161 the ghutra effect essa 162 In an unassuming building in Sharjah lives a bona fide urban legend who has taken the Middle Eastern fashion scene by storm. With a fervent zeal for taking the traditional and transforming it into all that is modern and hip Essa resurrects the ghutra in an explosive form. T E X T B Y M Y R N A A Y A D P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y N A D I N E K A N S O design 163 p until a couple of years ago, Essa was an enigma wrapped in a mysterious shroud of theories. The rumour mill churned out copious amounts of presumptions on the Sharjah-based designer. Some speculated that he was a recluse, producing only a handful of ghutra -inspired garments for the select elite to don; some said that he was an eccentric, temperamental character who would make uncompromising comments to the few who made the precarious trek to his Sharjah atelier; others protested at the steep prices placed on Essa attire, deducing that it was a demand imposed by the designer himself. Dubai’s chic and modish would gather at hip cafés and lounges and exchange their Essa wish-lists. The Indian-born designer made rare appearances in Dubai’s blossoming art and social circuits; even rarer was his media coverage at the height of Dubai’s then-emergent fashion and society magazines. Gossip aside, Essa provoked a whopping level of intrigue as the designer who created funk and style out of a traditional, Arabian fabric. The Calling Having grown up in the UAE, it was a fateful high school encounter which set Essa’s sights on the fashion industry. “I really owe it to a classmate at the International School of Choueifat. When all the kids in my class were reading ‘Car’, ‘Driver’ and ‘CompuTech’, she handed me ‘Cosmopolitan’ and ‘Vogue’,” he notes. After arming himself with an undergraduate degree in economics and marketing from Cyprus College in Nicosia, Cyprus, stints with pattern-cutters in London and Paris beckoned. From working at a men’s clothing store in Dubai to costume-designing in Bollywood and, “Venturing nomadically in the Far East,” Essa returned to the UAE and worked with Dubai-based designer Aline Saad at her Kabale atelier. 164 165 In 2004, a Paris-based organisation launched a project that aimed to establish UAE designers internationally. Essa chose to incorporate traditional Arabian material - from Bedouin jewellery and thalli trimmings used for kaftans to the aghal (rope headband used to keep the ghutra in place) - in the creation of a modernised Arab collection. “The ghutra wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I was working on the project. I used the aghal to make handles and stumbled upon the ghutra by accident,” he admits. It was this inadvertent discovery which would continue to inspire Essa and catapult his rise to retail fame. But it was his meeting with Dubai-based Sauce boutique co-founder and buyer, Zayan Ghandour, that propelled his ingenuity. “Anybody who understands the vision or method of a designer can enhance their creativity. I only felt free to work and enjoy what I do the day I met Zayan,” he says. Since 2004, Sauce boutique has been Essa’s exclusive agent in the UAE and in 2006 it dedicated a stand- alone Essa boutique within their branch in Abu Dhabi and a corner for him in their Dubai space. Ghutra Genesis Essa’s rather androgynous approach to the ghutra is dually rooted in his feminisation of an essentially male-dominated fabric and his philosophy of converting the ordinary into the extraordinary. “It’s a matter of thinking outside the box, of taking a mundane detail of everyday life and converting it into something spectacular,” he says. “I love men’s fabrics for women, I think that’s very sexy. I love taking everything masculine about Arabia and turning it into something feminine.” Indeed, his conversion of a traditionally patriarchal symbol into funky, contemporary female gear is quite the innovative undertaking. Evocative of a ‘shock and awe’ practice, Essa maintains that this is simply a form of art. “Art is what provokes you and makes you think. If it doesn’t make you do any of that, it’s just another dot or flower or portrait. Think of Hirst’s shark, da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ or Picasso’s Cubism. I think the ghutra is a great, fun design which reminds people of something else. It almost shocks them!” Essa’s modus operandi includes a hotchpotch of elements which he assembles in an ultra original form. From Iranian appliqués and Afghani jewels, to French ribbons and Turkish suzanis (silk embroideries used as bedspreads, throws, pillows or tablecloths), he seemingly combines nationally representative emblems into a single form of retail art. “I take vintage Victorian lace, which carries the weight of queens, and mix it with fabric I found in Fujairah. I’m making Japanese kimonos out of the ghutra . I’m mixing Paris with Palestine and meshing Japan with Jeddah! How cool is that?” he exclaims. One facet of Essa’s success is his ability to continuously reinvent the ghutra in each new collection, something he, “Gets a kick out of.” While the most common ghutras appear in prints of red-white and black-white, Essa’s quest for novelty has uncovered seemingly clandestine traditions - from hot pink ghutras worn in Oman to acidic yellow and electric blue shades donned in Yemen. “Sometimes I can’t believe that these colours actually exist. We’ve found that real Bedouins wear these shades as well. What’s fascinating is that we have come across rolls of ghutra prints in silk, chiffon and cotton! I’ve found it in cotton stretch metallic with gold foil!” design “The ghutra wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I was working on the project. I used the aghal to make handles and stumbled upon the ghutra by accident.” 166 The Ghutra Patrol Believed to have originated in the Iraqi city of Kufa, or from the Arabic word Al-Kef, which means palm of the hand, the ghutra became an emblem of Palestinian solidarity in the 1960s, sported by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who wore it folded into a shape resembling the outline of the Palestinian state. Also known as a keffiyeh or a shmagh , it has long been perceived as a masculine Arabian cloth. “Essentially, the ghutra is an exaggerated Houndstooth print which has been given a bit of a border. It’s almost as though it’s a derivation of the print, which is very common and very traditional in men’s suiting,” notes Essa. From Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce and Gabbana and Michael Kors to Ralph Lauren, Commes des Garçons and even Nike, the Houndstooth print has made its way to the fashion catwalks. Therefore, it is only natural that the recent surge of interest in the ghutra is partially due to the familiarity of the “I take vintage Victorian lace which carries the weight of queens and mix it with fabric I found in Fujairah. I’m making Japanese kimonos out of the ghutra . I’m mixing Paris with Palestine and meshing Japan with Jeddah! How cool is that?” design 167 pattern. Trendy retail outlet, Top Shop, stocked ghutra scarves, as did Spanish fashion powerhouse Balenciaga in their Fall/ Winter 2007 collection. US troops wear it and American Hip Hop artist Kanye West sported a ghutra in his ‘Homecoming’ video. Yet however fashionable it may be, reservation and controversy surround the ghutra . Popular retailer Urban Outfitters pulled their ‘number-one-selling scarves’ made of different colour- combinations so as not ‘to imply any sympathy for or support [of] terrorists or terrorism’. Conservative bloggers attacked television personality and author Rachael Ray for wearing a ghutra scarf in a Dunkin’ Donuts iced-coffee print ad. While there exists a significant group of people who deem such reactions as ‘racial stereotyping’, Essa maintains that the ghutra has no political or religious connotations. “I don’t see a political symbol when I see the ghutra . There is no political agenda and I’m not a political guy. The ghutra is a fabric, a vision, an embroidery concept...it’s so many things.” What then of the ghutra’s alleged ‘ jihadi chic’, ‘anti-war’ and ‘terrorist style’ stigmas? Essa asserts, “When you go to Africa and see African prints, you don’t think people are exploiting the African prints or putting animal heads [on traditional ceremonial clothing] and promoting cheetah murder!” Arabian Acclaim Vogue aside, Essa’s designs reflect a deep-rooted love for the Middle East mirrored through a form of retail support for Arabia, which he actively promotes. Despite being a non-national, the design 168 “Essentially, the ghutra is an exaggerated Houndstooth print which has been given a bit of a border. It’s almost as though it’s a derivation of the print, which is very common and very traditional in men’s suiting.” 169 UAE is the country Essa calls home, disregarding any notions of displacement and instead, feeling a great sense of, “Belonging.” While the sensationalism and commercialism that surround the world today have the ability to blur reality, Essa believes that Middle Eastern heritage cannot be lost. “I sometimes wonder if we’ll forget where we came from or if we’ll get lost in mall culture. The change is inevitable but I believe there will come a time when we will crave our heritage and want it more. Our heritage is too old and too strong for us to lose it.” Dubai’s society magazines are perhaps the ideal pictographic documentation of the city’s social and fashion scenes. Within the cosmopolitan city, which Essa terms, “The Dubai dream,” is an awe-inspiring cultural diversity. But it is the energetic Emirate’s womenfolk whom Essa holds in high esteem. “These are sophisticated buyers. They’ve been to tailors for years; they’ve worn the amplified things in the 1980s and 1990s; they’ve gone to those big fashion villas in Jumeirah. You can’t lie to them or cheat them into high- priced items; they know there is someone cheaper and faster right around the corner.” And it is these women and their regional counterparts that Essa is focusing on for the time being. Largely due to their, “Demands and voracious appetites,” Essa’s atelier works around the clock. As is the case with all high-end brands, imitation and high-street reproduction are quick to follow; none of which bothers Essa in the least. “Maybe they have an individual take on the ghutra . The trick is to do it better than everyone else. Everybody’s making Hip Hop music but Timbaland is the best,” he says. In light of this, one might wonder: Is ghutra fashion a fad? Will it wear thin? “Are you kidding?” laughs the humble, self-confessed, ‘clothes-maker’, “I haven’t even scratched the surface of this print yet!” Essa can be found at Sauce boutiques in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, DNA in Riyadh, Depeche Mode in Beirut, Zai and the Waqif Art Centre in Doha, Eye Candy in Muscat and Mahat in Jeddah. For more information, visit www.essa-inc.com “I don’t see a political symbol when I see the ghutra . There is no political agenda and I’m not a political guy. The ghutra is a fabric, a vision, an embroidery concept...it’s so many things.” design