Hi Alycia it is a pleasure to feature you on SimplySxy. Please share with our readers a little about yourself and where you’re from?
Hello! Thank you for having me. I’m Alycia, a Welsh designer who just loves making beautiful things. After graduating University, I wanted to extend my craft, so I created my brand ‘Emiah Couture’ which specializes in bespoke bridal, corsetry and boudoir.
What inspired you to start Emiah?
I have always loved art and creating things, even as a child I wasn’t far from some paints or colouring pencils! In high school this developed further when I discovered how much I enjoyed the sewing classes, and grew even further when I recently graduated University with a degree in Design for Performance. Whilst studying, I realized how much sewing combines my love of creating art, with the happiness I feel when helping people to feel more beautiful.
So I created ‘Emiah’ as this allows me to create beautiful pieces to make people look and feel luxurious. It gives me an outlet to express myself through beautiful textures and painstakingly hand crafted embellishments, which can then be adorned onto my bespoke garments.
Which is the best compliment you have received?
For me personally, I think the best compliment I‘ve ever received was when someone said that my smile made them happy, which made me feel warm inside.
If you meant about my work, then I will always remember when a model said that she felt like a living piece of art in one of my creations. She mentioned how surprised she was with how comfortable she felt whilst wearing something so lovely, which made my heart burst, as that is my aim as a creator.
Is there anything you wished you knew or could do better when you started Emiah?
Hindsight is always 20/20, but I think I would have told myself to just calm down and not worry so much. I’m a perfectionist by nature, so would overthink everything I made, when instead I should have just gone ahead and made the thing and just learnt from each piece, which is what I strive to do now.
What is your dream super power to have?
I would love to be able to manipulate time. I always find that there are never enough hours in the day, so imagine what it would be like to pause time and be able to get more stuff done! Or to be able to fast forward through something that is monotonous and boring… that would be so useful haha.
If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would love to travel to New Zealand one day. My favorite animals are penguins, I even named my brand after the smallest breed of penguin in the world; the ‘little blue fairy penguin’ that lives in New Zealand, so I would love to see them in their natural habitat.
What flavour would you say best describes you?
I would probably say I’m quite a ‘nutty’ character, but I guess most artist and creators probably are! It’s also my most favorite topping on ice cream, which might have been where I got the idea from haha.
How would you describe an ideal date?
Oh I’ve never really thought about what an ideal date would be for me. I guess what would make a date stand out, would depend on how they made me feel whilst being with them, I am quite an easy going person and I love to laugh, so as long as they can make me smile, then I think I would count that as a success.
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions Alycia. One question before we end, how do you define “sexy”?
To me sexy is when you feel confident and strong. When you’re comfortable within your own skin and love yourself I think it really shines through. I know this can be a hard thing to do in the ‘social media age’ as you can constantly compare yourself and your life to others, which is why when I catch glimpses of this confidence, I think it can be very sexy. This is what I aim for; for my clients, for them to walk away feeling confident and sexy in something that I have created for and with them.
Follow the talented Alycia Hirani on:
Website: www.emiah.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EmiahCouture
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emiahcouture (@emiahcouture)
Upcoming works: I always have new collections on the go, the next one being inspired by the colours and textures of beautifully iridescent insect wings, which is exciting, but I am also currently open for bespoke work, to help create something special just for you.
Images courtesy of Alycia Hirani
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