Amir’s gift to Messi raises fans’ interest in bisht

Qatar Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani adorned Argentine captain Lionel Messi with ‘bisht’, a Qatari traditional cloak.

Ahmad all Salem, manager of Al Salem Store, said the bisht is made of Japanese Najafi fabric, embroidered by hand. It goes through seven different stages before delivery. He also said they were surprised to see it on television, adding that the next day fans from different nationalities found their way to the store to try and buy bisht.

“The shop originally made two pieces of different sizes for both Lionel Messi and French captain Hugo Lloris. In addition, there were certain specifications for the bisht,” Salem said. “The required specifications included that it should to be light -- which we understood later and seemed logical to us -- and its purpose was for the winning team’s uniform to appear clearly under the bisht.”

He said, “The World Cup fans of different nationalities came to learn about the bisht and the way it is made. We never expected this kind of jump in sales, but the global interaction with Argentine star Lionel Messi wearing the bisht made it possible.

He added that there are various types of bisht according to the fabric use, with the best quality and most expensive being the one made with Najafi cloth and first-class German saree, which can cost as much as QR9,000.

According to him, the making of bisht by hand may take up to 10 days of work, because it goes through several stages, adding that bisht is available in five colours - white, summery, usual, sugary and black. Light bishts are worn in the morning and dark ones are worn in the evening.

He said the prices of the handmade bisht range, according to the materials used, from QR1,500 to QR9,000, while the prices of the machine-made bisht range between QR250 to QR1,000 only.