FASHION knows no boundaries for people such as Hatem Alakeel, an up-and-coming Saudi fashion designer in his mid-30s, who aims at internationalizing the Saudi traditional dress known as the thobe. The traditional thobe is a one-piece garment, usually white. Long-sleeved, it falls from the neck to the floor and is worn by Saudi men on both formal and informal occasions.
“I want both East and West to realize that high fashion can come from any culture,” Alakeel said. Working in marketing for seven years, Alakeel, who has been obsessed with fashion since childhood, has dedicated his career to fashion design and opened his own boutique four months ago. The shop is called “Toby” which means “my thobe.”
Toby is a brand and a fashion house with its own signature collection of modernized traditional thobes and localized shirts, Alakeel explained, adding that fashion can be used by any culture if presented in the right way.
Modernized traditional thobes have been a trend for the last couple of years, especially in the Kingdom’s western region and many fashion houses have emerged on the scene, including Toby, of what is an increasingly demanding market. “The market is ready and there is a need for modernized traditional fashion,” Alakeel said.
The young generation are always demanding a new look in their fashions and since they form the majority of the Kingdom’s population, the direction of fashion is naturally towards innovation, even if it concerns traditional clothing, the designer pointed out. Alakeel said that even older people have shown acceptance and appreciation for the new look of the thobe. “I have had customers who are above 50 who ordered modern thobes. Fashion standards have gone up and people expect something more progressive, trendy and fun,” he said.
As for Toby, he says that it is a fashion house and a brand offering its own collection of thobes, shirts and accessories such as vests and pants worn under the thobe. Alakeel has four different lines in his designs — Bohemian, Sports, Corporate and Trendy. Each line has its own touch and look that matches a certain lifestyle and age group, he added.
“I get my inspiration from pop culture, music, fashion, natural style or maybe it comes to me just like that,” he said, adding that he is trying to communicate style and elegance through the thobe in order to make it a fashion that will be accepted every where.
Besides modernizing thobes, Alakeel has also localized shirts with a traditional touch. “It’s important to know yourself and to take the best of both worlds,” Alakeel remarked. “I think that it would be nice to show the West how stylish and elegant our culture can be,” he said.
He said that a normal adult thobe would range from SR400 and up, while children’s thobes, which are in high demand, run from SR200 to SR300 depending on the fabric.
“My dream is to turn Toby into a household name and to demonstrate that elegance and style can be applied to all cultures,” he said, adding that his goal is to bring local brands to life and globalize them.
Toby is located on Prince Sultan street in Jeddah. For more information visit: www.urtoby.com.