2011 KAFTAN DESIGNS FOR SUMMER

The kaftan or robe is not only traditional but also elegant, exotic, and comfortable. Early jet-setters brought them back from distant, hot corners of the world. Haute couture designers like the late Yves St. Laurent and Christian Dior introduced these loose garments into Western fashion.

As early as the 1950s, kaftans, kimonos, abayas, muumuus, djellabas (Moroccan robes with pointed hoods), or jalabiyas, and other styles from the Middle East, India, and Africa were translated into the “it” item suitable for glamour dressing, backyard party dresses, or casual house robes.

Fashion legend Yves St. Laurent (who was born in Algeria and lived out the second part of his life in Marrakech) made the kaftan an elite garment by putting finely patterned and embroidered versions on swank models. Kaftans, however, have been worn as traditional attire throughout Africa and the Middle East since ancient times.

Kaftans can be made from any material and pattern imaginable, while custom-made kaftans can set a buyer back thousands of dollars with gold or silver embroidery and hand-woven silks.

Of course, a traditional kaftan for strolling in the garden or basking by the pool—if you do not happen to have a fountain like that in Yves St. Laurent’s Marrakesh mansion—is always desirable and can keep you dreaming about magic carpets and distant lands yet to be visited.