DUBAI: A 13-year old Emirati girl Najla saw her dream turn into reality when a Dubai hotel partnered up with Make A Wish Foundation to give her an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a fashion designer.

Najla, who has Type 1 diabetes, has always been keen on becoming a fashion designer, and was selected by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to have her wish granted. One morning she was caught by surprise at her doorstep, when the team from the hotel offered to make her wish come true. Najla was whisked away to the Juri Fashion studio for a full day learning, after which she was given a chance to put her learning into practice and design her own fashionable dress.

During the day, distinguished fashion designer Arwa Baitelmal from Juri Fashion taught Najla how to take measurements, gave her insights about sketching and showed her techniques in cutting and sewing on professional machines. Najla almost couldn’t believe she was designing a dress for herself, it was a dream come true.

The culmination of an exciting week was an invitation for a 2-night stay at the hotel’s luxurious suite with Najla’s parents and brother, followed by a fashion-themed private party, where she could demonstrate to her friends all the learnings from the fashion studio. The party concluded with revealing a princesslike dress, gifted to Najla by Juri Fashion designer Arwa, in addition to the sewing machine, leather sketching books and sketching pencils from the hotel team.