The Story of Our Birth

It all started with a late-night, not-so-regular conversation that happened to turn into a thoughtful exchange, like we usually do.

These neck-deep philosophical talks only happen for us past midnight. They're rare, if not nonexistent, during the day.

Words happened between two of us (sisters in relation), Hamna and Aatika. A rhythmic beat turned intense and late.

Depth began to happen in our conversation and out of nowhere, this crazy idea popped into our heads: "we are talking about so good things, everyone can relate, why don't we share our deepest thoughts with the world? Like, make a podcast or something.”

We were both totally into these conversations and it felt like everyone else would be too. So, we thought, why not?

The idea clicked with us really fast, and we started thinking about the name we wanted to use for our podcast.

Hamna and I were both in the process of learning Turkish during that period. And "Siyah," meaning "black" in Turkish and many other languages, was a word we used frequently back then.

This was perfect as we were both deeply in love with the color black—obsessed, even. It naturally fits our first name.

For our last name, we brainstormed to pick a connecting Turkish word, and "aşk," meaning "love," initially came to mind. However, it didn't align with our overall concept.

Playing with ‘aşk’, suddenly a random term "aks" popped up, and we instantly knew it was right.

We wanted to do a podcast differently, without revealing our faces, similar to the concept of two shadows talking. "Aks" perfectly matched this idea.

SiyahAks—black reflection—was the perfect name. We fell in love with it immediately and took it into action the very next morning.

We created a social media and YouTube account, then started planning the podcast.

But I don't exactly remember how, but I think within a few days of our discussion, we decided not to do the podcast. I'll edit the story as soon as I remember that.

Following the patterns, we ended the conversation by deciding that we would sooner or later start a fashion brand with this beautiful name. This is because Hamna and I truly love decent, elegant, and gracefully covered clothing. Importantly, we've always trusted our own taste on this.

Our sense of style really came from our father. He had a great eye for clothes, and even if not all, most of our event dresses were his choices. We would go shopping with him, and he'd pick one out that we would absolutely love, the one that complements our personality and is graceful in its own right. 

"A graceful dress," he would say, "represents a strong and elegant personality."

He's still the one we go to for an honest opinion on our outfits. We wanted to channel that grace in our clothes through the brand, and after a few more discussions, we committed to building a brand - someday in our lives.

At that time, both my sister and I were working on our own marketing and communications company. She was working with clients, and I was doing the same. We thought once we were settled in our careers, we would launch this passion project together.

For a year, there was no mention of SiyahAks, just the passwords saved in my credentials document.

We wanted to focus on our agency first and then tackle this project because we didn't want it to be business-oriented; instead, we envisioned it as a passion brought to life and something valuable to the world.

In May 2024, we were heavily involved in eCommerce. Hamna was a content strategist, and I was handling marketing. We were going through a lot of ideas and searching for a project or product to focus on.

SiyahAks was still far from our minds.

On May 22, we were sitting in the office with Hamna, my father, and a team member, brainstorming ideas. Ironically, that was the same day we canceled a project we had been working on for weeks due to circumstances.

During the talk, my father mentioned meeting a man selling modest wear in Kuwait who wanted help with marketing. Initially, we weren't interested in taking on a client because we were focused on our own projects. So, our first reaction was 'maybe later'.

My father said: 'I think we should sell modest wear, a good impact we can make through it.’ He suggested conducting market research, and seeing where that takes us.

He further proposed to name it “SiyahAks.” That's the point where I melted towards the idea.

The idea hung in the air, pregnant with possibility, but also laced with unspoken concerns.

To tell the truth, I felt pressured and couldn't fully grasp the idea at first, but Hamna and I decided to re-think about it at night. We didn’t talk about it much but a few words got exchanged.

Aatika: Hamna, what do you think about the idea of selling modest wear?

Hamna: If we gonna go typical, then NO. But, it could be promising if we do the designing of our products ourselves. You know, we planned so much in relation to SiyahAks, I don't wanna compromise on our founding thought of this name.

Aatika: Ofcourse, we are going to head the design ourselves. No way we are going typical with SiyahAks.

Silence….

The next morning, around 6 AM, I started researching the industry and found it very promising. I immediately began planning the execution to see if it was feasible. And it clicked.

We felt it was perfect!

We decided to name it SiyahAks even before finalizing any project details because it just felt right.

So, we first talked about this on May 22nd. After doing some research and looking into SiyahAks, we were totally sold by May 23rd. We dove headfirst into things on May 28th and started figuring out our big picture, the WHY!

We knew this was more than a project; our hearts were invested in its creation. We needed to keep that love alive. This wasn't just a project for us. It had to be something more.

Finding our WHY went so so deep to the heart that It felt so incredibly right, like nothing else in the world mattered. We were totally smitten, head over heels in love with this idea.

It was like, "We're in for the rest of our lives!" We were ready to bet everything on this dream. 

We took a risk, shutting down all our other projects. It was scary, but we knew this was it. We held onto our clients just to keep the lights on while we poured our hearts and souls into building this thing with our amazing team of seven.

And…

The birth happened with a purpose, a vision, a dream to meet modest women’s desire to wear clothes that fit the life and times they live in, while elegantly holding the codes of modesty, confidence, and grace.

We saw your struggle to find clothes that felt both modern and respectful of your beliefs, outfits that truly let you be “YOU”. The truth is, that mainstream fashion often overlooks modest dressing, leaving you frustrated and limited.

Women who wanted to look stylish while obeying the modesty rules didn’t have much choice.

The point is, that it's not about size, body type, or budget that limits your choices. It's about your precious values, which haven't been well-served by the fashion industry.

You deserve clothes that make you feel confident and powerful, no matter what. Because confidence comes from feeling beautiful in your skin. And every woman deserves to feel that feeling.

We believe modest fashion isn't separate from mainstream fashion. It's all about self-expression; just with a little more elegance and coverage. It's about looking and feeling beautiful without compromising your beliefs. For us, modesty is about covering what needs to be covered in a way that's both stylish and respectful.

Every woman has the right to look her best, on her own terms. What you wear is more than just fabric; it's an expression of who you are, a source of confidence, and a way to tell the world your story. We believe that when you feel good in your clothes, you radiate confidence—and YOU deserve that.

The truth is, shopping for modest clothing can be tough. The options have been limited, and mainstream stores rarely cater to Islamic dress codes. This means unsuitable necklines, short hemlines, and the constant struggle to coordinate with hijabs.

That's the story behind the birth of SiyahAks.

Our mission is to make women feel amazing, both inside and out. We want you to embrace your sense of style and feel glamorous, even when covered. We believe in giving you the freedom to express yourself while looking undeniably elegant.

We believe the core principles of Islamic dress are actually quite simple. It's about loose-fitting clothing that covers your body. You shouldn’t see skin, and it shouldn’t be tight. The length and width of the garments matter, but it's not about restrictions. It's about looking beautiful with confidence, and that's something we can all get behind.