A colorful show of Saudi traditional dress was held in the Victoria Albert Museum Hall in London as part of the two-day Arab culture celebration, which included lectures, films and exquisite Middle Eastern dishes accompanied by Arab music and dances.

It was as though a piece of the exotic Orient was transplanted to downtown London. Visitors formed a semicircular row of low seats.

Catherine from Hampton told Ashaq Al-Awsat that she was not aware of this event and just stumbled in to the expo by accident. However, she enjoyed the amazing heritage clothes display.

Emily, another Briton said: “I did not know anything about the show in advance. I came late, almost when the program was going to end. It was a breathtaking show and I wish it would return to London.”

Several visitors lingered around even after the show was over clicking their cameras or examining the clothes displayed in the sales tents. They were asking about the fabrics and how the clothes were made.

In one of the small stalls where Saudi handicrafts were being sold stood Dima Al-Suleiman and Hamida Alirid, answering to the queries of the curious visitors who crowded around the clothes, jewelries and artifacts.

Al-Suleiman said: “The exhibition came here in response to the invitation of the V&A Museum to the Saudi textiles institution which specializes in traditional dress to conduct a fashion show as part of the Arab Day activities.”

The models sauntered down the catwalk elegantly dressed in embroidered clothes of various Saudi regions, such as Abha, Taif and Riyadh, in front of the viewers who set their eyes first time in their life on these dazzling aspects Saudi culture. Several of the viewers were taking photos and swaying to the Arab tunes being played in the garden.

The institution, which wanted to preserve the Saudi culture, had organized the expo earlier in the Kingdom, according to Al-Suleiman.

As part of the fabric institution’s tour, the women members of the group visited various regions of the Kingdom and made researches to be familiar with the traditional dress styles in each region.

“We visited most of the regions and searched for the clothes and the features that distinguish them. Kingdom is a vast country and prides in a diverse heritage and history that should be preserved,” Al-Suleiman said.

Their researching included interviews with the men and women of older generation and reading several books that shed light to the region’s history and cultural heritage.

The fabric institution, a charity organization that employs the physically disabled, keeps a rare collection of the Saudi heritage clothes. The products vary from traditionally knit handbags and shoes in traditional styles to artistic plaques with calligraphic inscriptions and folklore engravings.

The occasion also included documentary films and lectures on the Saudi cultural heritage.