Arab Fashion Week returns to Dubai

Fashion weeks end in major international fashion capitals, Dubai is preparing to host the fifth edition of Arab Fashion Week, which will take place from 15 to 19 November 2017 at City Walk in partnership with Meraas and Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum Investment Group (MBM). Organized by the Arab Fashion Council, this semi-annual event is the world's most anticipated and only fashion week dedicated to the marketing of pre-season and "Ready-Couture" collections.

It is expected that the Arab Fashion Week will witness a large turnout of visitors, and that 24 shows will be held by more than 50 fashion designers from the region and the world, including Aisha Ramadan, Tony Ward, Alia, Saher Dia, Moa Moa, Mitten Kartiquia, Christophe Guillarmé, Mario Orvey, Viola Embry, David Tilal, Renato Palestra, Estelle Mantel, Fong Mai, Marketa Hakkinen, Homarev, Minaz, Maple Leaf, Fasperation, Vadim Spatari, Elsie Fashion, and Hani El Behairy, who will present their “Ready-Couture” creations for spring Summer 2018 and pre-season fall-winter 2018/2019.

This exclusive 5-day event takes place in one of Dubai's newest urban destinations, City Walk, and will feature a number of fashion shows, seminars, forums, panel discussions, pop-ups and extended shopping times. This year's Arab Fashion Week will feature one of the world's tallest outdoor catwalks, which will be installed at City Walk. The focus of this season’s program will be on celebrating Fashion Week with a city-wide event by engaging a diverse group of industry players and Dubai-based stores as well as daily activities across Meraas’ various destinations, allowing all Dubai residents and visitors to be a part of this. prestigious event.

Sally Yaqoub, CEO of Malls at Meraas, said: “The focus of this year’s Arab Fashion Week is on ready-to-wear, with the aim of presenting high-end, ready-to-wear fashion to a wider audience through new collections and events that will be held at City Walk and other Meraas destinations in Dubai. This celebration, which will include the whole city, aims to highlight the role of creativity, innovation, and elevate Dubai to the ranks of the international capitals of fashion such as New York, London, Milan and Paris. This event will inspire and encourage a new generation of fashion designers in the Arab world to develop and invent new ideas and provide them with a platform to launch their creativity towards the world.”

As part of the fifth edition of Arab Fashion Week, the Arab Fashion Council is also partnering with the Dubai International Jewelery Show, merging the two largest fashion and jewelry events in the region together to present the most exciting collections of diamonds, gemstones and ready-to-wear collections to Dubai's high fashion audience. This annual jewelry event is a regional edition of the largest European showcase for Italian and international gold and jewelry manufacturers and producers. Guests will have the opportunity to take advantage of both events with exclusive invitations, offers and networking opportunities with the creators of the sector.

Corrado Vaco, Executive Director of the Italian Group of Exhibitions and Vice President of DV Global Link, which organizes the Dubai International Jewelery Show, says: “The collaboration between DIJF and Arab Fashion Week represents a great opportunity to strengthen the strategic link between the worlds of jewelry and fashion, adding value to the luxury sector. and luxury in the UAE and internationally.” He continues: “Both partners will share their knowledge, skill and experience in other events, and this will encourage dialogue between the main players, institutions, associations and companies in the exhibition, and will result in the two events enjoying greater effectiveness and impact through their mutual cooperation.”

Since its first edition in 2015, Arab Fashion Week (AFW) has become one of the top five events for fashion designers' shows, along with the four major fashion weeks taking place in New York (NYFW), London (LFW), Milan (MFW) and Paris (PFW). . As part of the Arab Fashion Council's ongoing efforts to create a fashion ecosystem in the Arab world, the fifth edition will also host the first Arab Fashion Forum. This exclusive event will be attended by a number of leaders and pioneers of the global fashion industry to assess and discuss potential challenges and opportunities that will help advance the fashion industry in the region. The panel of speakers will include Honorary President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, Jockey Mario Boselli, CEO of the British Fashion Council, Commandor Caroline Rush, artistic creative directors of international fashion houses as well as experts from international media. The event will have a limited number of seats reserved for the public, and registration is accepted on the official website of the Arab Fashion Council.

Jacob Abrian, CEO of the Arab Fashion Council said: “This season, Arab Fashion Week will be a highlight by uniting Dubai's diverse fashion scene, while providing Arab designers with a chance to shine. It will witness a strong focus on locally designed and produced brands, with the first appearance of local Emirati brands with a vision and potential to expand regionally and globally by 2020. All of this comes in line with our goal of creating a fashion ecosystem in the region through an innovative economic sector.”

Earlier this year, the Arab Fashion Council introduced the "Ready-Couture" concept that allows international and local fashion designers to produce collections of "Ready-Couture" under their own license. This term defines the largest segment of the luxury fashion market that is believed to generate revenue of approximately $480 billion by 2019. Formal rules and regulations for licensing were established during the first "Ready-Couture" conference in May 2017 In the presence of global experts in the industry. The second conference will be held on November 18 at the La Ville Hotel in City Walk after which the official standards will be published. “Ready-Couture” is a term owned by the Arab Fashion Council that made Dubai the first capital in the world to host this category of luxury fashion, which could also be a key element helping Arab Fashion Week gain the ability to compete for the first title internationally.

Among the young talents whose work will be shown at Arab Fashion Week is the winner of the Lavazza design competition that took place in May 2017. Whereas, Jordanian fashion design student residing in the United Arab Emirates, Alia Al Faour, will present a collection of five dresses along with A group of international fashion designers as part of her award in competition. This summer, Alia traveled with Lavazza, longtime patron of Arab Fashion Week, to the prestigious Instituto Marangoni in Milan to receive training and support for her group of international fashion experts. The aim of the competition is to identify, nurture and support talent in the region.

The list of official sponsors for Arab Fashion Week includes Huawei, which will present its newly launched HUAWEI Mate 10 smartphone, which is the best smartphone for every fashion lover and allows him to take the most beautiful pictures of clothes and selfies. With the new Leica dual camera technology and equipped with special AI capabilities, the HUAWEI Mate 10 recognizes different scenes such as food, snow and night. The camera adjusts automatically and selects settings that help the user capture the best photographs in a range of different environments. This smartphone with smart photography feature allows everyone to become a professional photographer.

Arab Fashion Week is organized by the Arab Fashion Council, the world's largest non-profit fashion authority representing the 22 Arab countries that are members of the League of Arab States. It was established in London in 2014 with a license from an international authority outside the boundaries of national legislation to develop the fashion infrastructure and creative economy in the Arab world. This Council is chaired by His Excellency Jockey Mario Boselli, Honorary President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, the official organizers of Milan Fashion Week.