“When you feel more confident, you can follow your own passions.”

Emilia Ohrtmann, a German designer and entrepreneur. Although she was a passionate fashion and styling enthusiast from an early age, she was discouraged by her lack of talent for drawing.

“I was told that I could never make money from fashion design, so I should study something that will keep the doors open,” she told Euronews.

Emilia opted to study Business Studies instead. Her passion for designing clothes was rekindled when she became a buyer at a large sportswear manufacturer.

She said, “I was taking evening and weekend classes and learnt to draw – finally.” Afterwards she met another designer and started sewing and selling children’s clothes. After her husband got a job, she and her husband moved to Dubai.

After arriving in Dubai, she was approached by several business opportunities. She initially found it difficult to accept them as she wanted more time with her three children.

“I had to find a way to do both, be a mom and work” she said. She met many women in Dubai who were interested in starting their own businesses. She spent six years helping them to design their websites and coaching them through the startup phase.

“Then COVID-19 came and I started writing a book for my children. I wanted to give them something they can read just in case that I am not there anymore at some point.”

Emilia writes in her book, “It’s Your Life”: How to Choose Confidence. She encourages her children to follow the dreams they have and to follow their passions, rather than listening to external voices.

“That’s when I realised that I have always known what I wanted to do, but I didn’tdo it”, she said. That’s when she decided to start her own fashion line.

“It is essentially that I do want to give confidence to women,” Emilia told Euronews.

She uses sustainable fabrics and creates minimalistic designs to help women feel more confident.

“When you feel more confident, you can follow your own passions and go for the big dreams and goals that you might have been putting off”, she insists.

Emilia said that she is looking forward to expanding her business into the wider region from Dubai, where she now lives.