THE COAT THAT FOLLOWED ME HOME

Some designs begin with fabric.

This one began long before that.

Long before MÆISONALI.
Long before Singapore.
Long before Dallas.

It began in London.

Young Samina wearing the original black coat (London, late 1990s)

 

While studying at London College of Fashion, there was a coat I wore almost every day.

It was floor length, black, softly tailored, lined in lilac and fastened with a single button.

It wasn't designer.
It wasn't expensive.

But it became part of me.

I wore it with wide-leg trousers and fitted tops. It gave me the balance I was always searching for: modesty and self-expression existing in the same outfit.

Looking back now, I realize it became part of my signature.

My friends remember it

My husband remembers it

I remember it.

And, as fate would have it, it was often the coat I was wearing when I first met my husband.

Years later, I can still picture myself walking through London in it.

Liberty London (or archival image from that period)

 

At the time, fashion courses were not funded in the same way as traditional academic programs.

My father was unemployed, so if I wanted to study fashion, I had to find a way to pay for it myself.

So I worked.

Every shift helped fund another step towards the future I was determined to build.

One of those jobs was at Liberty London.

If you've ever watched Cruella, you'll understand why that memory still feels magical.

The grand building.
The creativity.
The feeling that anything was possible.

I remember standing there, surrounded by design and beauty, dreaming about creating something of my own one day.

I didn't know what it would look like.

I only knew I wanted to create.

Singapore Botanica Coat 

 

The Singapore Botanica Coat is, in many ways, a return to that girl.

The silhouette comes from the coat I loved.

The lilac lining is a deliberate nod to the original.

The ease.
The confidence.
The feeling of being completely yourself.

Those elements remain unchanged.

But the print tells the next chapter.

Original Singapore Botanica Artwork / Print Development

Singapore Botanica was born years later.

Inspired by my life in Singapore and my love of drawing botanical forms by hand, it became one of the most personal prints I have ever created.

Every leaf.
Every stem.
Every flower.

Drawn slowly.

Drawn intentionally.

Drawn with the same curiosity that first led me into fashion.

Close-up of print on fabric

When the artwork was finally placed onto the coat, something unexpected happened.

Two chapters of my life met each other.

The coat from London.

The print from Singapore.

The woman I was.

The woman I had become.

Model walking in the Singapore Botanica Coat

The result is not simply a coat.

It is a conversation between past and present.

Between London and Singapore.

Between the student who dreamed and the designer who finally built the brand she imagined.

Some garments are designed for a season.

Others become part of a story.

Singapore Botanica Coat – Standing Editorial Cover

Some people see a coat.

I see thirty years of becoming.

What about you?

Do you own a piece of clothing that has followed you through different chapters of your life?

I'd love to hear your story in the comments below.

— Samina Ali/Samina Malik
Founder & Designer
MÆISONALI