Saeed Mubarak Al Amri of Pride of Originality, Muscat, adds his finishing touches to an Omani turban. Courtesy Anna Zacharias.
Saeed Mubarak Al Amri of Pride of Originality, Muscat, adds his finishing touches to an Omani turban. Courtesy Anna Zacharias.

Why young Omanis are turning to professional folders to perfect their national dress



Every Omani has that friend. He’s the guy you can call before a wedding, a graduation or when you need a passport photo. He’s the guy who you can count on to drive across town and meet you in the Opera House parking lot.

He’s the guy who can do your mussar just right.

The mussar, an embroidered Omani turban of soft cashmere wool, is the headgear of formal occasions and is mandatory for Omani government employees.

Issa Mubarak Al Amri was that friend. Now, he is a professional mussar folder. In the age of Instagram and Snapchat, his dexterous fingers and eye for detail are in high demand.

Issa and his brothers founded Pride of Originality, a mussar folding and rental shop, in Oman’s capital Muscat, after they saw social media create demand for more variety among young men. That was in 2014.

“People want to be unique and handsome, professional at their event, so they come to me,” says Issa, 35.

“A lot of people have changed their lifestyle and they are seeking something nice and special. Social media helps a lot to change the thinking of people.”

The mussar rental business has taken off in the past two years. When Issa started as a freelance folder in 2010, he knew of two other rental shops in Muscat. Now, he can name 13 in his neighbourhood.

Pride of Originality is in a humble three-storey building. Behind its plain wooden door is a groom’s paradise, with a room for each kind of accessory: one for khanjar daggers, swords and bullet belts; one for antique rifles and canes; one for black and gold bisht cloaks.

Other rooms contain shawl sashes and mussars. Thursday nights are busy. The Al Amri brothers start by burning frankincense to welcome guests, who arrive carrying khanjar daggers in red velvet boxes.

Issa’s brother-in-law Abdulraham Al Amri, 22, presents a khanjar to a young man in shorts, flip-flops and a Ferrari T-shirt, who dropped it off for polishing a few days ago. Another young man tries on bullet belts, struggling to find one to fit his slender waist. “There’s no belly,” an uncle cries. In the room next door, Issa’s brother Saeed has his own solution for a loose bullet belt: a leather hole-punch.

Issa and his brother Majid, 28, are fitting mussars in another room.

“He can make you handsome,” says customer Hassan Ali, 26, wearing a mussar patterned with golden laurels to match the edging on his dishdasha.

“If you do it at home, it will be messy. We want the easy way and this man is a professional.”

Although the mussar is national dress, it is not worn every day. “I’m working in the desert,” said Mohammed Harthi, 28, who is employed in oil drilling. “OK, if you ask me about coveralls and a hard hat, I’ll tell you. But for mussar, we’re not practised.”

The service is not just for grooms. The mussar’s tight folds hold for days and it’s often kept inside a car, ready for business meetings.

“If you go back three years, Omani people were not interested in fashion,” says Hamad Al Balushi, 33, a client and dishdasha designer.

“Now, young people love to wear something so they look smart and professional. Before, people were getting ready for weddings at home. Now, there are so many shops.”

For Issa, mussar style has always mattered. “When I was a kid, I liked everything to be organised, my shoes cleaned, my dishdasha pressed,” he says.

“When we were kids of the same age, my cousins and my brothers did not iron their dishdasha but for me, no, I’d iron it and put it aside.”

He practised folding his first mussar, at age 14, for hours. By Eid, his family were asking him to prepare theirs. “I had this skill and everybody noticed that,” says Issa. “When you like something you are in love with it, you grow with it.”

Social media has made rentals more acceptable but brings pressure for more looks, at a time when the cost of living is rising. Many Omani youth are struggling to find employment after graduation but at the same time are expected to marry.

Issa estimates it costs more than 700 Omani rials (Dh6,678) to dress and accessorize a groom. “For one day, huh? One day.”

Many men have their own khanjars. But a sword, the groom’s most prominent accessory, can cost from 270 to 800 rials. Issa says rentals are a solution to this. “What do you want a sword for?” he says.

A mussar fixing costs 3 rials and groom styling costs 10 rials. Issa says it is not just about looks. “Reputation belongs to people. Everybody has his own prestige.”

Over the years, he has become a confidant to nervous grooms. His job is not only to make grooms look good but feel good, and to focus on what matters – the marriage ahead.

“I just help him to take out that fear. In the end, he will do it and he will be with his wife. So, khalas.”

Anna Zacharias is an independent journalist based in Muscat.

The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Company profile

Name: Tharb

Started: December 2016

Founder: Eisa Alsubousi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: Luxury leather goods

Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings

 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma

When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

RESULTS

Women:

55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2

Men:

62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke

INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBhuvan%20Bam%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fbhuvan.bam22%2F%3Fhl%3Den%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EInstagram%3C%2Fa%3E%20followers%3A%2016.1%20million%3Cbr%3EBhuvan%20Bam%20is%20a%2029-year-old%20comedian%20and%20actor%20from%20Delhi%2C%20who%20started%20out%20with%20YouTube%20channel%2C%20%E2%80%9CBB%20Ki%20Vines%E2%80%9D%20in%202015%2C%20which%20propelled%20the%20social%20media%20star%20into%20the%20limelight%20and%20made%20him%20sought-after%20among%20brands.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EKusha%20Kapila%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fkushakapila%2F%3Fhl%3Den%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EInstagram%3C%2Fa%3E%20followers%3A%203.1%20million%3Cbr%3EKusha%20Kapila%20is%20a%20fashion%20editor%20and%20actress%2C%20who%20has%20collaborated%20with%20brands%20including%20Google.%20She%20focuses%20on%20sharing%20light-hearted%20content%20and%20insights%20into%20her%20life%20as%20a%20rising%20celebrity.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDiipa%20Khosla%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fdiipakhosla%2F%3Fhl%3Den%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EInstagram%3C%2Fa%3E%20followers%3A%201.8%20million%3Cbr%3EDiipa%20Khosla%20started%20out%20as%20a%20social%20media%20manager%20before%20branching%20out%20to%20become%20one%20of%20India's%20biggest%20fashion%20influencers%2C%20with%20collaborations%20including%20MAC%20Cosmetics.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EKomal%20Pandey%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fkomalpandeyofficial%2F%3Fhl%3Den%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EInstagram%3C%2Fa%3E%20followers%3A%201.8%20million%3Cbr%3EKomal%20Pandey%20is%20a%20fashion%20influencer%20who%20has%20partnered%20with%20more%20than%20100%20brands%2C%20including%20Olay%20and%20smartphone%20brand%20Vivo%20India.%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENikhil%20Sharma%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fnikkkhil%2F%3Fhl%3Den%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EInstagram%3C%2Fa%3E%20followers%3A%201.4%20million%3Cbr%3ENikhil%20Sharma%20from%20Mumbai%20began%20his%20online%20career%20through%20vlogs%20about%20his%20motorcycle%20trips.%20He%20has%20become%20a%20lifestyle%20influencer%20and%20has%20created%20his%20own%20clothing%20line.%3Cbr%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Hireinfluence%2C%20various%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A