Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Even in digital age, value is in the vintage

minus
plus

Whether it is the indigo, the life in the desert or an old watch, they all go back to the human mind. We are always on the search for something unique. While many rush for achievements, there are others who seek the meaning of life. 


Lakshmi Kothaneth -


lakshmiobserver@gmail.com -


The indigo is back. Indigo is the trend now, says the owner of a boutique. Indigo, whether it is a cotton fabric with hand-printed designs or jeans, this blue dye has come a long way.


Indigo is organic. I wonder if it is the coolness of the term ‘organic’ that is bringing back the trend, but the truth is once upon a time it was in much demand because the blue dye was rare to find. Naturally, it had great economic importance. Centuries ago, it was a main product for India, China, Japan and other Asian countries and was much in demand among the Greeks and Romans.


Today too, the credit for the original colour of blue jeans goes to indigo.


The dye is extracted from plants, and was once practised in Oman. Bahla still has the plants, while the rich brown lustre of the Dhofari thobe used by residents of the mountains of Dhofar also has the blueness of the indigo. You realise it after wearing the dress for a while, when you begin to notice the blue on your hands.


“There is a sense of beauty in the blueness,” I remember a woman from Salalah explaining to me during an exhibition held during the Khareef Festival conducted by Dhofar Municipality.


As societies move faster towards digital age, there are still a few amongst us who long to hold back and take us back to those days.


As the walls around the houses go higher and the apartment buildings grow even taller, the four Omanis with their 20 camels are urging everyone to take a step back and reflect on the life as it once was under the wide skies, camping on the sands of Sharqiya or Rub Al Khali.


It is a heritage they are proud of and want to revive the interest in others. The desert has been an attraction to visitors, but one can imagine the feeling of marvel when one gets to see people practising their forefathers’ traditions.


One of the travellers, Ahmed al Mahrouqi remembers his journeys on the camel as a child. “I remember once arriving by sea and then heading all the way to our village on camels,” Ahmed recollected while explaining why deserts and camels need to be cherished for the sake of the future generations.


It is the magic of childhood memories. We always want to cherish all the good incidents we experience as a child. Is that why we always want to relive those moments one way or the other?


We see the cycle of fashion statements making a comeback every decade or so. Who or what sets the momentum?


The old designs become vintage collections and the trend has been seen in France, said Tsuneo Nagai, Managing Director of Casio.


It’s an interesting statement because while new designs are researched on, they discovered a group of people who are on the rush to look out for the old models. Was it for the charm of childhood memories or to make a fashion statement?


Whether it is the indigo, the life in the desert or an old watch, they all go back to the human mind. We are always on the search for something unique. While many rush for achievements, there are others who seek the meaning of life. But everyone at some point reach that level of thought and realise the cycle of life also has us seeking out to our origins.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon