We cross the Creek to Deira.

Deira is the trading half of Dubai. Dhows load along the Creek wharfage on Baniyas Road, and the Gold Souq and Spice Souq sit a few lanes from the water. Around them live some of the city's longest-settled trading families, in Al Rigga, Al Muraqqabat, Naif and Port Saeed. The district also draws buyers from across Africa and Asia, who come for gold and textiles and stay in the hotels around Baniyas Square.

West African clients are a large part of our Deira work. A trader in from Kano or Lagos messages us on WhatsApp, and we measure him at his hotel with the fabric books open. Babban rigas and agbadas are the usual order, with embroidery drawn to his taste, plus a kaftan for the days between meetings. For the district's own gold traders and shipping agents, the three-piece suit is still the working uniform. We fit it in offices off Al Maktoum Road and along Baniyas Road.

Everything is cut at our Business Bay atelier, fifteen to twenty-five minutes from Deira. We group Deira appointments so a hotel visit, a home fitting and an office measuring share one trip across the Creek. If your schedule is built around a flight, give us the dates first and we plan the fittings backwards from departure day. Many repeat clients simply reorder from their stored pattern between trips.

Union station, on both the Red and Green lines, serves the Al Rigga end of the district. Street parking near the souqs is scarce, so most clients book home, office or hotel visits, and evening appointments are no problem.