Sian Rowlands who is a Retold boutique owner in Dubai was born in Lincolnshire, England. Her family moved to Germany when she was 6 months old. After growing up, she continued her studies in England and then moved to Dubai. She has lived in Dubai for 28 years and considers it her home.
Playing with Lego as a child, Rowlands found interest in architecture. She then continued to pursue her hobbies at universities in England by studying interior architecture. As one of the award-winning designers of Food & Beverage and hospitality, she has succeeded in creating and developing several large-scale design projects at the United Arab Emirates.
The Mission of Sian Rowlands
Rowlands believes that part of her mission with Retold is to make the world a better place, starting with the UAE. She wants to change the collective mindset of the surrounding communities who seem addicted to consumption, buying and have become dependent on disposable items such as plastic, fast fashion until electronic goods become obsolete as soon as the next model is released. She feels that this mindset needs to be changed.
Rowlands claims that it is necessary to give consumers the choice to shop for a city like Dubai that so obsessed with new and sparkling items. The previously owned fashion market is no longer just to filter old pieces at a local charity shop. She saw that at this time needed a big change in the fashion industry from retail to resale.
Rowlands says sustainability is her passion and she is increasingly involved with initiatives that help consumers make better choices. Retold’s ethos is to start retelling the story and there is a real ‘green factor’ about shopping with Retold. For example, Retold uses recycled paper shopping bags for all purchases.
Regarding the Retold offer itself, she and her team will soon launch rental options so that clients can reduce their ownership and truly realize the sharing ethos. Rowlands also urged young entrepreneurs to conduct research first before launching a business. It’s important to give your support, time and expertise to others who need it. That’s what makes the world go round.
The Story of Sian Rowlands
From the beginning, she often discussed with friends who all had similar stories about the clothes they had just bought and were only worn once. One time she filled four boxes of packaging full of pieces of clothing that were not used and looked for a place to sell them locally but did not find a place to sell them. At that time she found a large gap in the market for the process. Therefore, Sian and her sisters decided to pioneer My Ex Wardrobe, then held a monthly pop-up event around Dubai where women who understood fashion could bargain, and also clean their cabinets to make room for new purchases.
During the first few years, the business was fully self-funded. In 2016, she decided to expand her business from the concept of the pop-up to boutiques and start looking for investors. In 2017, AdamPeters became her partner and decided to make a permanent room in a shopping area in Dubai to support e-commerce sites that continue until now. The dream of Sian Rowlands has become reality, thanks to her hard work to support the sale of clothing with a recycling system.
