Shaima Sibtain

Shortly after moving to Dubai, Shaima spent an entire afternoon driving around the city looking for somewhere to donate clothing that deserved a second life. Beautiful pieces, barely worn, and not one obvious place to give them. She came home with the bag still on the back seat and a question she couldn't shake: in a city this full of gorgeous wardrobes, why is it so hard to pass something on?

Not long after, she bought her first pre-loved piece in Dubai. An outdoor furniture set from a community group, paid for in cash, wrestled awkwardly into the back of her car. No verification. No protection. Just hope that everything was as promised.

Two experiences, one realisation. The UAE doesn't have a fashion problem. It has a closet problem. Wardrobes everywhere are packed with pieces people love but no longer wear, and there was no trusted, beautiful, simple way to give them a new home.

So she built one.

Building from scratch is nothing new for Shaima. She started her first business at 21, co-founding a co-working space in West London while working as a signed artist, writing and releasing her own music and running her own independent label.

Then life changed direction. Shaima moved to Dubai with her husband and their one-and-a-half-year-old, stepping away from a career in London that was flying. A few months after her second child arrived, the idea for LUVED arrived too.

LUVED went from idea to app in nine months, launching on iOS on 29 May 2026, with Android following soon after. Built by a small team in Dubai, with a founder mum at the helm who knows exactly how precious time is and how quickly a wardrobe fills up.

LUVED is the UAE's curated home for pre-loved fashion. Luxury, high street, menswear, childrenswear, abayas and Asianwear, all in one place.

Delivery is door to door, anywhere in the UAE. No more cash-in-hand car park handovers.

Listing takes minutes. LUVBOT, our in-app AI assistant, helps you price, describe and promote your pieces.

And you can still give. With LUVED & Gifted, you can pass something on for free to someone who'll love it. The very thing Shaima couldn't find on that first afternoon.

The UAE produces an estimated 220,000 tonnes of textile waste every year, and almost all of it ends up in landfill. Much of it is clothing that still has years of wear left in it.

LUVED was built to change that, one wardrobe at a time. Every piece bought, sold or gifted on LUVED stays in circulation instead of in a bin, and every item already in your wardrobe is one that doesn't need to be made again.

We're proud that LUVED supports the direction the UAE's leadership has set. The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, calls for a more sustainable city that makes better use of its resources. Dubai's Integrated Waste Management Strategy aims for zero waste to landfill by 2041, and the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2021 to 2031 is built around keeping materials in use for longer. LUVED puts that vision into the hands of everyday residents, turning the circular economy into something you can take part in from your phone.

Giving back sits at the heart of everything we do. LUVED began with a donation that had nowhere to go, so gifting is built right into the app. Pass on a piece for free, help a neighbour, and keep something beautiful out of landfill in the same moment.

Every piece that finds a new home shows up on your My Impact dashboard, tracking the carbon and water saved by keeping fashion in circulation. Small choices, adding up to real change for the UAE.

It's not about buying less. It's about loving longer.