Arabian Worlds - Fashion Worlds
12 Aug - 09 Oct 2005
Thinking of Arab countries, we think of women in black garments and head scarves who dominate the streets of many cities in the Middle-East and it is difficult to imagine even the European metropolises without them. Thinking of the world of fashion, cities like New York or Paris come to mind, which to this day are considered centres of the fashion industry, or European and American fashion designers who again and again take inspiration from oriental art and clothing to design gorgeous creations which appear to have sprung from fairy-tale Arabian nights.
In the countries of the Middle East and the Gulf region there is also an authentic, vibrant fashion industry which astonishes Western observers. The 'Oriental Nights' fashion show was held in 2003 in Dubai and the daily Gulf News titled its report about it with 'A modern take on old world designs', which sums up the work of Arab fashion designers in a nut shell. They combine traditional patterns with contemporary materials, or traditional fabrics with modern cuts, without denying their own cultural roots. 'Oriental Nights' models wore long, flowing silk dresses; knee-length 'harem pants' and small, tight-fitting bustiers and mini-dresses under rainbow-coloured jalabiahs. The show also presented luxurious materials embroidered with pearls or decorated with peacock feathers. Every fashion designer in the Arab world demonstrates in his or her own original way the successful fusion of current international trends with the beauty ideals of their own cultures.
As fashion and advertising represent the most important and effective means of communication in today's world so strongly oriented to visual stimuli, it seemed time to give an overview of the lively fashion scene in the fashion metropolises of the Arab world. The exhibition presents a selection of original creations, photographs and film sketches of fashion shows by designers Khaled Al Masri and milia m from Beirut, Adiba Al Mahboub from Kuwait, Mohamed Lakhdar and Najia Abadi from Casablanca, five designers from Lebanon, Kuwait and Morocco. These exhibits are complemented by pieces by the Paris-based Moroccan artist Majida Khattari who, with her objects and performances, addresses subjects related to stripping or dressing.
With the exhibition 'Arabian Worlds – Fashion Worlds', the ifa galleries aim to make us visually more receptive to the fusion of native and foreign, past and present, interior and exterior, stripped and dressed that is occasionally hidden, or else obvious, sometimes traditional and classical, or else avant-garde in a provocative way, but always successful...
In the countries of the Middle East and the Gulf region there is also an authentic, vibrant fashion industry which astonishes Western observers. The 'Oriental Nights' fashion show was held in 2003 in Dubai and the daily Gulf News titled its report about it with 'A modern take on old world designs', which sums up the work of Arab fashion designers in a nut shell. They combine traditional patterns with contemporary materials, or traditional fabrics with modern cuts, without denying their own cultural roots. 'Oriental Nights' models wore long, flowing silk dresses; knee-length 'harem pants' and small, tight-fitting bustiers and mini-dresses under rainbow-coloured jalabiahs. The show also presented luxurious materials embroidered with pearls or decorated with peacock feathers. Every fashion designer in the Arab world demonstrates in his or her own original way the successful fusion of current international trends with the beauty ideals of their own cultures.
As fashion and advertising represent the most important and effective means of communication in today's world so strongly oriented to visual stimuli, it seemed time to give an overview of the lively fashion scene in the fashion metropolises of the Arab world. The exhibition presents a selection of original creations, photographs and film sketches of fashion shows by designers Khaled Al Masri and milia m from Beirut, Adiba Al Mahboub from Kuwait, Mohamed Lakhdar and Najia Abadi from Casablanca, five designers from Lebanon, Kuwait and Morocco. These exhibits are complemented by pieces by the Paris-based Moroccan artist Majida Khattari who, with her objects and performances, addresses subjects related to stripping or dressing.
With the exhibition 'Arabian Worlds – Fashion Worlds', the ifa galleries aim to make us visually more receptive to the fusion of native and foreign, past and present, interior and exterior, stripped and dressed that is occasionally hidden, or else obvious, sometimes traditional and classical, or else avant-garde in a provocative way, but always successful...