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Moroccan designer Sabah Berada is aiming to bring her dazzling brand of traditional attire to the kingdom following an influx of demands from the island’s fashionistas.
The 54-year-old owns a boutique in Casablanca called Sabah Couture which attracts people from across the globe looking for quality and glamour along with a touch of culture. However, thanks to her daughter Majda, her celebrated designs have caught the eye of the kingdom’s fashion conscious residents.
She said: “I have many loyal customers in Morocco who have been coming to me for years to design traditional attire used for weddings, Eid celebrations and other special occasions.
“I have been making clothes for my daughter all her life so when she told me that her friends in Bahrain were interested in her clothes and kept asking her where she bought them, I told her I’d make the outfits and send them over.
“I do get tourists visiting my boutique from Tunisia and France who are interested in my designs, but I had no idea they would be popular in Bahrain too.”
Mrs Berada has been designing and stitching handmade traditional outfits for more than 30 years. She was bitten by the fashion bug at an early age after watching her grandmother and mother design their own attire. She later attended an Italian fashion school for further studies in the art of design.
While her 30-year-old daughter Majda Mangra does not stitch or sew herself, she has an eye for design and has carried her passion for fashion with her to Bahrain where she now resides with her husband Mohammadine, 45, along with children Rita, six, and Ghali, one.
After living in Bahrain for almost five years, Mrs Mangra learned how much Gulf residents appreciate the Moroccan style of clothing.
She said: “Initially when I started making friends in Bahrain I didn’t mention that my mother is a celebrated designer in Morocco. I noticed a lot of them wore our type of dresses and would go to different tailors on the island to get clothes made.
“When my friends started seeing me wear my mother’s designs they were amazed by the rich colours, dazzling jewels and, not to forget, the fantastic finishings.
“So, they soon started asking me whether they could get the same dresses and kaftans. That’s when I started taking their measurements, finding out the occasion they wanted the dress for and then sending the details to my mother.”
Mrs Berada also designs an assortment of belts, djellabas, takchitas and babouches which are slippers.
The takchita is a traditional Moroccan garment that women wear for celebrations, particularly weddings. It is composed of two pieces, a dress as a first layer, often of fine, but not ornately decorated fabric, and a more elaborate second layer that often buttons up the front using the traditional sfifa (embroidered braiding) and akaad (threaded button) closures. The upper layer is often richly adorned with embroidery, beading or sequins.
During special events men generally wear a cap, which is known as a tarbouche and their footwear consists of flat leather slippers called babouche which are generally yellow in colour. The women’s djellaba can be differentiated by its use of bright colours and ornamentation consisting of more beads and embroidery.
These kaftans are quite expensive but the fashion conscious Moroccans, especially the women, are very fond of their traditional outfit and purchase at least one every year.
With word of her mother’s designs spreading across the kingdom, Mrs Mangra said that if demand continues to grow, she would open a boutique for her in Bahrain.
“I think there has been a lot of interest in bringing her unique style to the kingdom because recently you can see a lot of our heritage and designs on the fashion runway.
“Europeans and Arabs love our kaftans because they can be conservative, comfortable and elegant at the same time.”
The cost of the outfits depends on the material used and the design. Prices start from BD150, which also includes the shipping charges.
For more information, contact Mrs Mangra on 39622765.
