Turbans have been around for centuries, first as a symbol of religion but more recently as a fashion statement. In the freewheeling days of the 1960s and 1970s, especially, celebrities and fashionistas adopted the turban as a fashion statement, adding jewelry and other accessories to lend it a modern flair.
These days women again are looking to the turban as a bold fashion statement. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kourtney Kardashian, Beyonce and Eva Mendez have been seen sporting turbans both on the red carpet and as casual street wear. In the Middle East, Sheikha Moza of Qatar, one of the region’s fashion trendsetters, wore turbans everywhere she went, employing it both as a hejab and as a fashion statement.
One of the earliest Western depictions of a turban-swathed woman came in 17th century painter Jan Vermeer’s famous work, “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” The image was likely inspired by Turkish culture and clothing. In the 19th century, turbans became less common, but in the 20th century fashion designer Paul Poiret brought this accessory back with an Eastern influenced collection. In the 1930s, turbans became a symbol of well-educated, well-traveled and stylish women, which is what prompted celebrities such as Greta Garbo to wear them.
In the '70s, women started wearing turbans more as a hat than as a head wrap. In 1973, Barbra Streisand wore her turban and a fur coat at the premiere of The Way We Were. In 2010, turbans appeared again on runways and in the spring 2011 ready-to-wear shows by Jason Wu, Vena Cava and Giorgio Armani turbans were featured.
Following this act, many bloggers, fashion designers and trendsetters started wearing them as a daily accessory, especially in Saudi Arabia as it looks great with an abaya and when Saudi fashionistas travel abroad. A number of Saudi fashion designers started displaying fashionable turbans of different colors, sizes and shapes in their boutiques.
Sotra Boutique, a fashion hub located in “Ana Ghair” mall in Jeddah, was one of the first boutiques that offered female turbans in 2011. The brand is the brainchild of Saudi designers Mariam Bin Mahfooz and Nouf Hakeem whose style is to mix international trends with traditional clothing. “We wanted to make Turbans available and easy to wear. Turbans were initially scarves that you had to wrap around your head but we designed it like hat,” said Bin Mahfooz. “Turbans on the runways are usually small and show most of the hair and this would not suit women here who would want to wear it as a hijab,” she added.
The designers experimented for six months until they made the perfect head wrap. “It was one night under pressure when I asked Mariam to figure it out because I wanted to wear one in a family gathering,” said Hakeem. “She was trying so many things on her own head until it worked and we got the perfect shape that would never fall from your head.”
Hakeem and Bin Mahfooz stitch and design every single turban in the shop. “So far we have four styles starting with the bow, the arch to the knot and the origami which is for someone who is timid because it is very basic,” said Bin Mahfooz. “We designed them as soon as the trend started on the runways and many people wear wrapped scarves as hijabs when they travel and we wanted to make it comfortable and fashionable for those who want to be in style.”
The goal of the Sotra team is to make it easy for their costumers to be stylish. “We want them to be able to look great wearing what they love and not have to worry about wrapping the turban in a wrong or difficult way,” said Hakeem. “We don’t want them to feel like there is a problem because of the number of ways to wrap a turban. All they have to do is pull their hair up, put on the turban and they are good to go,” she added.
Last but not least is the scarf turban. With the help of a stylish scarf you can have the best turban you’ll ever dream of, though it does present some of the “problems” Hakeem mentioned above. Fold your square-shaped scarf into a triangle and place the triangle tip on your forehead. Hold the scarf’s ends on both sides and tie a knot on top of your head. Tie the ends again at the back of your head. Tuck in the triangle’s tip on top of your head and you got it. You’ll be joining such icons as Geta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor and Jennifer Lopez in using a turban to make your own fashion statement.
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