The influence of Islamic heritage on Western arts is undisputed. Some trace it back to the conquests and pilgrimages to Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, among others. Thanks to these travels, Islamic arts, from architecture, to wood engraving, plaster and wall engraving, reached Europe.
Thus, between one trip and another, orientalists and craftsmen began to borrow vocabulary from the arts of the East that enriched their works and combined with them easily. Regarding these influences, which extend from the depths of the East to the far reaches of Andalusia, the Assouline Publishing House recently published three books dealing with the extent of this influence. Not only the arts, but the luxury world as a whole. The first is entitled “Morocco: Kingdom of Lights” and focuses on Morocco as a country in which Islamic, African, Amazigh and Andalusian cultural tributaries merge. The second is entitled “Morocco… Decorative Arts” and reviews craft arts and their traditions in All cities, from north to south, especially since it is the country that has most preserved the Andalusian heritage alive in the imagination, as well as in daily life through cuisine, fashion, and handicrafts, such as plaster, wood engraving, mosaics, and others.
Cover of the book “Morocco: Decorative Arts” (Assouline)
The third book, entitled “Golden Opulence: 500 Years of Luxuriant Style,” deals with the extent of the influence of Islamic and Ottoman culture in particular on the luxury and fashion industry, but the common denominator between the three books remains the Western fascination with the richness of the culture of the East. How it formed a magnet that attracted orientalists, creators, and craftsmen alike.
Cover of the book “Golden Opulence: 500 Years of Luxuriant Style” (Assoulin)
It goes without saying that the fashion industry has had a share of this legacy, since the beginning of the twentieth century, where the name of designer Paul Poiret, who can be described as an oriental designer, stands out. Harem pants, as we know them today, were inspired by paintings depicting the harems of sultans. They were revolutionary at the time, but they survived to tickle the imagination of many designers who came after him.
After him came Saint Laurent, then Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Christian Louboutin, Giorgio Armani, Antonio Marras, Rifaat Upek, Huseyin Chalayan, Erdem and Deci Kayik, and others who drew from the colors and patterns of the East, and of course its poetry. Each of them was influenced at some stage in his career either by the geometric or domed shapes that characterize architecture. Islamic, or mashrabiyas and decorations that they embroidered on fabrics of velvet or brocade, and even leather.
How architecture and decorative arts were embodied in fashion (Photo by Aziz Hamani)
All of this is far from the stereotypical image of modest Islamic fashion. Even when this international fashion became popular, Western designers translated it into styles that included artistic creativity that they wanted to express the meeting of civilizations. They were not content with long sleeves and high collars and dispensing with the dramatic slits in wide and long dresses. They also excelled in introducing scarves and all head coverings in general. Some of them came in the form of bonnets that covered the head and half of the face to frame it beautifully, and some of them came in the form of turbans with satin fabrics, sometimes decorated with diamond or gold brooches. In recent years, these turbans have appeared in the shows of Antonio Marras, Loewe and Prada, which had an exciting impact that brought them into daily life, after they were limited to specific occasions.
From Arwa Al-Amari’s collection, in which she was inspired by Andalusia for its geometry and patterns (Arwa Al-Amari)
However, it would be wrong to say that this fascination is limited to Western designers. With the emergence of Arab designers who have established themselves globally, such as Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, Georges Hobeika, Georges Chakra and others, these Eastern influences have taken on a new form full of romance and poetry. Recently, Saudi designer Arwa Al-Amari presented a no less poetic collection that she said was inspired by the gardens of Andalusia and the architecture of the Palace of Cordoba.
She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Fashion has drawn a lot from Arab architecture, music and poetry, and this has its justifications. Because you must be amazed by its beauty and historical richness, and there is no clearer evidence of this than the feelings that the Palace of Cordoba, with its architecture and gardens, arouses in the soul.” This is why it was not strange that many Islamic patterns and Andalusian motifs appeared in its collection, as well as geometric lines.
Andalusia, with its flowers, mosaics and poetry, was a source of inspiration for designer Arwa Al-Ammari (Arwa Al-Ammari)
Arwa explains that this collection was a tribute to a golden era in Islamic history: “It witnessed many innovations and contributions in various fields, starting from medicine and engineering, to social sciences, poetry and music, which affected people’s way of life and their social, human and cultural development.”
She continues: “Mentioning poetry and music, for example, it must be noted here the extent of Ziryab’s influence on fashion. He was premature. He was not only a skilled musician, but also a fashion and image designer. He was a comprehensive artist who left his mark on the way dining tables were designed, as well as on fashion and elegance in general, as evidenced by the fact that he was the first to start using the color white in the summer.
“Oriental” hairband from Cartier Paris, 1911. Image credit: © Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Photography: Ismail Nour/Seeing Things
The world of jewelry has not been spared from Eastern and Islamic influence, and there is no clearer evidence of this than the “Cartier” house, which began its relationship with the region at the beginning of the last century, after a trip made by Jacques Cartier, the grandson of the house’s founder, to Al-Khalidid. His goal for this trip was to explore the pearl market, so that the relationship would develop into more than just an exchange of goods. Jack was driven by curiosity to learn about a culture completely foreign to what he was accustomed to. Upon his arrival in the Gulf, he was amazed by the aesthetic secrets it concealed and the ancient traditions that appear in the mashrabiyas and way of life.
During this visit, a new vision was born that he recorded in his memoirs, and it crystallized later in what the French House refers to in its archives as “the emergence of modernity at the beginning of the twentieth century.” In this context, Pierre Renero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage, comments: “Islamic art has played a pivotal role that has left a tangible and structural impact on Cartier’s creative style since the beginning of the twentieth century. This impact continues to extend and expand to this day. This is thanks to the richness of geometric patterns and their multiple formations.”
Part of the “Cartier… Islamic Art and the Sources of Modernity” exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi (Photo by Ismail Nour)
This relationship is currently being reviewed by Cartier at the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi in an exhibition entitled “Cartier… Islamic Art and the Sources of Modernity,” which deals with this influence and influence through more than 400 pieces of art collected from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Louvre Museum, in addition to To a collection of Cartier collectibles and archives. There are also pieces that were borrowed from the “Le Boutique Palais” – the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris, which are paintings, drawings, miniature art pieces or “Zellige” pieces, all of which sing of the masterpieces of Islamic art, and that relationship that linked the house to the Islamic world, and embodied it in fine and sophisticated jewelry. One of what the exhibition highlights most is the language that appeared in Cartier’s style, whether in jewelry design or in the field of art.
A cigarette box dating back to 1930 from the Cartier collection. Gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise, sapphires, diamonds. Image rights: © Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
Each piece, whether it is a mosaic, a cigarette case, or a crown studded with pearls or diamonds, tells the story of how the trip that Jacques Cartier made in 1912 to the Gulf region opened the doors to exploring new patterns, geometric shapes, and ancient decorations that she expressed in a modern form in her Parisian workshops decades ago. .
Crown by Cartier, 2012 Image credit: © Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Photography: Ismail Nour/Seeing Things
What is beautiful about the exhibition is that it is a journey that takes the visitor into the depths of history and its glories, through several sections, each of which explores the sources from which the house drew inspiration, and explains its creative methods. There are more than 400 artistic pieces of masterpieces of Islamic art, including jewelry, paintings, and drawings. Miniature art pieces, textiles, photographs, and archival materials make a tour of the exhibition a journey deep into history.
