Flowing exotic fabric, luxuriant designs, sensuality, heavy beading and a fusion of wild bright colors; throw a woman in the picture, andshe’s instantly transformed into Ramadan mode with a thobe (Arabicfor robe).
With such vivid variety engulfing a Saudi woman’s sense offashion, how does one decide and distinguish between what thobedesigns work? What are the successful approaches taken today by differentthobe designers? Why is there a need to experiment with tradition?
Traditionally, women’s thobes tell the stories of the women who wore them, their lifestyle and where they came from. Thobeswere part of a woman’s everyday dress as they dressed according tocontext and circumstance.
The cut, color, pattern and fabric distinguished each thobe and the region it came from. Yet today, regionaldistinction isn’t what guides these thobes to be the highlight of Ramadandress code. In fact, it is the claim of being in touch with “modestbeauty and elegance,” explains Rabia Abbas, who also believes thatthobes have a spiritual meaning behind them.
“Thobes are worn in Ramadan simply because they are intertwined with spirituality. Thusthe loose, thrown-on, air lifting feeling a thobe guarantees.”
As an example of those who utilize tradition to create an elegant
” Her thobes tend and striking thobe, designer Rabia Abbas states, “I simply rely onwhat I know and who I am, and God guides the rest.to attain a certain vintage spirit joined with a touch of modern adaptations.
Her designs possess an exclusive superiority that is strongly influenced by her colorful heritage of Turkish, Persian, Arabian Gulfand Russian roots - which bestow a definition to her designs.
From her days as a catwalk stage designer to where she is today,Rabia expanded her love for the art of fashion through her currentflame designing elegantly feminine thobes and abayas.
“Remaining feminine never goes out of style, and that in itself is an everlastingstatement. It’s all about creating a piece that is authentic, regal andstylish.” She continues to emphasize on the importance of how thobesshould work with the person wearing them, “the feel and fall of fabricare crucial to perfecting the right thobe design. In addition to thefinish, these design principles are what distinguish a perfectly craftedthobe to a poorly cut one.”
Whatever the style, a profusion of shapely, sweeping,dramatic colors and cuts instantly throws a womaninto another dimension. Hence, designers like KindahSais have decided to break with tradition and slice thethobe in half, weaving in authentic fabric and lining.
“Dress it up or dress it down. The style of a maternity top is perfectly catered for different women with differentshapes and tastes where she is mostly covered,” addsKindah on her rational behind her take on contemporarythobe design.
Kindah Sais, a self taught fashion designer, businesswoman and co-founder of Abazaarkm (a fashion group which houses exotic Arabian clothing and holds Arabesquefashion shows), gives us an opportunity to appreciate the thobe quite differentlywith her unexpected melodramatic cuts that still remain true to the Arabianenigmatic traditions of local clothing.
Kindah’s approach to the feminine thobe is one where modernity just manages to dominate tradition without eliminating the beauty of tradition. Boldly experimentingwith a chopped knee-length thobe has proven to be a hit with customers. Thecut, however, is not the only important factor for Kindah.
Particular attention is given to the fabric used in her designs. Her products feature various material such as silk,chiffon, camel hair, cotton and rarely used Assiri fabric, adding an authentic touch toan ultra modern thobe.
In light of it all, the thobe or robe hasn’t just survived time; it has always been and is still as solid as a rock in its symbolic beauty. A never-dying product, thobes aremuch like the environments they originate from - shifting. Women, who wear them,admirably make it a point to keep the evolutionary process going. The value they putcould be argued in a multitude of ways; yet one fact remains, the Ramadan thoberepresents an identity that is both spiritual and cultural.