I think I’ve been designing for as long as I’ve understood that clothes could tell a story.

I was four when I first started imagining pieces of my own. Of course, I didn’t know then that I was “designing.” I simply knew that there was something incredibly special about taking an idea that existed only in your imagination and giving it a life of its own.

It took some time before those ideas left the page.

In 2024, I curated my first collection of hijabs and introduced them at my first pop-up in Ottawa’s ByWard Market. It was small, but incredibly meaningful. For the first time, something I had imagined was being touched, worn and made part of someone else’s story.

And I wanted to keep going...

Eventually, that journey led me to Fatma, Akirah’s first signature gown.

Fatma allowed me to explore a question that continues to shape the way I design today: What if modesty wasn’t something we had to accommodate after a dress was designed? What if it was part of what made the dress extraordinary in the first place?

Akirah is still at the beginning of answering that question.

Today, I am the sole designer behind the house, but I don't imagine Akirah remaining a reflection of only my perspective. I dream of eventually opening its doors to new, unexpected and abstract designers—people who see modest fashion differently, challenge what we think it can be, and bring entirely new worlds into this one.

There is so much I haven't shown you yet.

I can't wait for you to see it.

— Eyssa A. Dahoma