By Deema Al-Khudair
Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) When coming up with new designs for their hats, entrepreneurs Jumana Binshihon and Jawaher Al-Esayi say they start by analyzing their target audience.
JEDDAH
Millennials and Generation Z are known for their sassiness, dark humor and love of aesthetics. At the Koshk, based in Jeddah, youngsters can find caps that communicate exactly that.
It was established by two 23-year-old Saudi entrepreneurs, Jumana Binshihon and Jawaher Al-Esayi, when they were still in high school.
“We actually needed community service hours, so we decided to take part in a bazaar trading clothes, caps and phone cases that would appeal to adolescents. We participated around three times in different bazaars when we noticed a high demand for caps and all we had to offer were Westernized ones. So, we decided to design our own,” Binshihon told Arab News.
The Koshk offers distressed baseball caps with rounded brims, and include their trademark small-scale texts embroidered onto them. The store is planning to design and develop even more styles to appeal to a wider variety of people.
The caps are usually made from cotton, though the store has produced a few suede caps, and are planning to use different materials in the near future.
The texts are available in both Arabic and English, and include humorous or trendy slogans.
“We would say our Arabic and English captions and designs are quite distinctive. They are funny and relevant. When people browse our caps they smile and tend to comment on how much they relate to it,” Binshihon said.
When coming up with a design, the founders start by analyzing their target audience.
“We ask, are they Generation Z or Millennials, what are their interests, and so on. It’s easier because we are targeting people our age. Both generations are outspoken, attentive to the latest trends and are bombarded with memes and dark-humored captions through social media platforms.
“We gain inspiration from our daily lives, from gatherings with friends to our incessant scrolling through Instagram and Tumblr. We write down what we and the audience can relate to, for instance, the caption ‘Never Satisfied’ — which is popular and, unfortunately, a habit for both generations. When it is time for our next order, we go through our notes that we keep for months and see what works and what does not. It is an ongoing process.”
Their brand’s message is about embracing individuality and eccentricity, said Al-Esayi. “On a surface level, our message is ephemeral because our designs are continuously changing depending on our current perceptions.”
Customers can find the Koshk at CRATE in Jeddah’s Al-Salama district.
