AMMAN — A Qashabeyyeh (also spelled as Kachabia) is an article of
North African clothing that resembles a long dress with a hood. Jordanian Lima
Haddad took the Qashabeyyeh and added a more casual twist to the classic piece
اضافة اعلان
“I like wearing unique things. I love colors and lively things, I
love to show a piece on me that’s different from everyone, whether it’s a ring
or a pair jeans,” Haddad told Jordan News. She added that she wanted to bring
the lively colors she loves in the original Qashabeyyeh and the region it comes
from into her designs and in every element surrounding the business, down to
the logo.
Haddad came up with the idea when she saw “hoodies in Amsterdam that
looked exactly like the Qashabeyyeh with their designs and patterns. I was like
why don’t we do it with our Bedouin patterns?” She then teamed up with three
local tailors to sew tailor clothes.
“It was quite the struggle to find the perfect quality of fabric to
fashion into wearable items. We had to go on several field visits and conduct a
lot of wash tests to make sure the colors don’t bleed and that the fabric is
nice and comfortable for everyday use,” the designer said. She also mentioned that
it is difficult to “find the same fabric from different suppliers, because the
suppliers usually run out.”
Qashabeyyeh also struggled with people on social media thinking that
their clothing line, which uses fabrics and patterns resembling those used “for
tents and Bedouin seating,” was not suited for hoodies and T-shirts.
“They were not familiar with the fact that we can convert that
fabric and those colors into a clothing line,” Haddad said. “It is still a
beautiful pattern and they are beautiful colors that you actually put in your
house, why not wear it and go out with it?”
When starting out her brand, Haddad hit a few bumps along the way
but always had her friends to help her, whether through modeling, navigating
social media, or the business aspects that come with starting a fashion line. “None
of my friends liked to model, none of them, but they loved the product, and
they loved what we were doing and they wanted to help.”
At one of the first photo-shoots for Qashabeyyeh, Haddad called
five of her friends and 15 showed up that day. “They all called each other,
they got their own water and food, everything. They just wanted to show up and
support us. The (Instagram) page didn’t have any followers, so they didn’t know
if it was going to go viral or not, they just wanted to help. They did it for
free.”
In Qashabeyyeh’s latest photo-shoot, strangers from coffee shops
who recognized the brand asked to join as models. “So we created a new group,
with new people and new faces of Qashabeyyeh,” the designer said.
“All the deliveries are done by women, my friends, my sister and I.
So people are enjoying the experience more, a woman is delivering so I’m just
going to show her and ask for her opinion,” Haddad added. “So it’s pretty nice,
we have a good connection with our customers. It’s a friendly vibe between
Qashabeyyeh and customers.”
“Seeing the feedback I get
on Instagram is very rewarding, it’s literally the best feeling ever to see
your customers happy.”
Qashabeyyeh launched in 2021 as an online shop, mainly run from their
Instagram account.
“I would rather have 30,000 followers than have a shop that has one
customer coming in, glancing around and leaving,” Haddad said.
She explained that in a store, she can’t market her pieces
properly, but on social media, she can always do ads and sponsorships to reach
a bigger audience and target different demographics.
Haddad stressed that for businesses just starting out, stores are
just inconvenient, “with
COVID-19, taxes, electricity bills and all of that.” Online
shops help cut down on costs. “Your income is your income”.
For the summer collection, Qashabeyyeh tested many variations of
their staple winter garment and decided “to get 100 percent cotton shirts and
to have a simple Qashabeyyeh pattern pocket or a stripe.”
Qashabeyyeh is branching out with “more designs for the future, we
might do bucket hats, flip flops, anything we can add Qashabeyyeh to.”
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