With the new generations becoming more and more attracted and attached to the modern Western look, sales of dishdashas over the last 10 years have dropped considerably. However, according to Hany Al- Elwani, founder of Dishdasha Express Co, the traditional dishdasha is not going to become extinct anytime soon, despite its declining appeal among younger generations. In fact, his company continues to educate Kuwaitis about the importance of the traditional clothes which they usually wear during formal occasions. "Traditional dishdasha is still very appealing as elegant, respectable and fashionable attire for men. So we are motivating younger generations to wear traditional dishdashas and be proud of it," he said. "We are trying to educate our customers about the importance of the dishdasha and changing the mindset of newer generations.
We target these generations of Kuwaitis through use of various social media such as Facebook, Twitter (@dishdashaXpress) and most recently instagram (@dishdasha)," Elwani added. While the new generations of Kuwaitis are becoming more and more attracted to signature brands, dishdashas will nevertheless be around for many generations to come. "Take note that branded clothes are far more expensive than the traditional dishdasha. So it balances the appetite versus the desire of the youth and is an answer to the pressure to own an impressive piece of attire," he said. "We can proudly say that we have created vast amounts of dishdashas over the last two years, and the numbers are growing.
We don't see dishdashas becoming extinct any time in the near future. It is still the traditional wear and always will be part of Kuwait's heritage that has been passed down from our grandfathers as we will pass it down to our children. This is what makes us proud and inspires us to keep manufacturing the dishdashas," he said. As it is the official formal wear for any ceremony or special events such as weddings, Eid gatherings, governmental or social gatherings, funerals, etc, Kuwaiti men are invariably seen wearing the traditional dishdasha. "If you ask any anybody today in Kuwait, which apparel gives them the most respect and prestige, they will always say it is the dishdasha. No matter what brand of clothes you wear to work or any formal gathering, the dishdasha along with right head wear (ghutra, gahfeya and egal) will always elicit respect from others, as this is the formal local wear," Elwani said.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Contributing to less fortunate/less privileged people is part of their business too. "We strongly believe in contributing a part of our services to those less fortunate. That does not mean limiting our contribution to just the local people, as it is mostly people internationally who are most in need. We choose different charities, but mostly work with our uncle who knows how to reach those who are most in need.
They could be from neighboring countries in the Middle East, or those living under extreme circumstances in Asian countries. We make sure that all clothes that are in a good condition find new homes," he opined. Elwani believes that all medium and large businesses should do charitable work, whether by contributing a part of their sales or a part of their services towards those who are less fortunate. Living in a world where information is easily passed through media (TV, radio, newspapers, Internet, etc) as well as by word of mouth, Dishdasha Express responded to many narratives from unfortunate and marginalized people, and its efforts brought such a good response that it decided to never give up the art of giving (charities). "Along with our strong belief in corporate social responsibility, we have received a lot of recommendations from our clients, who strive towards helping those who are in need with their old dishdashas. Most contributions are from clients who wear a dishdasha 3-4 times only.
Besides wishing or praying for them, they seek to take action as words can only take you so far. So far, most of the dishdashas we have received are from small contributors, and need a little mending or no work at all. We always recommend that people should donate clothes after cleaning, washing, ironing and packing them well as this is a gift to those in need. Just because you are giving it for free does not mean you can neglect them," he explained. Dishdasha Express looks forward to more old dishdasha contributions in the near future, and to possibly keep track of their donations from 2013 onwards and publishing the data on its website. "This will inspire those who otherwise discard their old dishdashas." Dishdasha Express is a Kuwaiti established company that was co-founded in 2010 by four cousins who wanted to set high standards in tailoring the traditional Middle Eastern man's dishdasha. "We see our business as a passion, and it is clearly reflected through our highly experienced staff. Our unique branding techniques are reverberated through truly creative and inspirational ideas, and with the help of our clients we enjoy nothing better than seeing them turned into elegantly crafted, perfectly fitting accoutrements," he said. Dishdasha Express is the first official tailoring service where specially trained staff comes as per the comfort of their client whenever and wherever they are. Dishdasha Express is under the management of young ambitious Kuwaiti businessmen with a mission to achieve distinction for their luxurious quality of tailoring from the rest. "We are bespoke outfitters making some of the best dishdashas available in the region," Elwani beamed. Dishdasha Express supplies premium quality fabrics which are manufactured to a high level of technical specification to meet their clients' needs. Dishdasha Express depends upon its tailors for giving its dishdashas the luxury distinction that men look for in today's modern lifestyle, but at affordable prices. "At Dishdasha Express, we always cherish our legacy of high quality standards over price. From the entire tailoring construction of your bespoke dishdashas to the quality of the fabrics, we can proudly say that we produce some of the finest custom made dishdashas Kuwait has to offer to fulfill our clients' tailoring needs and help them succeed in their projects." Asked why they chose this business rather than going in for restaurants or any other business, he said, "There are no high standard tailors out there in the market that give the traditional Middle Eastern attire the quality it really deserves and make it into a brand.
By providing extra services to fully customize your dishdasha along with our home delivery service, we aim to set a high bar for those around us. We look at our business with a passion to grow and be the best at what we do." Dishdasha businesses in Kuwait are mainly being run by Iranians, Indians and Pakistanis. "They all do produce some of the best tailored dishdashas in the market, but they do not have high standards as all the shops look and feel the same.
Till date, you can haggle with the tailor, whether you want your dishdasha for KD 4, KD 5 or KD 6. We have fixed our rates to make it fair for all our clients as we believe in treating all our customers equally," he said. Like any business should, Dishdasha Express also looks towards expanding its reach. "We have a plan to grow in the market, both locally and internationally. Once we feel that we have conquered the market in Kuwait by expanding in many locations in different areas, we look forward to move on to neighboring countries. The plan also involves providing a larger collection of fabrics along with our tailoring services. With the help of the Internet, we believe these landmarks can be easily achieved," he said. Elwani admitted that with the global economic troubles still hovering around, the prices of fabrics have been affected. "Most of our fabrics come from either European countries such as Spain, Italy, Switzerland, England and Germany or Asian countries such as Japan.
The crises lead to a higher price when purchasing these high end fabrics, often accounting for an increase of approximately 30 percent of the cost. During the tsunami which took place early last year in Japan, most of the factories faced devastating losses in raw materials as their stocks were all damaged. Some well known factories also faced bankruptcies and were forced to shut down. The European market is extremely linked to the euro. When the euro is strong, purchase of fabrics is also affected," Elwani concluded.
© Kuwait Times 2012
