Siwa wedding dress

The traditional Siwan wedding ensemble was elaborate: The bride wore seven layered, striped tunics, a dress, and a shawl. Here, the dress features vibrant embroidery concentrated on the neckline and chest. The Siwa believe its adornments of mother-of-pearl buttons and cowrie shells, known as “Eye of the Sun,” ward off evil and promote fertility. The veil is also densely embroidered with symbolic motifs. Radiating circles represent the sun, lighting the wearer’s path, while the “bride” motif—rhombus and triangles repeated in lines across its surface—symbolizes her hopes for married life.

—Dr. Heba Khairy Metwaly (Egyptian), museum and cultural heritage specialist, Egypt and Saudi Arabia