From Burqini to Birkin---
Luxury Brands in the Middle
East
Asheley Gao
The desert wind sweeps through the swimming pool, distorting the reflection of
palm trees and pointed arcs. Four tall arabesque pillars support an ivory
pavilion under which a group of women are enjoying the gentle evening breeze.
They are covered in colorful full-length wetsuits with a hood that
covers their head, revealing only their face, hands and feet. Additional skirts
are attached to the wetsuit, hiding the body curve underneath. In order for
women to enjoy the pleasure of swimming, yet still preserving their modesty,
fashion designer Aheda Zanetti created a special type of swimsuit called
Burqini, which is a combination of “Burqa” and “Bikini”. The Burqini, made with
light swimsuit material, quickly caught on in Arabian nations and provided
women much more mobility in outdoor activities. Fashion magazines
dedicated one cover after the other to Burqini fashion and women sports
accessories, presenting the world the new side of Arabian women’s life that was
never seen before.
The Middle East embraces fashion like no other. Even though women and men are
mostly covered in solemn colored robes, they catch any chance they have to make
a fashion statement through their shoes, sunglasses, watches or handbags. While
the recession hit the luxury goods market, the Middle East and China were
unscathed in the global slowdown, resuscitating luxury brands by pouring
billions of dollars into the market. The biggest buyers of haute couture today
are found in the Gulf region, which may come as a great surprise since men and
women are mostly hidden under wraps. According to a business report, luxury
brand buyers in this region would spend 50,000 euros on haute couture products
for a fancy event. Middle class women in the Gulf area also keep their social
calendar busy throughout the year. In the gatherings where no men are present,
every woman looks like a fashion model who just came down the runway with this
season’s new design. This scene may sound familiar to those who have watched Sex
and the City 2, in which a group of women gather inside of a dim dry flower
shop, wearing Louis Vuitton’s entire Fall collection under their black robe.
While luxury brands greet their new customers with the warmest welcome, they
could not help but wondering how much compromise they are willing to make in
order to stay sharp in this conservative culture. There is a great culture
divide in fashion norms between the Middle East and the West. Women in the
Middle East sometimes prefer items with prominent brand logo or vibrant design
in order to break free from their highly restricted garment; these items,
however, might be considered as tacky and gauche in the West. Some luxury
brands are also changing their marketing strategy to accommodate the high
demand for shoes and accessories. Based on the article by John Church, in 2011,
the number of luxury outlets in the world increased by 14% while in the UAE
(United Arab Emirates) the number increased by almost 50%.
Yet the political instability in the Middle East still presents a huge
challenge to luxury brands. While in some area of the Middle East one may
purchase an iPhone case studded with diamonds from a vending machine, in other
areas one only wishes to find a piece of wall to shelter from bullets. Both
innovation and sustainability need to be taken into account in the marketing
strategy of luxury goods companies in order to conquer the desert and find the
oasis safely.
References:
The Culture Columnist, Asheley Gao:
My name is Asheley Gao and I’m a junior at Cal, majoring in History of Art and minoring in French. I grew up in Asia, the land of dragons and jasmine green tea, as a kid with too much imagination. Indulging myself in exploring different cultures and what they have to offer (art, movies, cuisine, you name it!), I’m on my way to becoming a woman whose country is the whole world. Along with all the excellent writers at Unleashed, I would love to share with you my adventure and take you all around the world.
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