Title: The possibility of reviving traditional embroidery clothing through new technology

Biography:

Hind Mosfeer Saeed Al Gamdy is a lecturer at the Taif University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia teaching fabric clothing courses in the Home Economics Depertment. Currently, she is studying PhD at the Cranfield University on the topic of Reviving traditional embroidery clothing in the westren region of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Saudi Western region is known for its traditional embroidery clothing for both men and women. It has been suggested that traditional handcraft is under threat as locals finding western brands more appealing. However, the key cause of the decline in the demand of traditional clothing lies in the outdated manufacturing techniques that do not meet the current market trends such as demand for greater customer autonomy, customization, and value for money. To this end, the current paper aimed at identifying manufacturers and customers perspectives on introducing new technology to revive the industry. The author attended the fashion exhibition “Souq-Okaz” to interview ladies who manufacture traditional embroidery clothing at their home.Sixteen people were interviewed to identify their perspective on introducing new technology to produce embroidery clothing. Furthermore, 210 responses were collected through a conducted survey on the students of three universities such as Umm AlQura University, King Abdulaziz University, and Taif University. The aim of the survey was to ascertain whether customers perception of embroidery clothing made through using new technology. Interview results revealed that while most of the manufacturers would welcome new technology however they showed various concerns such as the availability of technology, lack of training and materials stability to stand washability and wearability perspectives. In contrast, survey results revealed that while there is interest in embroidery clothing and argued that they would accept embroidery clothing made through using new technology provided that it meets similar taste, meet current fashion trend,would recommend family and friends and finally would prefer to premium clothing.