Dubai Fashion Week becomes most popular in years
Dubai Fashion Week, supported by Dubai Design District (d3) and the Arab Fashion Council, has become one of the most popular in years.
A full house packed the runway shows and events every night, with buyers and designers from the world’s major fashion capitals in full attendance.
Having evolved from the successful Arabian Fashion Week, Dubai Fashion Week is the new, definitive fashion of Dubai and part of the city’s attempt to become the fifth fashion capital – alongside Paris, New York, London and Milan. The event, part of the international fashion weeks calendar, debuted with the city and region’s most dynamic catwalks and a six-day programme. More than 45 shows, presentations and events took place as part of the ‘Fashion Calendar’. Some 28 designers from more than 10 countries presented their autumn-winter 23/24 collections and the Haute Couture 2023 women’s collections.
Among the highlights of the first edition were the following:
– The iconic Amato Retrospective designs, celebrating 25 years of Amato Couture, opened the show on the first evening.
– The penultimate day of Dubai Fashion Week featured collections by DFW Design Committee members Dima Ayyad, Lama Juni and Mrs Kipa.
– Lily Blanc showed collections straight from the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week as part of AFC’s partnership with the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion.
– Dubai-based brand Anomalous announced a global partnership with Hot Wheels, the number one selling toy in the world, with over 8 billion cars sold.
Exhibitors from Asia, Europe, America and the Arab world attended the shows. d3 and the Arab Fashion Council presented the first ever Buyers Talk, which brought together a prestigious panel of buyers from the UAE and Europe to shed light on the elements of a successful working partnership between designer and buyer, from commercial feasibility to schedule planning.
Panelists included Antonioli’s Dani Stenin from Milan, Rafael Deray from Printemps, Caterina Ercoli from Level Shoes, Georgina Gainza from Al Tayer Group (which includes Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdales) and Martina Solino from Tryano & Saks.
The discussion was followed by a review of the designers’ lookbooks, which gave the designers the opportunity to speak directly to buyers and showcase highlights from their collections.
A number of other exciting new initiatives were also launched. The Dubai Fashion Week steering committee was introduced, as well as a new buyers’ committee and a standing committee of designers, which are run by the Arab Fashion Council. They are designed to ensure that the ambitious vision for Dubai Fashion Week is realised and to dynamically and sustainably guide the future of the event.
Along with specially constructed flexible structures for the event, Dubai Fashion Week took place in unique outdoor surroundings, including a basketball court and skate park at The Block at d3. Exclusive events were also held across the city as part of the vision to expand the reach of Dubai Fashion Week and unite the city and regional fashion scene.
Fashion partners added to the hype by organising a host of exclusive events. Emergency Room and Byhpe held exclusive parties, while Dubai Fashion Week member designer Hussain Bazaza held an intimate presentation and party. Ferragamo held a masterclass with Lana Katramiz and Gael Hojeili at the Dubai Mall boutique to celebrate the launch of the SS23 collection; Level Shoes partnered with Gallery Collection to launch a new in-store personal shopping service – By Appointment: Where Fashion Meets Design, while label Stella McCartney invited guests to a private preview and masterclass on its limited-edition Emerald Capsule Collection for Ramadan. Etoile La Boutique hosted a private lunch dedicated to Serena handbags, while Caviar Kaspia hosted a special dinner for buyers to celebrate the first edition of Dubai Fashion Week.
Source: Dubai Media Office
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