Ruba Zai
Ruba Zai, social influencer, YouTuber, and Hijabi fashion aficionado has teamed up with Dolce and Gabbana for their new Abaya-line. The 23-year-old blogger, who is the first social influencer ever chosen to be the face of one of the brand’s campaigns, sees this collaboration as a unique opportunity to advance her ambitions into making Muslim women fashion more universal.
“One day, I noticed that Steffano Gabbana followed me on Instagram. At first I thought that it was a fake account, but then I saw that ‘blue check’ mark next to his name... I was in shock,” Ruba said in a recent interview with ABC España. Within a few days, the firm’s communications team contacted her and gave her the big news. Stefano was impressed by Ruba’s blog, Hijabi Hills, and thought that she would be the perfect fit for his vision.
Even though the campaign was initially projected to go live in autumn/winter 2017, Ruba suggested publishing the photos during Ramadan. “They thought that was a cool idea,” she added. In fact, Stefano had ‘Ramadan’ in the back of his mind since summer 2016. After the launch of its first Abaya-line last year, D&G held the inaugural event in the summer during the holy month of Ramadan, resulting in the absence of many prominent Arab and Middle Eastern Muslim guests. Stefano then promised to keep an out for Ramadan next time and “organize something special in Milan, just for everyone who could not come.”
Does this mean that we should expect an event packed with our favourite Middle Eastern fashion gurus and designers soon, now that Ramadan is almost over? In any case, until then, let’s sit back and admire the beautiful Abaya designs both D&G and Ruba have been teasing us with on Instagram.
