JEDDAH: Saudi designers are trying to develop new, modern and “cool” ideas based on culture and traditional customs. The idea of merging the new, cool and hip with the traditional thobe to symbolize the desires of the new generation of young Saudis and children was evident at the Lomar 2009 Children’s Fashion Show. The show took place on Tuesday at the Serafi Mega Mall as one of the 2009 Jeddah Ghair summer festival activities and it attracted an audience of all ages.
The show began with the traditional theme song for weddings and a five-year-old child holding flowers and wearing a daglah (a traditional robe worn over the thobe on special occasions). The rest of the show continued with more than 13 children from four to nine showing Lomar’s latest designs. One of the designs is called iThobe with a pocket for an iPod and a hole to put the headphones through. Another thobe is designed with small colorful wooden pencils which could be replaced by other items, such as rulers and erasers.
Hani Naseem, the vice president of Lomar, said that Lomar started with an idea of liberating men from the average everyday thobe and adding a touch of modernity and creative designing.
“We wanted to get the attention of the younger generation of men who had stopped wearing thobes so we redesigned and added new ideas to make them look more attractive,” Naseem said. “Ramadan and Eid are just a few weeks away. Many fathers like to dress their children in traditional clothes so what we did is make it more appealing and fun for kids,” he said.
Lomar was established in 2005 and now has four branches in the Kingdom’s major cities. Heba Zahid, an account manager from a public relations and event company, said that training the children for the runway started two weeks ago. “The kids were very responsive and enthusiastic about modeling,” Zahid said.