Special guests at QELA’s Pearl boutique were treated to the latest word in Qatari haute couture at a glamorous tea-party on Saturday. QELA, Qatar’s own luxury brand, hosted the preview event to allow clients and the press an early viewing of its new collection of essential classics. Models presented the collection accompanied by live classical music from a violin string quartet.
Compact and timelessly stylish, the range features a small number of garments that together comprise a perfectly adaptable wardrobe for today’s busy professional woman. Timeless pieces such as the little black dress, jumpsuits, cocktail dresses, two-piece outfits, dusters and capes are interpreted as simple, modern ensembles, apt for any occasion.
H E Sheikha Noor bint Hamad Al Thani, the official spokesperson and brand image VP for QELA explained some of the thinking behind the collection: “Our clients live remarkable lives, often tightly scheduled between professional appointments, high-end social events and extensive travel. QELA’s essentials comprise the distillation of our characteristic style into one absolute wardrobe: in short, those pieces one simply cannot do without. The ten different looks on show this evening offer a glimpse into the exquisitely versatile, coherent lines of these signature QELA classics which are designed always to be offered at QELA’s boutique.”
QELA’s essential palette embraces nude hues and variously textured blacks. The harmonising paler tones are inspired by the colours of the Qatari desert: sand dunes, sun and shadow, and the many subtle shades of camel-wool, the traditional Bedouin weaving material. The blacks meanwhile emphasise the high tactile and visual qualities of the materials used and the minimal, clean lines of the designs. A pop of red adds a spring touch and links to QELA’s colour of the season.
The new essentials collection also revisits QELA’s signature designs, influenced by Qatari tradition, of the bisht (cloak) and mashrabiya (privacy screen), a welcome affirmation of elegant modesty for the Ramadan season. The silhouette of the bisht is reinterpreted as two duster coats, one of which is also ornamented with classic bisht embroidery, as is one of the trouser designs. QELA’s complex, subtle mashrabiya pattern reappears as an embroidery motif in red on a short cocktail dress, and again as an element of the nude embroidered organza panels featuring on a camel cape.
Another QELA signature element, the asymmetric ‘Fann’ (Art) buckle, is newly interpreted in a doubled and locked design in gold which is incorporated in almost all the new classics in the form of belt closures.
The Peninsula
