Wearable art

The pleasant winter heralds the arrival of the wedding season in the UAE. Young women are now intently poring over fashion catalogues, debating the merits of tulle over organza and earnestly discussing their dream dress with their designers.

Traditionally, the groom's parents host the wedding party and the bride's wedding gown is also a gift from them. A recent cultural phenomenon is the pre-wedding henna party arranged by the bride's parents and attended by close friends and family of the betrothed couple.

"Application of henna in intricate patterns on the hands and feet of a bride is a centuries-old Arabic wedding tradition. The custom of having a henna party began because the bride's parents also wished to do something special for their daughter," explains Fatima Al Attar, an interior designer who runs her own design company called Interiordotcom.

On this occasion the bride-to-be looks radiant in a colourful henna dress and is covered quite literally from head to toe with jewellery. Some of her ornaments are ancient family heirlooms while others are pieces that her parents have been collecting for this special day since she was a child.

"The henna party is a very special gift from a father to his daughter. It is a girl's last day in her father's house and it is tinged with feelings of happiness and sadness. My mother cried when the henna was being applied to my hands," remembers Fatima, who got married last year.

She points out that although the party itself is a fun-filled event there is a strong religious note to the celebrations. At the start of the festivities, religious inscriptions are written with henna on a drum, which is later played by specially-invited traditional singers who perform mainly religious songs.

In terms of fashion the trend for henna parties has translated into beautiful henna dresses worn by the bride-to-be.

"This colourful dress is similar to the traditional Arabic wedding dress," says Michael Cinco, fashion artist at Ghanati, Dubai. "Since most brides now prefer white wedding gowns, these traditional dresses are worn at the henna party,"

The henna dress is usually a two-piece ensemble. The inner fitted garment is made of silk or velvet, while flowing materials like chiffon, tulle or organza are used for the outer layer. Traditionally, the dress is in shades of green and red with elaborate gold embroidery.

"Designing these lavish ensembles has helped me hone my artistic abilities," says Cinco. "I enjoy the challenge of creating something modern while retaining the traditional look. I use beads, sequins, crystals, rhinestones, feathers and mirror work because a henna dress must be shiny and ostentatious. In the Philippines a haute couture designer rarely gets to work on such extravagant outfits," he adds.

The talented couturier has perfected the art of blending tradition with innovation. Among the modernistic henna dresses he has designed are a Japanese kimono-style gown and a bustier worn with embroidered pants over-layered with a chiffon skirt. Another of his creations has a beaded chiffon cape and a glove style sleeve that continues as the veil.

Cinco has used unconventional materials like plastic in another of his popular designs. A calligraphic representation of a romantic poem by Khalil Gibran is painted on this silk dress that has tiny squares of plastic stitched all over it.

Often he uses patterns in the bride's jewellery to create embroidery or appliqué motifs on the clothes. "Sometimes I design the dress first and then provide my client with sketches for matching jewellery," he informs.

His own favourite theme is Indian.

"I am inspired by India and love the intricate embroidery work from there," confides the artist from the Philippines. "My research includes reading books about India and watching Indian films." Cinco has extended the traditional palette of henna dresses to include teal blue, turquoise, pink, beige, maroon and brown.

"Because the UAE national women are among the most fashion conscious in the world, I am able to experiment and express all my creativity here," he adds. It was Cinco's reputation for creativity that brought Fatima Al Attar to Ghanati.

"I wanted a henna dress that was traditional but unique. I chose green because the colour is associated with Islam and also because I had emerald jewellery. Michael understood my sartorial ideas and was able to crystallise them onto fabric perfectly," she smiles.

Her henna dress included fully embroidered fitted velvet pants and a fitted velvet tunic with long slits.

"Her jewellery was studded with diamonds and emeralds, so I had the design copied by a costume jewellery maker in Lebanon and stitched those fake jewels around the neck, sleeves and waist of the tunic. The trimming of the pants and her shoes were also decorated with the same costume jewellery, to give an elegant Arabian Nights effect," describes Cinco.

"Arabian Nights was the theme for my henna party. The entire stage was done up to resemble a desert landscape and even my seat was in the shape of a camel," reminisces Fatima.

Though not as expensive as the wedding gown, henna dresses still require a big budget and a lot of time. At Ghanati, the bride is expected to commission the dress three months before the party.

"The designing process takes few days but good quality hand embroidery and beading takes time. That is why these dresses can cost upwards of Dhs 10,000," explains Cinco.

"What is most special about the henna dress is that because her father pays for it, a girl has complete freedom to design it to her liking. In fact, I did not let anybody, including my mother, see my dress. It was a big surprise," says Fatima. "I wore it only once and will probably never wear it again but I will treasure it forever," she adds.

"Most of my clients feel this way about the dress, but some are more practical. They lend it to their sisters or friends and bring it to us for alterations in the fitting," says Cinco.

Matching the bride's henna with the henna dress is the latest fad. A henna lady who can copy patterns from the henna dress on to the bride's hands and feet is a service offered by many salons.

"Often the bride takes my sketches of the dress for the henna lady to copy," observes Cinco.