“Ramadan coincides with the summer season, so I like to keep things flowy, light, airy, and easy-to-wear,” starts Saudi designer Daneh Buahmad. “I like to create pieces that carry on through the year,” she continues motioning to a sustainable model founded on making timeless looks to be enjoyed throughout seasons. For Ramadan 2019, Buahmad took a leap to introduce an element to her brand that she explains has long been on her mind. The collection features embroidery specifically native to Bahrain. “I remember it distinctly from my childhood,” she shares. “Although I am Saudi, I am very much from the East coast, which ties to Bahrain. It’s a typical Khaleeji element. Though, one I wasn’t thrilled about wearing as a child because the fabrics were itchy and the embroidery too elaborate.”
While she sought to translate the embroidery in her own, unique way, Buahmad explains that she ultimately featured the embroidery in the purest, most traditional form. “It was an insightful experience,” she explains of the process. “Sometimes you take for granted your culture …thinking you know it all.” Maintaining the essence of her namesake brand, the embroidery is featured on light cotton and in a neutral palette. “It can be worn for an elaborate event, or a suhoor, or, you could even wear it to Coachella if you want. It’s hippie chic,” she says of the collection. “I was influenced by images of Jackie O and Elizabeth Taylor when they came to the region–but with a Khaleeji twist.” Silhouettes are typically long and sweeping while a certain accent to sleeves is afforded with pleated, bubble, and flute iterations.
As is the case every year, Buahmad anticipates Ramadan as a time to work and visit with family. “It’s considered a very social time of year, and I do love to visit home, but I also take time for myself, to sit back, and reflect,” she says. “It offers me ‘me time,’ and while I will travel to see family, I like to be home.” Daneh.com
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