Amal Medani

Amal Medani, a third generation diplomat, is the founder of the MEDANI brand. Born in London and educated in Beirut, Prague, Addis Ababa, New York, Bonn, and Boston, her decades-long career as an international development practitioner at the United Nations and in a variety of related international organizations has spanned the globe from Africa and the Middle East to West and Eastern Europe and Asia.

The concept behind the brand and the Medani Travel Set is not only influenced by this cosmopolitan upbringing and career as an international development professional; it is greatly inspired by Amal’s intimate understanding of the real practical challenges professionals face in meeting their work as well as social and familial obligations in the course of their international travels.

Professionals with regular travel obligations will recognize one, or all, of the following questions that routinely arise just before they are heading to the airport:

What is the best way for me to minimize the stress of this upcoming business trip from New York to Addis Ababa, from Johannesburg to Cairo, or from Geneva to Dubai? What work-related equipment and accessories do I need the most during my trip across one, if not two, continents?

Is it going to be possible for me to meet the challenge of the twin necessities of travelling with my all-important reports, files and laptop, while simultaneously including all my personal accessories in a way that is both comfortable and meets the "full cycle" of my actual travel needs, but also markedly elegant?

Amal says, "When you travel frequently, you move from the plane directly to a boardroom.

There are dinners and events to attend, and always the desire to explore the local culture whilst you are there. You need a travel bag, with a sense of genuine order that is also rich in contemporary style."

The answer lies in the beautiful craftsmanship, cosmopolitan and sophisticated practicality of the Medani Travel Set.

Carefully handmade in historic Venice of the most beautiful authentic leather, with each item purposely conceived as a unique and original design, the Medani Travel Set consists of a series of luxurious travel accessories and functional inner bags, avant-garde purses and handbags, all of which combine to allow professionals to travel, walk, and take that taxi from airport to boardroom, from hotel to dinner table, and from conference hall to local cultural and historic sites with elegance as well as with a sense of confidence; and with a feeling of no small measure of reward for a job well done while simultaneously allowing oneself the luxury of enjoying the wonderful privilege that is global travel.

Inspiration for The Kerma Collection:

Concept - Travel, Work and Leisure

But behind the concept of the MEDANI brand and combined with the expert craftsmanship and functional sophistication of her collection, is something more; something truly unique, deeply historic, and universal, and genuinely inspiring: the ancient civilizations of the Nile Valley.

The great civilizations of the Nile, and those of Nubia, Kush and Meroe in particular, renowned for their awe-inspiring craftsmanship, exquisite jewellery forged from gold, copper, gems and other semi-precious stones, and the magnificent range of palettes and colours produced by advanced artisanal technologies, comprise the central inspiration of the MEDANI Collection.

As a Nubian herself, whose family is rooted in the historic town of Wadi Halfa on the River Nile’s second cataract, Amal wanted this particular Travel and Leisure KERMA collection to directly, creatively and proudly draw its inspiration from this world heritage.

The kingdom of Kerma, in Nubia, was one of the first ancient civilizations to create and trade in luxury goods, renowned for its opulent creations in architecture, jewellery and art.

As befitting the legacy of the Kandakas, the title bestowed upon the Queens of Ancient Nubia, the Kerma Civilization Collection, is named after the glorious legacy of Kerma-the capital of the ancient city of the Nubian Empire.

Just as the Ancients of the Nile Valley chose to craft and wear some of the most elegant, sophisticated and beautiful adornments known to human civilization, the Medani Travel Set allow its owners the opportunity to carry with them, even if only on a trip from Karachi to Brussels, Lagos to Accra, or New York to London, items whose designs draw inspiration from the foundational and pioneering craftsmanship, designs, and revered culture of the universally shared, and truly global, heritage of the Great Civilizations of the River Nile.

The leisure collection

To pay homage to the innovations and artisanry of the ancient Kingdom of Nubia, in the Leisure Collection, each AIDA and NONI Bag is named after and takes its inspiration directly from museum pieces or ancient design influences such as ancient hieroglyphic script, semi-precious stones, blue-faience jewellery, pottery or from Nubia’s love of dramatic gold jewellery.

In addition, the guiding principle behind the design of the Leisure Collection is based on Amal’s view, which is that any woman’s handbag should first and foremost stand out as a piece of unique art – a unique handbag that is just a little bit out of the ordinary.

Almost classic yet contemporary in design, Amal feels that carrying the AIDA Bag should make every woman feel unique, enjoy its "Art-inspired" luxurious feel whilst exuding her own signature style.

As a bold statement in itself, Amal feels that a woman's bag should, in fact, be the centrepiece to what she may wish to wear that day.

Brand Philosophy

"Limited Luxury for Limited Waste"

Whether it is our current KERMA civilization-inspired Collection today or future designs, our leisure bags will continue to have an artistic flair, always emphasizing craftsmanship and always embodying Amal’s global influences.

In addition, the MEDANI luxury brand is embedded in our own philosophy of "limited luxury for limited waste" and will continue to be produced in limited quantities, ensuring that our production is driven by customer demand and thus reducing excessive production.