Thobes enter a stylish era: The past meets the future in Lomar’s modern designs
Published: Oct 27, 2010 22:46 Updated: Oct 27, 2010 22:51
We define men’s fashion by redefining the thobe as a stylish attire that can be worn both as a fashion statement and as a statement of national pride.” The boastful statement on the wall greets you as you enter the reception room of the newly opened Lomar factory in the Jeddah Industrial City.
Its thobes, the Saudi traditional wear, have already made inroads into the Saudi male fashion world. “Our thobes are stylish,” says Loai Naseem who with his wife Mona Haddad is involved in designing the traditional dress at the Lomar factory. Although the factory opened recently, its own four showrooms — two in Jeddah and one each in Riyadh and Dammam — have been creating a demand for the fashion wear since its soft opening some time ago.
Naseem, CEO and founder of Lomar, with its slogan “Thobe (re)defined,” says the SR16 million factory with 120 multinational tailors and 15 women tailors, all Saudi, produce 300 thobes a day. Mona, who assists him in the business, is design and product development manager of Lomar.
“Our thobes give the freedom to move and ignite your creative sense. We have redefined male elegance by redefining the thobe. We have rephrased the vocabulary of the thobe to compliment your lifestyle, strengthen your heritage and help you wear your thobe with pride,” says Naseem who spent a few years in construction and advertising fields on his return from the United States where he graduated in graphic design from the Art Institute of Houston in 1995. Playing the role of a creative director, he had stints with a couple of major advertising agencies, but he was never satisfied with what he was doing and longed to turn his hobby into a full-time pursuit. He ultimately pursued his passion for thobe designing and decided to do what he loved the most.
“Fashion was in my mind from the beginning, but I chose not to go for a degree in it,” says Naseem. His plan was to study it but eventually he did not. He thought a degree in fashion would limit him to clothes only and so he studied graphic design so that he would have a wide field to choose from — clothing, advertising or anything. “In fact, fashion designing was a hobby that has become my main vocation,” says Naseem who is now considered a pioneer in the field of men’s fashion in Saudi Arabia.
“Quality to me is everything; quality in design, quality in production, quality in communication, quality in dealing with people, etc. If there is one thing I hate, it is to see something misplaced, both literally and figuratively,” says Naseem. Lomar’s Procurement Manager Ahmed Rezqallah says the factory procures textiles and other raw materials from countries including Japan, France, China and Germany.
Wearing the thobe expresses equality and is also perfectly suited to the hot Saudi climate. During warm and hot weather, Saudi men and boys wear white thobes. During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon. On special occasions, men often wear a bisht or mishlah over the thobe. These are long white, brown or black cloaks trimmed in gold.
For more information: http://www.lomarthobe.com/
Comments
FARAH
Oct 27, 2010 23:59
Report abuseThese designers should take a trip to Italy and note how elegant, stylish men really dress.