Nancy Tabard, Bustier and Skirt – The motif in the top of this dress is my mother’s name spelled in Arabic, knitted in mohair and a shiny rayon yarn for textural contrast. The patterned top is in the shape of an historical garment called a tabard. The skirt is machine-knitted, hand-crocheted and hand-sewn. The bustier is draped and sewn in silk shantung by Hisham Dawoud. This piece was made for the collaborative Exhibition “Dressing Up, Going Out, Eating In” at the Katara Concept Space, Katara Art Center, Doha, Qatar 2013.
The memory of an exceptionally beautiful fabric that I saw long before I moved to the Arabian peninsula, sienna-colored and printed with gold Arabic calligraphy, provided inspiration for my Arabic Calligraphy Collection of machine knitted textiles and dresses. During the seven years I taught fashion and textile design at VCUQatar School of the Arts, my experiences there became embedded in my designs. Daily I absorbed the rhythm and color of Islamic calligraphy and surface patterning that are ever-present in Middle Eastern architecture and art, as well as on everyday items. Black and white monograms on the university walls caught my attention as being perfect motifs for textile designs. Each monogram represented a stylized version of a name in Arabic.
The immersion in Arabic culture reinforced my long-standing practice of imbuing my textiles with the vitality and spirit of healing energy and, in some instances, incorporating symbols of wellbeing into the designs. I learned that an established ritual in the Arab world is wearing symbols – such as soldiers wearing prayers woven into the fabric closest to their skin. I also learned about the custom of asking a noble person for cast-off clothing in order to absorb their powerful spirit, believing that energy is retained in cloth and is transferable.
