A Qualitative Study of Contemporary Fashion Inspired by Middle Eastern Carpet Patterns

Islamic art reflects artwork that combines earlier art perception in Muslim living areas with Islamic principles (Etikan, 2011). The main characteristic of this art is the ornament style seen in most Islamic artwork, and handwoven rugs are one of those artworks. Various types of calligraphy, geometric shapes, and organic motifs form the ornament elements in Islamic art. This research aimed to highlight a form of Islamic artwork, specifically the Islamic rugs, which is recognized as a cultural heritage of the Islamic countries in the Middle East. In addition, the study aimed to use Islamic ornament art in apparel design prototyping. In this study, organic motifs were applied to apparel to decorate them according to certain principles such as abstraction, symmetry, repetition, and bordering. While existing research provided valuable information about Islamic artwork, there needs to be more research that takes it to the design stage to develop and analyze actual garment prototypes explicitly created for female consumers in the Middle East. This step was essential to get closer to identifying valuable options for this consumer of the market.