Iris Apfel, is an American businesswoman, designer, and fashion icon who wrote, “Dress to please yourself. Listen to your inner muse and take a chance,” expressing the view that we should wear fashion that makes a statement, that says boldly, “Look at me! This is who I am today!” What wonderfully bold sentiments, and they may well be a clarion call for a new and exciting fashion boutique in Muscat.
‘My Inner Muse’ is a unique fashion boutique in the new Waterfront Mall in Shatti Qurum, recently opened by flamboyant Australian-born, Oman-based, fashion, costume, and operatic design personality Rebecca Elfverson. Growing up in Sydney, Australia, in the shadows of the magnificent Sydney Opera House, it would have been nigh on impossible to not be influenced by the arts, and the young Elfverson completed a Fashion Diploma, heavily influenced by home Grown designers in the 80s such as Linda Jackson, Carla Zampatti and more recently Boho lifestyler, ‘The Kaftan Queen,’ Camilla Franks, the ‘fabulous’ Dame Zandra Rhodes and ‘The Phantom of the Palais-Royal,’ French icon, Claude Montana, famous for his ‘power women’ designs.
The impressionable Elfverson worked in the fast-paced, high-profile Sydney Fashion Week ‘catwalk scene,’ and was smitten. Work experience at the Australian Opera production department saw Elfverson entranced by Dame Joan Sutherlands show costumes, and she immediately set off for the bright lights of the West End, and the English National Opera at the Coliseum, London, in the United Kingdom. Staying behind the curtain stints with Director/Designers Sue Blanes Alcina, and Phylidda Lloydd on Handmaids Tale, the Director of ‘The Iron Lady,’ and ‘Mama Mia,’ and Jonathan Wolfe Miller on Rigoletto , the noted humorist and stage director.
Then followed she said, “Three full-on years with the Bill Kenwright Production Company, one of the most successful in the world, renowned for their productions of ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ ‘Cabaret,’ and the unforgettable ‘Sound of Music,” where she ‘dipped her toes’ in the musical theatre scene working with notables on such as Tommy –‘Half a Sixpence’- Steele and Shane Ritchie, better known as Alfie Moon from the ‘Eastenders,’ also a star of the stage in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ and ‘Blood Brothers.’
Moving on to Oman, for almost eight-years, Elfverson was Head of Costume and Makeup, at the Royal Opera House with a royal vision to enhance global cultural engagement, to enrich lives, and to showcase and nurture the diverse artistic creativity of Oman and the world.
“I think we did our part,” she smiled, “and developed from modest beginnings, an Omani artistic support team in costumes and makeup, unrivalled in the region. They did themselves proud with their commitment to task, and excellence, and have certainly established an artistic legacy for others to follow.”
Elfverson’s boutique champions her interpretation of the warm, earthy tones of the Sultanate with her signature ‘Sunset and Sand Dunes Collection,’ she presents the stunningly elegant pinks and grays in her ‘Rose Terraces Collection,’ and is clearly inspired by her “favorite place in Oman,” the geological and alluvial patterns carved by millenniums of nature’s wind and rain, with her ‘Jebel Rock Collection.’ Further collections of naturally inspired casual, beach, and resort wear are, says the designer, “rich in style, color, mood, expression, and are fashioned to inspire confidence, create elegance, and to draw the beauty within, without.”
Making the point that “Oman itself exudes modesty, and its beautiful women express sensitivity so elegantly,” Elfverson has been inspired to create her collections based on her own experiences and passion. However, she has been deeply influenced away from her individual flamboyance, towards that classical modesty, and modernity, but, as she puts it, “Classic melding of cultures and societies, Arabic and European fusion with soft, elegant lines, fitted, not clinging, to preserve that modesty while still emphasizing the beauty. It is, I trust, Arabic with a twist!”
Not content with wearable fashion, Elfverson is teaming up with several jewelry designers who will occupy the spotlight at MIM soon. “I have a local Omani Designer Nadia Al Shamsi, who showcases modestly her impeccable ‘Mazayen Collection,’ unique jewelry, handmade, and inspired by the cultural heritage of the Sultanate. We also showcase Italian designer jewelry that is quiet the statement piece for your wardrobe, in gold, silver and rose gold. In addition, clothing and jewelry designers are coming on board for short residencies, including a new contemporary Saudi designer based in Oman, in Reem Abbar, under the label Amina Atelier and I hope to also provide opportunities for budding young Omani designers to promote themselves and their wares, as Omani silverwork and embroidery is so well regarded, and so beautiful.”
Rebecca Elfverson offers a bespoke commission design service for those seeking a unique, individual creation, with her personal stamp made expertly to measure. She invites all her clientele to take Apfel’s ‘chance,’ to express it confidently, to celebrate life, the Omani experience, and to say, “Look at me! This is who I am today,” as they showcase their, ‘Inner Muse.’
Text by Ray Petersen
Photos by Lena Petersen
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