Interview with Luxury Fashion Blogger Tala Samman from MyFashDiary
Tala Samman is a multi-talented blogger that we love and is also one of our favorite fashionistas on Instagram. With her blog My Fash Diary, she not only offers great insight on fashion, beauty, cuisine, wellness and travel, but she’s also actively involved in these topics, making her a perfect example of them as well. With her posts and personal style always grabbing our attention and being sure our readers will love her too, we reached out to her hoping for an interview to share her story and work.
OJ: From following your blog we know you must be pretty busy, so thanks for your time with us! To start, can you share a bit of your history before you started My Fash Diary?
Tala: It all started over 4 years ago when I was a fashion student in London, and my mother was the face of Nina Ricci here in the Middle East. I decided to start an online fashion diary sharing my experiences. 4 years forward my blog is lifestyle based and is what I do on a full time basis.
OJ: For our readers not familiar with your blog, what is My Fash Diary all about?
Tala: A lifestyle guide to Fashion, Beauty, Travel and lifestyle from a modern traveler's point of view.
OJ: Your talents also make you a good fit for many of your posts, what other roles do you take on other than writer and editor?
Tala: I run my blog full time, contribute to a few titles on the side and also teach a style course for kids.
OJ: So you're Dubai-based but have an international reach with you contributing to, collaborating with and getting praise from international names. What are some publications, events, brands, designers, etc that you've been involved with?
Tala: Featured in several titles from Vogue US to Grazia UK, was featured in the Jimmy choo Cruise '13 style maker campaign, and won Grazia Magazine Middle East's Fashion Personality of the year 2012.
OJ: What are some favorite projects, interviews or articles for our readers to check out?
Tala: I have interviewed names like Blake Lively, Gwyneth Paltrow, Khloe Kardashian and Adriana Lima. Looks like you have the opportunity to travel quite a bit. What are some favorite destinations of yours, especially for fashion or style?
OJ: And any exotic travel plans in the near future?
Tala: My favorite cities are Dubai, New York, London and Singapore. Hoping to visit the Maldives and the Caribbean soon!
OJ: Very cool to see on your Instagram you have just revealed a new collaboration with Bracher Emden for a handbag collection, please fill us in!
Tala: Bracher Emden, (Dita Von Teese is a fan) a UK based luxury handbag brand approached me two years ago to work on a capsule collection together. The collection features a range of styles every woman needs in her wardrobe. The collection is exclusively available at Harvey Nichols Dubai.
OJ: We've noticed you have a great appreciation for jewelry and have spotted wearing some nice choices, can you share a few favorites pieces or designer brands you enjoy?
Tala: I love costume jewelry - whether getting random pieces, vintage Chanel all the way to Shourouk. I recall reading a post
OJ: I recall reading a post where you got to design your own ring, can you tell the story to our readers? (Shown above)
Tala: This was a customized ring from a visit to Arte Madrid, a jewelry house in Spain.
OJ: WIth the new year starting up, we'd love your thoughts on any fashion and jewelry trends you expect to grow in 2014.
Tala: With jewelry, I like going for statement rings, statement bangles to statement necklaces - keeping it simple with earrings. Go for interesting, upcoming brands for costume jewelry! With your Bracher Emden handbag collection out now, do you have any secret projects in the works you can share with us? Tala: I'm in the process of working on a few projects, sadly can't reveal any yet!
Thanks so much for your time Tala and when you do share your upcoming projects for 2014, please let us know!
Make sure to check out MyFashDiary.com and follow Tala on Instagram, Twitterand Facebook.