Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009

Gulf News

Dubai: There are all sorts of abayas, the traditional dress worn by Arab women, in the market. You can certainly get one of the black garments in a Sharjah souq for not more than Dh70, and if you are lucky and good at bargaining, you will still get a discount.

But, for many people, an abaya is not just a simple item of clothing. It is a traditional dress representing the wearer's national identity, which makes it a matter of pride and elegance.

That is why there are high-quality, luxury abayas on the market, and they are in great demand in the UAE and beyond, whether or not there is an economic downturn.

"There was no effect of the economic downturn to our business at all," says Nasser Abdul Rahman, operations manager at First Lady, one of the UAE's most exclusive abaya producers.

Customers continue flocking to the Sharjah-based First Lady's nine shops throughout the UAE, and demand from abroad has picked up so much that First Lady is now going to launch its first shops outside the UAE, beginning with Doha and Muscat by the end of this year.

The next step will be to open more outlets in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, Nasser says.

First Lady caters to a certain base of female customers who attach great importance to the design of the abaya and, specifically, their embellishment with Swarovski crystals.

The combination of a deep black abaya featuring a floral design of colourful crystals makes up the quintessence of a high-quality, fashionable abaya.

"We have very selective customers who know what they want," Nasser says.

In the First Lady store in Sharjah's Sahara Centre mall, a wide variety of high-end abayas are on display, based on satin, silk or chiffon fabrics, each with handmade crystal applications and embroidery.

Presently, 25 designs are available in the shops, Nasser says.

"But a number of our customers also bring their own design concepts and we are able to produce an individual, unique abaya in about four to five days," he adds.

All this comes at a price: Off-the-peg abayas with Swarovski crystal applications and embroidery start at Dh2,000 and can go up to Dh9,000, depending on the amount of crystals used, the complexity of the patterns, the fabric and the style and number of layers of clothing itself. Super-luxury bespoke abayas can cost up to Dh15,000, Nasser says.

First Lady shops, owned by Dubai-based Khaj Group, get their designs also from the wife of the group's owner, who has established her own design line called SH Collection.

"It's the best on the market," Nasser says.

He shows a couple of elegant abayas with sophisticated crystal designs, lace-decorated embroidery and artful quillings. The upper end of the market for crystal-designed abayas in the UAE is occupied by three companies.

Besides First Lady, Dubai-based Hanayan and Sharjah-based Sweet Lady are offering the sought-after clothing. What makes the difference?

"Each producer has its own design, and also the cuttings are different," Nasser says, adding that First Lady's abayas are "the most expensive" of the three stores.

There is another side to the abaya industry in the UAE. On one hand is the posh abaya outlet in the Sahara Centre with its four- and five-digit price tags; on the other is First Lady's abaya workshop in one of Sharjah's busy industrial zones near the National Paints roundabout.

There, in a plain two-storey factory, some 150 male staff, mainly from Bangladesh, are putting the abayas together entirely by hand.

The tidy workshop comprises a ground floor where the fabric is cut and embroidered.

On the first floor, workers apply the tiny crystals, one piece after the other, onto the fabric, using tweezers and a special washing-machine resistant glue.

"We never had any complaints about crystals being detached after a machine wash. It simply does not happen, we guarantee it," Nasser says.

Around 150 abayas are produced each day in the workshop, with more than 210,000 crystals per day used to give them their sparkle.

The crystals are imported from Austria, where Swarovski is based. The fabrics originate from Japan and Korea, embroideries and laces are bought in Europe, mostly France.

What makes these abayas different is not only the high grade of handiwork, but also the production number that is stitched into the seam of each one.

Also the brand name - assembled with crystal stones - is presented on the clothing, as its recognisability is of growing importance for fashion-conscious abaya buyers, Nasser says.

Due to the success of their fashionable abayas, the Khaj Group has also started to produce the traditional male clothing of the Gulf, the dishdasha, in a new company called Gulf Dresses.

"But they certainly will come without crystals. Those are reserved for abayas only," Nasser says.

By Arno Maierbrugger, Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.