Designers use traditional embroidery and modern denim to reflect ‘contrast of Amman’

AMMAN — Launching Jordan’s fashion industry on to the international stage, “JO!” by Creative Jordan recently participated in fashion exhibitions touring in three countries, showcasing their denim and Oriental-embroidery designs.

In mid-February, the team represented Jordan in London’s “Pure London” fashion show, between February 22 and 28  they took part in the “Pitti Super” exhibition in Milan, while last week representatives of the brand went to “Paris Sur Mode” to exhibit their pieces.

The “Creative Jordan” team is made up of fashion designers Zein Mango and Dina Maqdah, embroidery designer Aida Ghanem, industrial designer Tallaat Haddad, Italian fashion designer Caterina Filice and product developer Ibrahim Badareen. 

Designer Maqdah said the womens wear Spring/Summer collection is composed of 48 pieces that “mix and match” the interests of different markets, especially given that the “culture of embroidery is spreading”.

The collection, she said, “is easy to wear, practical, simple, loose, and carries the Jordanian diamond-shaped stitch”, adding that the use of the bedouin embroidery adds beauty to the pieces as it combines the ethnic and tribal style with the modern and abstract.

The collection was previously showcased in Amman, where the organisers said the “traditional garments, colours, drawings and embroidery have evolved into an original contemporary style and international taste”.

Maqdah said the criteria to apply to the international fashion fairs across the three countries included introducing a different idea to the Western market, the type of material and the concept of the collection to be exhibited.

“Embroidery is growing a lot. In normal stores, indigo-blue and handmade denim fabric is common. We use denim with embroidery, and we realised that people have become more aware and have a better understanding of the culture of embroidery in fashion,” she said.

Maqdah told The Jordan Times that the collection represents “the contrast of Amman”, where the old and the modern are juxtaposed to produce a streetwear brand and to “[place] Jordan on the international clothes manufacturing map”.

The designer added that it is important for local brands to be exposed internationally, as Jordan is not known for manufacturing fashion lines, adding that many attendees found embroidery and the practical denim fabric as a fitting combination.

The collection, part of the regional project “Creative Mediterranean — Resilience Through Creativity”, is funded by the EU and the Italian Development Cooperation and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, according to organisers.

“People want to be comfortable. They want to wear something practical, especially in the West, as they commute a lot on a daily basis, so having easy-to-wear pieces helps,” she said.

“It’s nice to have a Jordanian touch that is not too tribal and not too limited to a specific market; we are targeting more than one country with our fashion line,” Maqdah concluded.