Sporty fashion with a mission

Alishia Hasan combined her knowledge of texture and design to her passion to tennis.

Determined tennis enthusiast starts her own eco-fashion line

Alisha Hasan always knew she would start a fashion brand at some point in her life. As a young girl her entrepreneur spirit was known to all as she was consistently the top seller of her class competitions to raise money, and had a stall in every single school fare.

It was during her master's degree studies in London in 2013, when she won a business idea contest and got the initial seed money to buy the first batch of fabrics and the final kick to start her business.  

DREAMS & DOORS, Alisha’s business, is not just a regular central London fashion line. It is a fashion line with a mission: 

“It was definitely clear from the beginning that D&D would focus on organic and natural fibre fabrics in all of the garments - uncompromisingly,” Alisha says. She thinks that although the ‘eco-wave' is accelerating, she caters to quite a niche audience.  

“Eco-fashion is still very 'hippie', and I'm here to change that,” Alisha says. She started her company from her tiny student accommodation room which she turned into design production studio. 

Her own background in tennis and the knowledge her mother passed on to her of textile designing, guided her to creating her first organic tennis wear collection. Today, her collections have both sporty casual garments as well as activewear pieces.

Samples of Alishia's line.

Not a ‘one garment wonder’

According to Soil Association UK, the market for ecofashion has risen 2-4% during the last year, and Alisha really feels like she is in the right place at the right time with her concept. She knows that building a brand takes time, so she is still very patient and works hard to build a firm foundation and effective supply chain. 

She doesn’t want D&D to be a “one garment wonder”.

“D&D is for ambitious and active people, who want to change the world,” Alisha explains. 

Her menswear collection has attracted much wanted attention. “It was a conscious choice to have a men's collection from the beginning, although I was discouraged to do this due to resources, because men are so deprived of fashion, especially ecofashion.”

Alisha’s most popular men's products are worn by young men working in banking in the City area in London. 

“The feedback I've received is that they don't sweat as much when wearing organic cotton shirts and tops and that the Gatsby-inspired polo is easy and comfortable to wear under a suit jacket and takes you from work to after work.”

Our potential is greater than we think

From a young age, Alisha’s personal goals in life have been very present. Over the years, her friends have known her of being a very hardworking, determined and open-minded.

“Alisha believes in her friends probably more than they believe in themselves. She is always pushing us forward with our dreams and goals,” says Mirja Vainio, who has known Alisha for many years.   

“Often, during my moments of doubt, she has told me that my true potential is greater than I think. I am so proud of her that even many people doubted her when she started her fashion line, she is now taking of and doing well.”

Alisha does come a cross as a person, who is not afraid of other people’s fortune, rather she drives from it. And she is neither afraid of what other people might think or say - that is what her brand is all about - building your own success. 

Find out more about Dreams and Doors on their website, or click to take a look at Alisha's fashion line for 2015.

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By: Ida Ääri