Fashion in Reverse

Maison Q founder and creative director Suhana Ab shares insights from a decade of creating reversible childrenswear and forging collaborations with iconic brands

- Nafeesa Saini

Suhana Ab never envisioned herself working in fashion, let alone leading a brand centred around it. With a decade spent in publishing, immersed in the luxury lifestyle space, she honed her creative instincts. Yet, it was only after motherhood that she discovered a way to channel her editorial expertise into something truly her own with childrenswear brand Maison Q.

“My daughter was born in 2013. [I started] Maison Q at the end of 2015, right before my son was born. I wanted the flexibility of time [with my children],” she recalls. She began searching for a career that could offer both flexibility and creative fulfillment. Encouraged by her husband, who had experience running a modestwear brand, Suhana took her first steps into entrepreneurship.

During the first year of running Maison Q, she continued working full-time as an editor, meeting with dealers and laying the groundwork for her business even while on maternity leave. Inspired by the rise of the OOTD (short for Outfit of the Day) culture and mother-daughter “twinning” fashion, Suhana envisioned designing clothes for her children that blended style, functionality, and mirrored the essence of the “beautiful brands” she had long admired in her career.