KEY PONTS
- Argentina's captain Lionel Messi was given a bisht after his team won the World Cup final against France.
- The maker of the traditional Arab gown didn't know it was for him, and considers it a personal victory.
- He said Argentinian fans flocked to his store after the event.
Watching Sunday's World Cup final, Ahmed al-Salem was more emotional than most football fans when Qatar's emir placed a black and gold cloak over the shoulders of Argentina's victorious captain Lionel Messi.
The garment was a US$2,200 ($3,300) 'bisht', a traditional gown worn by men for weddings, graduations and official events — and it was made by Mr Salem's family company.
Mr Salem watched Argentina beat France in a cafe near the family's store in Doha's Souq Waqif market, having earlier handed two of the delicate handmade cloaks to World Cup officials — one in Messi's diminutive size and one to fit the taller French captain Hugo Lloris.
"We did not know who they were for and I was stunned," he told news agency AFP of the moment when the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, dressed Messi in the cloak.
A Qatari man works on a traditional black and gold bisht at the Al Salim store in Doha's Souq Waqif market, on 20 December, 2022. Source: Getty, AFP / Karim Jaafar
The Al-Salem store, a longstanding bisht supplier to Qatari royalty, normally sells eight to 10 garments a day.
On Monday, the day after the final, sales shot up to 150, including three copies of the top-of-the-range bisht made famous by Messi, said Mr Salem.
"At one stage there were dozens waiting outside the store", he said.
"They were nearly all Argentinians," he added as he watched eight supporters of the new world champions sing their "Muchachos" (mates) anthem and take pictures of themselves while wearing a fragile bisht and carrying a copy of the World Cup trophy.
Lionel Messi wore a bisht, which is a traditional gown worn by men for weddings, graduations and official events. Source: Getty / Jean Catuffe
Bisht boom
A stream of fans came into the shop as Mr Salem spoke to AFP, and all of them applauded the emir's gesture.
"We were all happy when we saw that, it was a gift from one king to another king," said Mauricio Garcia as he tried on the cloak, but decided the price tag was too high to buy.
Some commentators, predominantly European, criticised Messi's shirt being covered for the trophy presentation.
But the moment was welcomed by Arabic social media users.
An Argentinian fan kisses a mock world cup trophy while wearing a bisht at the Al Salim store in Doha's Souq Waqif market. Source: Getty, AFP / Karim Jaafar
"When a sheikh dresses a person in a bisht, this means honouring and appreciating this person," Mr Salem said.
It was a "very important moment" for Qatar as it seeks a World Cup publicity boost, said Carole Gomez, a professor of sports sociology at the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland.
"These pictures are widely spread about, conserved and reissued," she said.
Normally, the Al Salim store sells eight to 10 garments a day. On Monday, sales shot up to 150, including three copies of the top-of-the-range bisht made famous by Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. Source: Getty / Karim Jaafar
"I was surprised because we are in winter, so it seems that the goal was to show the Argentine uniform and not cover it," he said.
While the bisht is worn in many Gulf countries, Al-Salem is the biggest of about five Qatari producers, employing about 60 tailors.
Each bisht takes a week to make and goes through a seven stage completion, with different workers adding different lines of gold braid to the front and arms.
For Messi's bisht, the gold thread came from Germany and the Najafi cotton fabric was imported from Japan.
