An L.A. Business Woman, a Saudi Businessman and a Lingerie Store -- Chase Design Group Designing Second Lingerie Perdu in Mecca.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

Before the tragic events of 9/11, the Los Angeles design firm Chase Design Group won the task of designing a retail lingerie store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This was not an easy task, given the country's social restrictions. The challenge became even greater when the terrorist acts strained relations and heightened tensions throughout the world.

Chase Design Group overcame many hurdles, including increased shipping restrictions and objections from Saudi customs authorities that the already-stylized mannequins were too suggestive, and therefore in violation of Islamic law. In spite of everything, the retail store opened on schedule, in time for Ramadan 2001, to great success.

Now plans are underway for opening a second store, this time in Mecca by Ramadan 2003. "Every year over two million people visit Mecca," explains owner Ehab Mashat. "It is a wealthy city and Ramadan is the biggest shopping season of the year, so the timing and location make sense. The following year we are planning to open a store in Dubai, UAE, the largest market in the Middle East."

The family of Ehab Mashat, 34, has been selling lingerie in Saudi Arabia's bazaars for three generations. Mashat had the radical vision of elevating lingerie from an under-the-counter commodity to the status of socially acceptable apparel.

"Saudi women are wealthy. They know all the top European designers and are biased against their local businessmen, whom they consider to have provincial attitudes and low quality merchandise. My goal was to create a venue where Saudi women could get what they wanted: beautiful lingerie in a fashionable store that rivaled designer boutiques abroad," stated Mashat. "At the same time, I wanted to reach the widest group of people possible, so my store carries merchandise in a broad range of prices."

To create this sophisticated environment he needed the right creative partner. Mashat selected Chase Design Group to design every facet of his store, from choosing the name (the mixed French genders are intentional) and designing the identity, to creating the interior, specifying the fixtures, producing the signage and designing the mannequins. Chase successfully created a branding strategy that adhered to the fundamentals of Islam and the Saudi culture, while also meeting Mashat's modern business objectives.

"For us, it was a challenge on many levels," explained Margo Chase, Chase Design Group's founder and Creative Director. "The biggest challenge was the conceptual one -- how could we brand a lingerie store in a country where photos of sexy women could not be used? And it went further than that -- we couldn't show skin, or any part of a recognizable female shape."

Her solution included taking advantage of the romantic language of Arabic poetry and the sensual shapes of the alphabet by creating custom typefaces both in English and Arabic. Chase used the new fonts with suggestive text and colors to create a feeling of warm sensuality without ever showing a female form. These elements became the core of the brand and identity, successfully avoiding the cultural restrictions.

"Mashat trusted our design work and allowed me to do what I thought would work," continued Chase. "It is a great tribute to his courage and his belief in a more open-minded future for Saudi Arabia. Our design solved his numerous and complicated problems while still being sensitive to his cultural and business issues. We are delighted to be working on the design for his new Mecca store."

About Chase Design Group

Margo Chase founded the Chase Design Group fifteen years ago. Noted early on for designing hundreds of logos and identities for such clients as Madonna, Cher and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the company is now equally well known for corporate identities, packaging and product design, motion graphics, advertising and interior design. Widely recognized as a rare creative talent and the recipient of countless awards and accolades, Margo Chase was originally trained to be a veterinarian. For more information, please visit http://www.chasedesigngroup.com.

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