BAGHDAD: Leggy models in designer clothes strutted down a catwalk in front of Baghdad’s high society Friday for a fashion show that tickled one generation’s nostalgia and filled the next one with hope.
Umm Mustafa and her husband canceled all their family duties, bought new clothes and spent a whole week preparing for the first edition of the Baghdad Fashion Show.
“The last show we saw was in 1988 at the Palestine hotel,” she said, wearing a burgundy suit with flowery prints and candy floss pink nail varnish assorted to her smartphone cover.
“We love fashion and design... It’s the security situation that has affected everything. There’s development here but no opportunity to show the world,” said her husband, also in his late forties.
Despite Iraq’s eight-year war with Iran, Baghdad in the eighties had a vibrant cultural life.
Around 500 people turned out in their best attire to watch 16 young Iraqi women model collections by six home-grown designers Friday as an oriental beat shook the walls of the luxurious Royal Tulip hotel’s gala hall.
Many of the creations were variations on traditional Arab themes, including a collection exploring the chequered keffiyeh pattern in modern urban designs that wowed the crowd.
On the horseshoe catwalk, the dresses were mostly long — there was no winking or lip-pursing at the cameras. But there was a feeling both backstage and in the audience that the show was making a statement.
“It’s a dream come true. I have been dreaming of something like this for so long,” said Ayman Sultan Hajem, the only man among the six designers showcasing their work.
“I feel I am victorious over myself and over society,” said the 30-year-old from the conservative southern city of Basra, explaining the prejudice he had to overcome when he chose this line of work.
Huddled at the entrance of the changing room backstage, some of the models looked terrified before the show started.
Haneen, a tall 22-year-old, said her mother was the only person among her family and friends who knew she would model for the Baghdad Fashion Show.
“I don’t tell anyone I am a model because no-one accepts this idea... My father thinks I am an employee at a fashion house,” she said.
“People don’t realize that you can risk your life by choosing to be a model,” she told AFP at a rehearsal a few days before the show.
More than just a welcome distraction from the conflict and instability that has plagued Iraq for years, some argued the show was an act of resistance.
“This is an attempt within the current political and security situation to support the government and the people,” Iraqi designer and organizer Sinan Kamel said.
“The most important message we address to the world today is that Iraq is still alive,” the 35-year-old told the audience at the launch of the glitzy event.
Glamour over gloom as Baghdad hosts fashion show
Glamour over gloom as Baghdad hosts fashion show
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
