Kaftan
Popular during the time of the Ottoman Empire, detailed and elaborately designed garments were given to ambassadors and other important guests at the Topkapı Palace.
Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities The origins of the kaftan are uncertain, but it is believed to have first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia.
[1][2] It is described as a long robe as far as the calves sometimes or just under the knee, and is open at the front and the sleeves are slight cut at the wrists or even as far as to the middle of the arms.
[citation needed] In the 830s, Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, who fought the Abbasids on the battlefield and built a Baghdad-style palace near the Bosporus, went about in kaftans and turbans.
[19] In an excavation in Kinet in Turkey, a bowl dating back to the early 14th century was found with a depiction of a man wearing what appears to be a kaftan.
By the second half of the 17th century, the most precious kaftans were those with yollu: vertical stripes with varying embroidery and small patterns – the so-called "Selimiye" fabrics.
[citation needed] Most fabrics manufactured in Turkey were made in Istanbul and Bursa, but some textiles came from as far away as Venice, Genoa, Persia (Iran), India, and even China.
[30][31] In his Topography and General History of Algiers, Antonio de Sosa [es] described it as a coloured robe made of satin, of damask, of velvet and silk and having a form that reminded him of the priests' cassocks.
[35] In 1789, the diplomat Venture de Paradis described the women of Algiers as follows: When they go to a party, they put three or four ankle length golden kaftans on top of one another, which, with their other adjustments and gilding, may weigh more than fifty to sixty pounds.
These kaftans in velvet, satin or other silks are embroidered in gold or silver thread on the shoulders and on the front, and they have up to the waistband big buttons in gold or silver thread on both sides; they are closed in front by two buttons only.Several types of kaftans were developed since then, while still respecting the original pattern.
Nowadays, the Algerian female kaftans, including the modernised versions, are seen as an essential garment in the bride's trousseau in cities such as Algiers, Annaba, Bejaia, Blida, Constantine, Miliana, Nedroma and Tlemcen.
[40] According to Naima El Khatib Boujibar, however, the kaftan might only have been introduced to Morocco by the Saadi Sultan Abd al-Malik, who had lived in Algiers and Istanbul.
The takchita is also known as Mansouria which derives from the name of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who invented Al-Mansouria and the new fashion of wearing a two-piece kaftan.
[50] Since June 5, 2022, the Moroccan kaftan and the brocade of Fes have been officially included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by ICESCO.
[56] Hasidic Jewish culture adapted a silky robe (bekishe) or frock coat (kapoteh, Yiddish word kapote or Turkish synonym chalat) from the garb of Polish nobility,[57] which was itself a type of kaftan.
[citation needed] In Southeast Asia, the kaftan was originally worn by Arab traders, as seen in early lithographs and photographs from the region.
Religious communities that formed as Islam became established later adopted this style of dress as a distinguishing feature, under a variety of names deriving from Arabic and Persian such as "jubah", a robe, and "cadar", a veil or chador.
[58] In the recent era the kaftan was introduced to the West in the 1890s, Queen Victoria's granddaughter Alix of Hesse wore a traditional Russian coronation dress before a crowd which included Western on-lookers, this traditional dress featured the loose-fitting Russian kaftan which was so exotic to Western eyes.
[citation needed] In the 1950s, fashion designers such as Christian Dior and Balenciaga adopted the kaftan as a loose evening gown or robe in their collections.
[61] American hippie fashions of the late 1960s and the 1970s often drew inspiration from ethnic styles, including kaftans for women and men.
Street styles were appropriated by fashion designers, who marketed lavish kaftans as hostess gowns for casual at-home entertaining.
[63] Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley, and Barbara Hutton all helped popularize the kaftan in mainstream western fashion.
[59][better source needed] American fashion editor André Leon Talley also wore kaftans designed by Ralph Rucci as one of his signature looks.
[66] Beyoncé, Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Kate Moss, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Nicole Richie have all been seen wearing the style.
