Hussein has been working for over ten years in cornering the market on glitz for the Middle Eastern girl. His work work appeals to a variety of tastes as it needs to — Cairo is a city of 30 million people. Think the size of New York and add Chicago to it. Dwarfing even Mexico City, Bahig Hussein stands out in a city that has not one but TWO massive garment districts. He is making a dent in celebrity dressing for a two succinct of reasons: price point and taste.
Multiple Price Points
Hussein's custom work is pricy — but not at the same price point as a custom Dior, Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad or George Hobeika. All of these designers look to grabbing the Middle East's oil money endowed, little rich girls. Reem Acra has become a household fixture in the Middle East with her highly successful Fashion Star television show. Similar to the US Project Runway, the stakes in this show are much higher than the US counterpart with this show's winner walking away with over $1 million US. With that said, not all lady's in the Middle East have deep pockets of oil money. Bahig Hussein's work comes in at multiple price points depending on the amount of labor and types of materials involved. He uses a mix of fibers from stretch knits to silk wovens or chiffons to different achieve different effects. The common factor is a lot of glitz.
Multiple Target Markets
with One Purpose – Glitz
The wearer of these dresses are not going to the mall to buy their better evening wear. They also are not shopping in the supermarket and they don't do laundry or clean their own homes. The wearer of these dresses has a staff or at least one, perhaps two personal assistants, a housekeeper and a cook. While they have significant incomes, the price that they will spend on a garment will vary greatly along the desire to show skin. The crowd at this event varies SIGNIFICANTLY. I saw many well-heeled individuals wearing ten times the equivalent of my rent on their backs. I also saw quite a few women in hijab with their Prada bags. One could not walk ten yards without running into a beauty queen. Seriously... I counted ten of them and it seemed a bit surreal. Hussein has obviously made it on their fashion radar. There were many, many women in modest dressing. On the other end of the spectrum, I saw women with skirts so short that one could see camel toe. It have never seen clothing as tight as some wearers at this event or heels as high and in direct contrast with others in the room. This is precisely why Bahig Hussein is their go-to guy. He understands the varied markets that exist in Egypt and how diverse the population is.
All of the watcher however were transfixed on what was coming down the runway. It was really interesting to see the reactions as it was the creations themselves. He does however have a deep knowledge of what his target market will love.. including bellydancing models. This last bit was something one will never see on a Paris or London runway but did provide some entertainment.
Someone to Watch
Bahig Hussein is someone to keep track of and to watch. Egypt (particularly Cairo) is becoming more of a powerhouse in the Middle East. It's economy is much more diverse than many in the region and is seeing a huge economic growth. Egypt has enormous manufacturing capabilites and able to make anything from cellphones, fine furniture to vacuum cleaners. They are experiencing an enormous building boom like none other Western country.
Tourism is bouncing back in significant ways with Disney just announcing plans to build Disney Middle East to open it's first phase by 2020. It has a 14 year growth plan to build on Egypt's North Coast along the Mediterranean Sea. This influx of money will only add more fuel to Egypt fashion scene which already has a large media and motion picture industry unto itself. Hussein is someone who is poised and ready to take advantage of these manufacturing initiatives.
You will begin to see a lot more of him as award seasons come around.
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