Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurated on Wednesday the Doha Dreams exhibition at the Qatar Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (M7) in Msheireb, with the participation of seven designers. The event will last until August 31.
The exhibition is part of the second edition of Zuwara programme, inspired by the exhibition Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, which was launched in November 2021.
Zuwara is held annually and seeks to stimulate innovation and strengthen the links between innovators in Qatar’s innovations community. It invites innovators to explore exhibitions, archives, and collections, and respond with a design brief, as the programme reviews the importance of storytelling and experimentation in design.
The designers Mashael Al Naimi, Mona Saad, Alia Al Obaidly, Nada Al Sulaiti, Maryam Al Majed, Laila Al Ansari, and Haitham Sharouf will participate in this exhibition.
M7 director Maha Ghanim Al Sulaiti said in a statement that the exhibition presents works by seven talented designers from Qatar within the temporary Doha Dreams exhibition in the Zuwara programme, noting that the works give visitors an opportunity to see the ways in which the designers drew their inspiration from famous names, such as Christian Dior mix and subsequently mix it with their own designs inspired by the local culture.
In exclusive statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Qatari designers stressed the importance of dress and its cultural and civilisational content, pointing out that it reflects the identity of its owner and his pride in his culture and local heritage, in addition to the necessity of providing an element of decency and modesty in it, as the dress hides culture in its designs.
Mashael Al Nuaimi told QNA about her work tagged with “Henna,” and her design was inspired by the “New Look” style of Christian Dior, where the skirt was made by a craftsman in Georgia, from silk chiffon, and from the finest types of wool, to create a tapestry depicting the desert and sand dunes, and decorated with a design of the national flower of Qatar (Qitaf).
Mona Saad highlighted in her work the importance of tradition and modernity in fashion culture. She said: “since I work in the energy field, this is reflected in my work, as I designed a jacket made of sheep’s wool, leather and palm threads, in honour of the importance of agriculture as a profession in which families work, in addition to a corset made of metal and pipes. Transporting gas symbolises the strength and determination of the State of Qatar and its people.”
Alia Al Obaidli said her work, entitled “The Story of a Pearl,” is a romantic wedding dress that tells the story of pearl diving, one of the most ancient and valuable traditions in Qatar. She pointed out that the dress encapsulates all the suffering experienced by the pearl divers and their families on their long journey.
Nada Al Sulaiti’s work meanwhile is titled Don’t Forget Me. “When I thought about the design, I said to myself: If a woman asks the famous designer Christian Dior for a design, she requires that it emulate her heritage and preserve her modesty. As the dress does not stray from noble morals, as the skirt was long, and the jacket covered,” she said.
