Living in the limelight is never an easy thing but the Kuwaiti fashion-blogging couple, Ascia Al-Faraj and her husband Ahmad Al Bloushi, otherwise known as the Hybrids, have taken fame in their stride. Daring to look different, in a modest and elegant way, they’ve emerged as social media style icons to a new generation of Arabs.
Scroll through the incredibly popular Instagram accounts of Ascia_Akf (Ascia Kamel Al Faraj) and her husband Ahmad_Asb (Ahmad Samir Al Bloushi), otherwise known as the Hybrids, and it’s easy to see the couple’s social media appeal. For one, they’re both good-looking. Then there’s the fact that their sense of style is always spot on but in a manner that’s never too revealing or suggestive. In a recent snap, clad in a cream-coloured coat from Tory Burch’s autumn collection, Ascia accessorizes with an ivory turban that snugly frames her face, and starlet-sized sunglasses in a shade of nut-brown. While the turban is an uncommon choice in Kuwait, she claims to have been inspired by Islamic Malaysian fashion, which takes a bolder approach to hair covering. Evidently, she is a firm believer in headwear with personality.
“I like to say that it’s eclectic and ever-changing because I draw inspiration from everywhere,” Ascia says as she reflects on the style that has catapulted her and her husband of three years, Ahmad Al Bloushi, into the spotlight. Only in their late twenties, the pair didn’t initially envision a career in the public eye. Prior to their blogging, Ahmad was completing his studies in mechanical engineering while Ascia was considering her options after graduating with a double major in political science and anthropology. “It all came about to fill the void in the market we had for modest wear, both in the region and in general. It began as a hobby at university and has grown exponentially since,” Ahmad says, explaining how, as fashionable young Kuwaitis themselves, they soon realised that their demographic – young, affluent and stylish Muslims – weren’t being represented, and the only way to fix that was to take the lead in creating online content themselves.
Now the pair, who first met through mutual friends, are responsible for an influential budding business that catalogues their brand of glamour and gloss. As new world opinion leaders, they are said to be paid handsomely for promotional posts, event appearances and even brand representations, and in addition to their Instagram channels, there’s their blog – The Hybrids (so named because they’re both of mixed heritage), which covers street-style snapshots and candid posts, as well as Desert Baby, a “baby-wearing brand” they started (no doubt inspired by the needs of their own son Adam), which offers among other things, sleek, Arabesque-inspired slings for newborns. Additional plans for expansion are also being hatched: “We want to create a killer YouTube channel catering to modest dressing.”
Despite success in building their profiles, they face a common ailment of working couples: it’s easy for the job to take over. “The hardest part [of working together] is the amount of travelling we do, and having to take so many photos of one another,” they reflect. Still, they’re quick to point out that the difficulties of their partnership are also the most rewarding. After all, it’s what has allowed them to turn a hobby into business, and personal style into pay cheques.