Biography of Ms. Sana Salman

(CEO, Designers Fashion Lounge (DFL) and General Manager, Apex Events)
 
“The new era brings forth a woman who wants it all; home, family and a successful career. Multi-tasking with household chores and professional deadlines has become the norm for the new woman. Women not only want to take over the world but want to look good doing it.”
– Sana Salman 

Sana Salman, a young passionate Pakistani entrepreneur, armed with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration  and a penchant for fashion, ventured into the fashion and corporate world by launching her company “Apex Events & Designers Fashion Lounge (DFL)” in 2010.

Seeing the demand for Asian designers in Doha, she set out to introduce her clothing brand which was a mix of urban, eastern chic couture and western glamour, in an effort to cater to the needs of ‘today’s modern woman’. Later Sana created the Designers Fashion Lounge (DFL) which serves as a platform for other local and international designers to stock their collections. This multi-brand concept gave birth to the idea of International Fashion Festival (IFF) which was termed as one of the biggest fashion event of Doha.

International Fashion Festival (IFF) aims to bring high-end fashion labels to the Qatari market by providing a platform for top local and international designers to showcase and exhibit their collections. On March 19 & 20, 2015, DFL & Apex Events organized IFF – Season 1 in Doha in collaboration with top designers from the Middle East and Pakistan, with the support of many local sponsors including Commercial Bank of Qatar, the Royal Plaza mall, Intergroup Shipping and Logistics, Qatari Business Women Association and Ms. Jawaher Al Kuwari, (member of executive committee of the business women forum under the umbrella of Qatar chambers & the founder and the managing director of Jo La Mode boutique as strategic partner), to promote fashion and culture in Qatar.

The event showcased top Qatari designers namely Rivaage by Fatima AlRumaihi, Noblesse Couture, Muna Saad, Me Lamode by Sheika Mariam Ali Al Obaidly, Jo LaMode Boutique by Jawaher Al Kuwari among others. Present along with them were top designers from Asia including Adnan Pardesy, Asim Jofa, Braahtii by Huma Nassr, Embellished by Sadaf Amir, Goal by Fozia Hammad, Hamna Amir, Rana Noman, Rani Emaan, Shazia’a Bridal Gallery, Umar Sayeed, Umsha by Uzma Babar. IFF also brought to its platform supermodel Fouzia Aman, Cybil Chowdhry and Rizwaan Ali along with famous film star Fawad Khan who has established his talent over the past years not only in Pakistan but also in Bollywood. IFF successfully introduced and hosted the first ever Asian and Qatari brands fashion show and exhibition in Doha and was very well received by the audience in attendance. After the success of Season 1, preparations are underway for IFF – Season 2 which is scheduled to take place in March 2016.

Sana Salman and Apex Events have set big plans for the citizens of Doha and Qatar to promote Asian culture to the market. One of them includes organizing the biggest Asian Musical Concert in Doha, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s Live performance in 2016. Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali is one of the leading singers from Asia who has performed at the grandest platforms of the world including the Noble Peace Prize Award in Oslo,Norway 2014, London Film Festival March 2012 and has won many accolades on international platforms including the Best International Act at the British Asian Music Awards at Wembley arena October 2012. Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali will be performing live on 29th January 2016 at “Asia Town (West end Park)” in Doha to an audience of 15,000.

Apex Events also aims to provide upcoming and budding designers with consultancy services, management resources and assist them in organizing exhibitions, fashion shows, cultural shows and help brands develop their marketing strategies.