The Dubai Fashion Week

The inaugural edition of the Dubai Fashion Week took place in March (10-15) and highlighted the increasing popularity of international moda in the region. This significant fashion event finds its roots in the impressive legacy of Arab Fashion Week, which was founded by the Arab Fashion Council in 2015. The new formula aims to portray Dubai as a global fashion capital, in-line with Paris, Milan, London and New York—the other four global fashion capitals. [1] Indeed, Khadija Al Bastaki (Senior Vice President of the Dubai Design District) noted, during the official announcement of the event, that:

Where there was Paris, Milan, London and New York, there is now Dubai. From economic activity to tourism and creativity, Dubai has carved its own space among the world’s cosmopolitan capitals, and fashion is one industry boosting its status. All eyes are on the Middle East for fashion and creativity, and now the sky is the limit. [2]

The debut show of the Fashion Week underlined autumn/winter and spring/summer collections featuring Men’s, Women’s, ready-to-wear and couture fashion. The shows featured both regional and international, renowned designers including Karolina’s Kingdom, Lili Blanc, Francesca Liberatore, Amato, Bhype and Weinsanto.

According to the organisers, the Fashion Week is dedicated to enable new global business opportunities between artists, labels and buyers. The event provides worldwide a platform for aspiring and established designers to develop their brands and expand their global reach in the regional market. In order for this to be achieved, the Dubai Fashion Week focuses on five main pillars, which reflect an acronym for “D.U.B.A.I.” namely: Diversity, Unity, Business, Ambition, and Innovation.

Dubai Fashion Week is a ‘definitive fashion fixture emerging from the region.’[3] The first edition included a variety of 45 shows and events involving global brands and designers from across the Arab world. Moreover, there were a series of panel discussions, exhibitions, collection launches and special ceremonies. [4]

The Dubai Fashion Week started with a presentation of the menswear collections and its related fashion show was opened by Amato Retrospective’s iconic and avant-garde designs — in celebration of 25 years of the Dubai brand, the so-called Amato Couture. The menswear show also featured the Anomalous and Hot Wheels capsule collections, some minimalist designs created by Maison Du Mec and the Vintage-Street Fashion made by Bhype. [5]

Legacy of Arab Fashion Week

The Dubai Fashion Week is the evolution of the pre-existing Arab Fashion Week, which had celebrated its 21st edition in October 2022. Over the last seven years, the Arab Fashion Week has achieved some important milestones regarding the regional fashion industry. This includes the launching of the first menswear fashion week in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It also includes the appointment of the first “curvy” model on the catwalk in the region, which attracted fashion icons from around the world and established cooperation with prestigious international partners, like the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode—French body that coordinates Paris Fashion Week. [6]

As a result of the partnership between the Arab Fashion Council and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, a Dubai-based brand, Lili Blanc presented the “Flamme Femme” collection on the runway of Paris Fashion Week in March 2023 for the first time. The collection combines Femme Fatale and Crystal Girl concepts and it is inspired by women who decide to break the rules and follow her dreams. The designs were also showcased as part of Dubai Fashion Week that kicked off the third day of the festival. [7]

Sustainability in Fashion Industry
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It is also interesting to note that fashion is more than clothes and jewellery; it is a frame of mind that is often shaped by exogenous factors and the places and times people inhabit. Serge Carreira, Head Emerging Brands Initiative and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, reminds that ‘Fashion is a cultural expression fuelled by tradition but also by the zeitgeist. I strongly believe that Dubai has now the capacity to become a global fashion hub addressing today’s questions of sustainability, technology and diversity.’[8]

Despite that the festival aimed to celebrate fashion, environmental sustainability was a recurring theme. The concept of ethical fashion played a significant part of the collections’ designs through the upcycling label “Emergency Room” which focused on everyday life. [9] The brand itself, Emergency Room, derives from the belief that fashion production processes must change to adopt alternative ways to overcome the excess of waste. Therefore, the aforementioned Lebanese label uses vintage materials and dead-stock fabrics that are locally sourced so that it could also create unique collections. [10]

Over the years, Dubai has built an undeniable reputation as the regional capital of fashion. The city’s dynamic retail development has already contributed to its image as a luxury shopping hub. Therefore, Dubai has already attracted famous fashion houses such as Dior, Prada and Valentino, which are based in the Dubai Design District, along regional labels. It is evident that the new conception of the fashion week aims to boost the city’s influence on the international creative scene.

Dubai Fashion Week seamlessly promotes the regional fashion industry on the international scene. The new formula of the fashion week also highlights a creative image of the region, where high technology solutions are married to Arabic culture. The potential collaboration that would be derived could certainly help the Gulf countries not only to emerge, but also to be able to compete in an international market that still largely rejects ‘non-Western’ cultures, but that could be positively shaken by a new idea of ‘moda’.

Finally, on the economic level, trade links could benefit all parties through the development of an active line of goods, creating more demand, but having a more diversified supply.