JEDDAH, 15 October 2006 — A range of exclusive gold wedding and evening dress collection 2006 was unveiled at an exhibition held with the support of the World Gold Council at Al-Shalal Amusement Park here over the weekend.
“The collection is handcrafted with gold and gold embroidery and is the rarest of its kind,” Ali S. Batarfi Al-Kindi who heads the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s gold and jewelry committee, said. He appreciated the “artistic genius” of Abdullah ibn Showail, a fashion expert who put up the show.
Jeddah-based Showail, who specializes in design and fashion as well as in tailoring and consultancy, showcased the collection under the banner “Hadeel Fashion.” Showail said that his exhibits reflected new trends in wedding and evening dresses.
“These and other creations are as a result of a study and survey of what modern consumers want today,” he said, adding that he had plans to exhibit his creations elsewhere in the Kingdom and also at overseas locations. “There have been an overwhelming response to my fashion and design creations,” he added.
World Gold Council’s Gulf Region Consultant Bisher A. Diab said the international body supported such efforts as they tended to promote the use of gold in dresses and fashion design. “One advantage with the use of gold or gold embroidery in the dress material is that it can be recycled and its value recovered,” he said.
Saudi Arabia tops the Middle East in terms of gold and jewelry markets and such exhibitions will help promote the creation of modern designs and creations on an increasing scale, he added. “Surely, such displays will interest the connoisseurs of art as well as consumers,” he said.
Many prominent jewelers and businessmen dealing in wedding and evening dresses were present at the event. “Every item in the collection is simply gorgeous,” one of them remarked. “This shows we’re quite ahead in the region, especially in matters like wedding and evening dresses.”
A visit to gold souks in Jeddah shows that demand for gold and jewelry has remained steady. In fact, there is a surge in demand due to the holy month of Ramadan and the ensuing Eid Al Fitr when gold or jewelry is among the first preferences of citizens and expatriates for gifting to their near and dear ones.
In the recent past, demand for gold dropped due to its rising prices. However, price alone doesn’t deter gold buyers in some countries. As the WGC’s recent research shows, when the precious metal became steadily more expensive from 2002 to 2005, consumers in some parts of the world bought more of it.
“The value of gold sales is often quite price inelastic,” says a researcher at the council. “What does seem to adversely impact on demand is a pickup in the pace of daily price fluctuations, or volatility. Consumers are wary about purchasing when the price is volatile for fear that they buy and then find the price falls.”
