Jerusalem-born Thea Porter grew up in Damascus, Syria and spent her early adult life in Beirut, Lebanon. She started to design clothes after moving to London in 1964. She combined her artist's eye with a knowledge of garment construction and textiles from around the world, including the West African dashiki and the Berber djellaba, to produce luxurious garments that appealed to an affluent clientele with hippie sensibilities. Her brilliantly coloured, printed silk caftans were often patch-worked with luxurious brocades or decorated with embroidered embellishments, cleverly combining elements of European and Middle Eastern fashions.