Margeni: The New Egyptian Brand Making Chic Eveningwear Affordable

Call us silly, but we always tend to get a tad overexcited when wedding season rolls around. It's the perfect excuse to get dolled up, buy a new dress and party until the wee hours of the morning. However, in the weeks leading up to the wedding, there's always somewhat of a panic over what we're going to be wearing and how we'll be able to afford it - the quintessential millennial problem.

Having launched in January, Egyptian brand Margeni is an online account that aims to fill this heinous gap in the market by designing and selling gorgeous evening dresses and cocktail wear at reasonable prices. Founded by Mariam Zeinhom and Yevegeniya RB, Margeni's aesthetic and design philosophy is dictated by the aim of providing simple, chic dresses for the average Egyptian woman. 

EGP 1,850

“We want to make a brand about real people," Zeinhom told CairoScene. "When we started designing the dresses, we spoke to people that we know and asked them what they like and what they don’t like. It was more about what people wanted rather than being about what we wanted to make. We followed the same sort of concept for the photo shoot in that nothing was choreographed. It was very real, it wasn’t posed. We just put on some music and the models basically had fun.”

With a background in finance, Zeinhom found herself exposed to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which acted as a catalyst for the decision to start her own enterprise.

“I’ve worked with a couple of entrepreneurs, all of whom were in different industries," she explains. "The one thing that they all had in common, regardless of age or gender, was the passion and commitment they had. It's infectious."

EGP 3,900 & EGP 1,999

Zeinhom, who has always been passionate about clothes, design and fashion in general, quit her job and set sail on her new voyage by taking a pattern-making course. It was by a lucky twist of fate that she ended up meeting the person who would be come her partner during the course.

“Basically, my partner is my pattern-making course teacher. When the course ended, it was around the time I was getting married, “ Zeinhom recalls. “We decided to partner up and make my wedding dress. We designed everything together from A-to-Z and, once we were done, we realised how well we worked together and decided to start something.”

Finding inspiration in designs that are timeless yet still trendy, Margeni is your go to for dresses that are authentic and that look to what the customer wants. Costing between EGP 1,000 to EGP 4,000, Margeni's dresses are great for evening as well as afternoon weddings. 

“Our designs are inspired by what women want but can’t find in the market,” says Zeinhom. “It’s all about real people.”

Check out Margeni on Instagram or visit their website.