Two seasons ago designers in Paris and New York decided it was once again safe to dip back into the Middle East for inspiration. Time has an odd way of healing rifts and changing perceptions, and the recent men’s Spring 2010 collections in Paris once again saw designers turning their gaze towards the Middle East. Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt (Galliano), the humble djellaba (Dior Homme) or street-ware inspired by Arab immigrant youths (Givenchy). Yet this season several designers seem to be moving that discussion along by re-examining Arab history and culture in new and unexpected ways.

That this deeper probing should take place in Paris more so than New York (where designers last spring relied heavily on oriental clichés rather than contemporary realities) is no coincidence. With images of Baghdad, Tehran and Beirut flashing across their screens daily, Westerners (whether in the United States or Europe) have become increasingly more curious and eager to learn about the Arab world.

Despite this Arab culture seems to be more entrenched and integrated in Europe today than in the United States. The reasons for this date back to the Ottoman Empire, as well as French and British colonial rule in the region.  Inevitably large Middle Eastern immigrant populations settled in cities throughout Europe; so much so that today the impact of Arabs on everyday European life and culture has never been more visible or deeper. So it is no coincidence that Paris based designers often look to the Middle East for inspiration.

Image Caption 1, clockwise: For spring 2010 Galliano took inspiration from the Bani Qahtani tribesman of Asir in Saudi Arabia, who are known for sporting wild flowers and mint leaves in the hair to ward off the evil eye. The men also combine Western style buttoned shirts and tailored jackets with traditional hand woven kilts and belts sporting daggers; Galliano also re-imagined how Napoleon’s French soldiers would have adapted local Egyptian costumes to their own tailored uniforms. In this case pairing them with exaggerated turbaned fezs and wide colorful sashes around the waist; Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy was inspired by the street wear of Arab youth. The result was active-wear sporting keffiyeh checkered prints; For the “Lawrence of Arabia” portion of his show, John Galliano piled on an assortment of tailored jackets and heavily embroidered waistcoats, topped off with Bedouin headgear.