The Story of Our Birth

It all started with a late-night, not-so-regular conversation that happened to turn into a deeply thoughtful exchange, the way our talks usually do. These neck-deep philosophical conversations only seem to happen for us past midnight; they are rare, if not nonexistent, during the day.

Words started flowing between the two of us (we're sisters), Hamna and Aatika. A rhythmic beat turned intense as the night grew later. The conversation gained a sudden depth, and out of nowhere, a crazy idea popped into our heads: "We are talking about such good things that everyone can relate to. Why don't we share our deepest thoughts with the world? Like, let's 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 incredibly fast, and we immediately started brainstorming names for our podcast. Hamna and I were both in the process of learning Turkish at the time, and "Siyah" meaning "black" in Turkish and several other languages was a word we used frequently back then. It was perfect because we were both deeply in love with the color black; obsessed, even. It naturally fit our vibe.

For the second part of the name, we brainstormed to pick a connecting Turkish word. "Aşk," meaning "love," initially came to mind, but it just didn't align with our overall concept. While playing around with the sounds of ‘aşk’, the word "aks" suddenly popped up, and we instantly knew it was right.

We wanted to do a podcast differently, without revealing our faces, almost like the concept of two shadows talking. "Aks" (reflection) perfectly matched this vision.

SiyahAks: Black Reflection. It was the perfect name. We fell in love with it immediately and put it into action the very next morning. We created social handles and immediately started planning the episodes.

But within just a few days of that initial discussion, we decided not to do the podcast. We ended that chapter by deciding that, sooner or later, we would start a fashion brand with this beautiful name instead. This was because Hamna and I truly love decent, elegant, and gracefully covered clothing. Crucially, we have always trusted our own taste on this.

Our sense of style really came from our father. He has a brilliant eye for clothes, and most of our event dresses, if not all, were his choices. We would go shopping with him, and he would pick out pieces that we would absolutely love; pieces that complemented our personalities and were deeply graceful in their own right.

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

To this day, he is still the one we go to for an honest opinion on our outfits. We wanted to channel that exact grace into 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 running our own marketing and communications agency. She was managing her clients, and I was doing the same. We figured that once we were fully settled in our careers, we would launch this passion project together. 

For a whole year, there was no mention of SiyahAks. It lived silently as a set of passwords saved in my credentials document. 

We wanted to focus on our agency first because we didn't want SiyahAks to feel purely business-oriented; we envisioned it as a passion brought to life, designed to give something genuinely valuable to the world.

Cut to May 2024. We were heavily involved in eCommerce. Hamna was working as a content strategist, and I was handling the marketing. We were sifting through a lot of ideas, searching for a project or product to focus on, but 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 exact same day we had to cancel a separate project we had been working on for weeks due to unforeseen circumstances.

During the conversation, my father mentioned meeting a man selling modest wear in Kuwait who needed help with his marketing. Initially, we weren't interested in taking on a new client because we wanted to focus on our own internal projects. Our first reaction was simply, "maybe later."

But then my father said: "I think we should sell modest wear ourselves. We can make a really good impact through it." He suggested we conduct some market research and see where it took us. Then, he proposed the name: “SiyahAks.”

That was the exact point where I melted into the idea.

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

To tell the truth, I felt a bit pressured and couldn't fully grasp the execution at first, so Hamna and I decided to rethink it that night. We didn’t say much during the day, but a few words were exchanged later on:

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

Hamna: "If we're going to go typical, then NO. But it could be promising if we design the products ourselves. You know how much we planned for SiyahAks... I don't want to compromise on our founding thoughts for this name."

Aatika: "Of course. We are absolutely going to head the design ourselves. No way we are going typical with SiyahAks."

Silence followed.

The next morning, around 6 AM, I started researching the industry and found it incredibly promising. I immediately began planning the execution to see if it was structurally feasible. And it clicked. We felt it was completely perfect!

We officially claimed the name SiyahAks before even finalizing the finer project details because it just felt right.

So, we first spoke about it on May 22nd. After digging into the research, we were totally sold by May 23rd. We dove headfirst into operations on May 28th and started figuring out our big picture; our WHY!

We knew this was more than a commercial project; our hearts were fully invested in its creation. We needed to keep that love alive. Finding our WHY went so deep into our hearts that it felt incredibly right, like nothing else in the world mattered. We were completely smitten, head over heels in love with this vision. It was a feeling of, "We're in this for the rest of our lives!" We were ready to bet everything on this dream.

We took a massive risk and shut down all our other projects. It was terrifying, but we knew this was it. We held onto just enough clients to keep the lights on while we poured our hearts and souls into building this movement with our amazing team.

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 Siyah Aks.

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 modest 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.