The million-dirham abaya

Tag : Garment Fabric

He is most famous for dressing royalty, notably queens andprincesses, for their wedding days. Now Bruce Oldfield, thecelebrated British couturier, has designs on something equallytraditional: the abaya.

Last week in London, Oldfield unveiled what is thought to be themost expensive abaya ever made. Sporting bespoke Crosley diamondson the collar and cuffs, the garment is valued at about Dh1.27million (US$365,000).
The market for designer Islamic garments is growing, and, untilnow, the most expensive abaya cost about Dh364,000.

Crosley approached me with the idea of having a collaboration andinitially, I thought of making a wedding dress covered indiamonds, Oldfield said. Then we thought it would be a good ideato make an abaya. Why not? Every leading designer seems to doingthis right now.

This is the worlds first red carpet abaya.
For three decades, he has been dressing legions of aristocrats,royals and jet-setting clients.

Talking from his Knightsbridge salon, where samples of hissignature floor-length beaded gowns  which can weigh a staggering70kg  sparkle under an expensive lighting system, Oldfieldstresses this abaya is only for princesses, my dear.

Its very grand. I used the finest black silk, a stiff taffeta,flowing sleeves and a mandarin collar.
The most difficult challenge for me was to create a garment whichdid not follow the natural curves of a womans shape.

An abaya must, by definition, envelop the body rather than suggestwhat lies underneath  which is in complete contrast to what I doand what Ive been trained to do as a tailor and couturier.

Normally, I work with bodily proportions and make them better andmore streamlined.
When Oldfield set to work, he called up a princess friend of minein Jordan, who told me you can actually do whatever you want interms of the abaya.

If you were a princess wanting to make a grand entrance in SaudiArabia or Abu Dhabi, you would be expected to wear something with awow factor.

The garment takes the shape of a kaftan and flows away from thehips into a train at the back.

I thought about an abaya Maria Callas might wear: a bit of 1960scouture and va voom.
The abaya is the highlight of the luxury Saudi Gulf Luxury TradeFair, which takes place in London in August to help boost Britishexports.

Oldfield is excited when he is talking abayas, and about anotherfashion project  his first bridal couture range in 10 years.

The line features silk tulle  I use the same silk for my liningsthe cheaper boys use for the main dress  and Chantilly lace,which look heavy, but you can dance in them.
Oldfield has been dressing heiress brides since 1976, includingJemima Khan, her mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith, Samantha Cameron,Lady Tamara Grosvenor and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Designing wedding dressings, which accounts for about half of hiswork, is incredibly time consuming.

I recently had a client from Dubai who wanted me to do her weddingdress along with outfits for her six sisters and her mother.
The brides body shape, her age and the venue are each considered.

Its important to examine what is required of the dress. I panderto the bride; most tend to have an opinion about what they want something totally new and fabulous that will make their friendsfaint. But I also tell them, in a non-patronising way, its theirparents day too.

He recalled one bride who expressed disappointment at having tokeep the same dress on all day.
I told her, You will remember this day for the rest of your lifebecause of it.

Oldfields royal clients have included Jordans Queen Noor andQueen Rania and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who he wascredited with transforming from a gauche teenager to asophisticated trendsetter in the 1980s.

He also dresses some of Hollywoods most glamorous women, includingSienna Miller, Angelica Houston, Barbra Streisand, CatherineZeta-Jones, Melanie Griffith, Charlotte Rampling and Faye Dunaway.
And soon his designs will be seen by millions each day; he has beencommissioned to redesign the McDonalds restaurant uniform.

Oldfields introduction to fashion came early in life. Born in1950, he was two days old when his birth parents placed him in a DrBarnardos orphanage.

He was fostered by a dressmaker, who taught him to sew and cutfabric. After finishing school, he studied to be a teacher butswitched to the renowned Central Saint Martins art college inLondon to study fashion.
His schooling was funded by Barnados, which would later providehim with a start-up loan for his business in 1975.

He is now a vice president of the childrens charity.

Oldfield agreed to design the diamond-studded abaya on thecondition that a percentage of the sales would be donated to acharity for Palestinian children.

Im not actually that interested in fashion, he said. Whensomeone says lime green is the new black for this or that season, Ijust want to tell him or her to get a life. I love to create shapesfrom luxurious fabrics that make women look even more beautiful ...whether this is a wedding dress, an opera coat, a suit or an abaya.This is my job.
Are more abayas in the pipeline?

Id be happy to make them to order, especially if it will meannipping over to Abu Dhabi for a fitting. One must have strings toones bow.

* The National