Arab Women The Majority Of Couture Clients, Executives Say

Haute couture is traditionally associated with Paris and European glamour. But with a worldwide economic downturn and couture falling more and more out of favor, who is actually still buying the thousand-dollar dresses?

Arab women.

Reuters reported from Paris Fashion Week that women of the Middle East, particularly the royal families, are the biggest clients of haute couture.

The market in these oil-rich countries, say some executives, only started to rise recently. But how it's risen.

"For us, with China, the Middle East is the market that is growing the fastest," Hermes CEO Patrick Thomas said to Reuters. "These markets for a long time preferred a more ostentatious type of luxury and now want a more refined and discreet style."

The refined style is getting worn mainly at weddings. Simon Lock, the creative director of Dubai Fashion Week, told Reuters that at a recent local wedding, "4,000 women were invited to the reception and everybody in the room was wearing haute couture... And there are lots and lots of weddings to attend."

And you don't want to be caught wearing the same dress as another one of those 4,000 women. A young couture client from Kazakhstan told the Telegraph, "If I'm going to a wedding, I don't want to bump into someone wearing the same. In Kazakhstan, women love beautiful clothes. Our husbands don't have any say in what we buy. We feel these clothes are empowering."

And in doing so, the Arab women power the brands. "Women from the Middle East are our top buyers and they are likely to remain so," said Jeffry Aronsson, CEO of Emanuel Ungaro.

Added Catherine Riviere, head of haute couture at Christian Dior, "All the royal families of the Middle East are our customers."

Which royals, exactly? Sheikha Mozah, wife of the emir of Qatar, might be the biggest client. We've been tracking the glam royal's style for years and unlike some royals we know, we've never seen her pull a repeat -- meaning she must maintain quite the order with top couture houses.

Surprised that it's Middle Eastern women and not the European royals who make up couture's biggest buyers? Read more at Reuters.com and Telegraph.co.uk.

Comments

[N S]

12:00 AM on 10/11/2011

I'm an Arab woman and this is embarrassing, especially with all the poverty around the world, Arab women should know better. Being generous with the poor is so engrained in Arab culture (coming from Islam). It's shocking how these women forgot their legacy. If these women are spending the same amount on giving back, then I wouldn't have a problem with this article.

[connie o]

10:30 PM on 10/09/2011

One thing that folks here have forgotten is that while the wives are shopping their husbands are in charge of countries who are starving their citizens and Saudi Arabia is one of the worst.

[scottishandproud]

06:48 PM on 10/13/2011

or sifting the money to their wife to live like a Queen in Paris cf widow of Yasser Arafat!

[connie o]

07:35 PM on 10/13/2011

Indeed!

[OMGWTH]

07:45 AM on 10/08/2011

Not surprising. My cousin worked at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills for several years. She told of a member of the Saudi royal family, a beautiful young woman, coming in twice a year, surrounded by bodyguards, to do some clothes shopping. She always requested the same sales associate (lucky woman! They work on commission) and they toured the store together as the princess made her selections. It could take several hours. I don't know much about the clothing and accessories chosen. What I do know is, I would LOVE to have been that sales associate. Probably earned enough in that one day to just skate the rest of the month. And the best part: never any returns.

[syds180turn]

10:32 PM on 10/07/2011

It is not surprising that these are the people buying Haute Couture. They have extraordinary amounts of disposable income. I was in Louis Vuitton buying a bag for my mom and along came 2 contingents of Asian and Middle Eastern women. I was young and had saved my money for a long time to buy my mom that bag for her birthday. So as I was looking at different purses, one of the senior Middle Eastern women started chatting with me...I told her why I was there and she thought that I was the best daughter for doing this for my mom. Before I knew it, these women had racked up literally thousands of dollars in handbags, shoes and accessories. When the sales associate got to me because I was in absolute awe looking at the purchase power of these women, the sales associate told me that my bag was paid for and the Middle Eastern woman bought me my own. So I gave my mom the more expensive bag and kept the one I was buying for her. Needless to say, these people have untold wealth and they can definitely afford to drop 100K on one couture dress. Haute Couture is not what makes these design houses money, it's their RTW, accessories, perfumes and various other incarnations. The really smart ones like Vera Wang, Bradley Bayou and Issac Mizrahi branch off into home shopping networks and places like Target and Kohls.

[Jacob31]

12:08 PM on 10/09/2011

That's an amazing story.

[lefty81]

06:06 PM on 10/13/2011

Your story blessed my heart:)

[Ms Liann]

04:47 PM on 10/07/2011

So these are the people we are destroying the world for?

[Amy Fleischer]

07:18 PM on 10/07/2011

F&F

[Lightwins]

10:10 PM on 10/07/2011

No, we are destroying the world for money and power.

[The Revolving Diet]

04:37 PM on 10/07/2011

Friend of mine has a froend that works in a local Coach store, she was telling us that every 6 months or so - a large group of woman from China come in and drop hundreds of thousands of dollars just on handbags. In most cases they purchase 2-3 of the same styles.

Ahhhhh....to have disposable cash....I can think of much more worthy things to spend it on!

[mushimom]

08:17 PM on 10/07/2011

I agree! I would go to a yoga retreat by the mountains, or beach...see beautiful sites, throw a party at the local shelter...all kinds of things...who needs tons of purses? My ex bought me three Coach purses...I use one, and use a nylon Ironman bag when I walk or do errands...what a waste of money..

[WillCooney]

04:16 PM on 10/07/2011

Years ago, a friend worked in the fur salon at Harrod's. An apparently very wealthy Arab women selected several thousand dollars worth of very distinguished furs and asked my friend to have them charged to her husband, the sheikh. They were staying at the best hotel in London. After she left, my friend, being new at the job, asked a co-worker how she would go about doing this. They called the hotel and asked for the suite where an Arab sheikh was staying. The front desk replied that there were several. After reviewing past accounts, they settled on a name and called the hotel again. When they were waiting to be transferred, they hung up and just charged the sheikh's account. Since Arab wives spend so much money, the charge was never questioned!

[mushimom]

08:18 PM on 10/07/2011

LOL!! Wow...now that is money!!...just one day I would love to live as if money was not an issue!..:)

[Kittenesque]

03:19 PM on 10/07/2011

And the ignorant ones think Muslim women don't know fashion.

[invirginia]

08:50 PM on 10/07/2011

Who said Muslim? They said Arab. There's a difference.

[Kittenesque]

03:48 PM on 10/10/2011

being one, I know the difference. the comment was for people who stereotype

[MisterGoLightly]

12:44 PM on 10/07/2011

One of the things I think should be understood when we look at the haute couture is not only do these wealthy women buy expensive dresses, but they also support and assist in sustaining an entire craft... The craftsmanship at the haute couture level was turning into a dying art form before these wealthy Arab women came on board... Like most art at this level - no one is getting rich from it (haute couture accounts for less that 10% of any brand's income) - but it does spark the ideas and imaginations of designers and artists everywhere. Not to mention it provides a livelihood for women and men that have dedicated their lives to keeping this art form alive. Well that's just my two cents, euros or dirhams...

[iknownisha]

11:57 AM on 10/07/2011

I'm not surprised. Couture dresses are expensive

[Wistfulslinking]

11:52 AM on 10/07/2011

Less than.001 of HP commenters who haven't a clue what it is, how much it costs, or how or where to buy it.

However, that complete lack of familiarity doesn't stop them for voicing opinions about something they have never seen.

[An Independent Woman]

11:58 AM on 10/07/2011

Hmm, they voice their opinions, good, bad or indifferent, and they're know-nothings. You voice your opinion of their opinions. Do you sense a bit of a disconnect here? ::cough cough:: Hypocrite...

[Kali03]

06:18 PM on 10/07/2011

Not only an independent woman, but also a smart-mouthed one.

F&F

:D

[Wistfulslinking]

09:17 PM on 10/07/2011

Logic escapes you, as does the definition of "hypocrite­".

You're defending a blind person criticizin­g a sunset.

Sorry, hun, you lost than one ;)

[Aoede]

11:40 AM on 10/07/2011

With all that unlimited oil money, no duh!

[The Frau]

11:17 AM on 10/07/2011

I had to laugh when I saw haute couture described as "thousand-dollar" dresses. The haute couture, often handmade from the best fabrics by very highly skilled seamstresses known as "petite mains", often costs TENS of thousands if not hundreds for ONE outfit.

A Prada dress you can buy off the rack at Neiman Marcus even costs more than a thousand dollars.

[Bafun]

10:53 AM on 10/07/2011

Can you imagine walking the streets in these clothes? I understand now better why they hide under the niqab!!!

[ChaiKat]

10:44 AM on 10/07/2011

Glad to know all that money I'm paying gas for is going to a good cause.