RIYADH: It has become a feature of Ramadan and Eid that the demand for custom-made clothing skyrockets and this year is no different.

Abdullah Alaa, who has a women’s dressmaking shop in Riyadh’s Al-Malqa district, said the demand is so high that they sometimes have to keep the shop open until the early hours of the morning.

“It’s double, even triple the work than regular days because Ramadan is when everyone is visiting and meeting, and many clients who own a business come to me with their designs, and I make it for them,” Alaa told Arab News.

Alaa said he does not increase his prices during Ramadan even though many other tailors do because of higher demand, especially in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Fathi Al-Amiri, the operational director of May Thobe Tailor, said that people get clothing for Ramadan and Eid. “If you visit any men’s tailor stores now, you will find great movement as they are crowded with (people making) appointments.”

Since Ramadan and Eid fall during the summer, white-colored thobes are men’s preferred choice.

Loai Naseem, co-founder of Lomar, a Saudi fashion brand for abaya and thobes, said: “It’s true that in Lomar, sales of polyester fabric and standard white fabric usually increase three times during Ramadan compared to the rest of the year. White standard fabric is also light, making it ideal for warm days.”

More than SR4.1 billion ($1.09 billion) has been pumped into the Saudi textile sector to support production and entrepreneurs.

This was the figure revealed at the recent second edition of the Men’s Fabrics and Accessories Expo in Riyadh by Majid bin Rafid Al-Arqoubi, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, or MODON.