An academic team at Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah is currently conducting a series of researches to design uniforms for Saudi lawyers of both sexes, with a style that takes into account their professional status and the local climate.
The team consists of a number of faculty staff and female students of the schools of design and law. The research will extend eight months before the team puts the final touches to the costume’s sketches.
Dr. Suhair Al-Qurashi, dean of Dar Al-Hekma University, told local media that the university considers this research as one of their strategic goals. To better suit the lawyers’ needs, the team will research official studies on the issue. The first steps have begun with the team gathering the necessary data and information on the formal garments used by lawyers in the Middle East, as well as a number of Western countries.
The students and academic staff will then design the appropriate robe taking into account a number of factors, including religion, culture and the local climate in the Kingdom. The approved design will be displayed in front of a committee formed by professional designers.
However, the students’ idea is not new, since the National Committee for Lawyers and local media outlets had called for the establishment of a formal costume for Saudi lawyers in previous occasions.
“We offered the idea to establish a formal uniform for Saudi lawyers inside the courts, similar to the procedures applicable at all courts of the world, called the robe in Arabic, so that the lawyers be distinguished from the other employees at the courts,” the Council of Saudi Chambers explained on their website.