the place. Every event in the world had been cancelled and, for an occasion wear brand, this was pretty catastrophic. I had a full team to try to support and stay strong for, I had to manage our cash flow to ensure the business didn’t fail and I also had to protect the brand name by not going into crazy sales like a lot of labels were forced to do. I knew I had to do something, so I pivoted and started designing tops, skirts, blazers and more [pieces] to wear at home. I also designed our now iconic ‘Darcie’ pyjamas with feather cuffs, which [enabled you] to dress up at home in your PJs with a pair of heels. Never did I think this trend would continue into 2024 – people wear them out with an elegant heel and a chic clutch now!”
What has been your biggest challenge to date and what lessons did you learn?
“As a brand that’s a part of so many women’s life celebrations, we’re always celebrating in the office. I use success as motivation, so as soon as I achieve something big, I get excited because it means that the next ‘impossible dream’ can become a reality. It motivates me to keep going, and I want to celebrate and empower women – whether that’s through my designs, developing careers in the workplace, or making my two young girls feel loved and confident enough to achieve anything they want in life.”
How do you celebrate success?
“I have two young daughters and it’s really important for me to prioritise spending quality time with them. I always make sure I’m home and present for bath and bed time with them – and to not be on my phone or emails during that period of time. Being present with them helps to ground me and I wouldn’t be a good boss if I didn’t carve out personal time to connect with my family to refocus and re-energise myself.”
How can you achieve the right work/life balance?
“You can sleep when you’re dead. I think I tell myself this at least twice a day. Listen, I have two young daughters and a business, not to mention a social life and other commitments, so I never feel like I have
enough hours in the day to do everything I want or need to. I wouldn’t change it for the world though.”
What is your mantra?
“Opening our flagship store on South Molton Street was such a proud moment for me. I spend so much time and effort creating our designs, the fit and the custom fabrics, but it’s not always easy to see or feel the love and thought that goes into each piece through images on e-commerce. The store enables people to see the product in person and experience that ‘Merabi’ feeling when trying on the designs. I love meeting women in the store and seeing how their confidence starts to shine when trying on the styles, too. I design to empower and build confidence, so meeting our community, hearing their feedback and having this connection is super-important for me to keep innovating and designing what women love.”
What has been your proudest moment so far?
“I have so many because I’m very sentimental about things. It would probably either be my Valentino [Garavani] ‘Rockstud’ black flip flops or [a pair of] Gucci sunglasses that I’ve had for years – I never travel without them.”
What is your most treasured fashion item?
Merabi
Nadine
“It’s so hard to pick a favourite piece – I love everything. From the current collection, I would say it’s the ‘Kimberley’ dress in red for a family meal because it’s so Christmassy and demure. I also love the ‘Karlie’ gold
dress for a girls’ night out. You can’t beat a sparkly gold mini for party season.”
Do you have a favourite piece in your current collection?
“I always told myself I would never do something just for the money. This brand is my first child and I will never sell out. I’m here to grow a brand as well as a business, with good people around me.”
What is the one thing you’d never compromise on when it comes to business?
“I did the Nevis Bungy jump in New Zealand, which was terrifying but absolutely exhilarating. It’s the third highest in the world, at 134m, and I still can’t believe I did it.”
What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
“In 2022 we grew 800% in 12 months and went from 30 staff to 100 in that time. It was horrific and, looking back, I wish I’d just closed the website and stopped people purchasing. We couldn’t cope with the sudden growth. We were letting women down with delivery dates and didn’t have a big enough team to reply to everyone’s queries. I hired too quickly in panic and I hired wrong. This caused culture issues and a lot of stress. We were making money but I hated it and so did the whole team. It took another 12 months to fix the chaos from the past year; we needed a full re-structure. It was like a year-long hangover and I’ve now learned to grow within your means, and to hire slowly and carefully to ensure that any new team members share my – and my brand’s – values.”
What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
“I’d love for all women to feel good about themselves; to cast a spell so they’ll realise how beautiful they are. We all have insecurities and I hate it when I see women who are gorgeous inside and out, letting insecurity affect their confidence to the point that no one can say or do anything to make them realise they are beautiful. I’m on a mission to change that.”
What would you want to change for women?
“It’s better to have a hole than an arsehole in your team. It speaks to how having the right people around you is more important than just having someone in the role to fill it. The business really is a team and one bad egg can ruin it for everyone.”
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“When I first discovered London, my now husband was living here and we used to spend all of our time hanging out in Brixton. One of our favourite places to go was Pop Brixton, which still exists. It’s a great place to hang out with friends. Now when I travel down, I spend most of my time in Mayfair. I always like to go to Claridge’s, as it’s a stone’s throw away from the store, and I love staying at The May Fair Hotel.
Favourite places in London?
‘Karlie’ gold dress
£375
‘Simone’ Ivory Dress
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player to party dress designer