“This season, we wanted to give tribute to the UAE, a place we call home, while still holding on to our Omani roots,” says Lubna Al Zakwani, one half of Oman-based ready-to-wear label Endemage, exclusively to Vogue Arabia about the brand’s latest Eid collection. “We chose a place that is close to our hearts in this Holy Month – Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed mosque.”
Lubna, who founded the brand with her sister Nadia in 2010, has made a point of incorporating their heritage into their feminine designs. For this latest collection, Endemage, which means “the merging of two,” also turned to its home country, referencing the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat. “We focused on the floral prints seen all over the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, in addition to a silver handcrafted Omani jewelry piece called the ‘Iqam’, that also closely resembles the chandeliers in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.”
The standout pieces are a high-neck cape abaya embellished with embroidery, a light blue abaya with grey lining, and an embroidered overlay featuring blush pink accents coated in intricate beads. “For Ramadan and Eid, we usually go with looser cuts and more comfortable silhouettes, while still designing outfits that can be worn as dresses for an evening out,” the designer explains. “We designed some off-shoulder options and played with different cuts for the sleeves.” The choice of light fabrics and loose silhouettes also provide comfort for the region’s soaring temperatures.
The collection – which can be found at The cARTel and Ush Boutique in the UAE, The Wardrobe in Bahrain, Harvey Nichols in Kuwait, and Lati boutique, Maison BO-M, and Pashmina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – features a soft, feminine color palette. “It was our aim from day one to show off Omani traditions and beauty through our designs and we’ve been doing just that,” she says. “With each collection being inspired by a particular Omani treasure and shown off through intricate embroidery and detailing on our designs, my sister and I believe we are offering the world a story about our traditions that they can learn from.”
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