The UAE is not only a fashion hotspot for world- famous designers, but also a breeding ground of local talent
Dubai has always been fashion savvy. All it required was global fashion icons to reckon the city as being so. And they have.
For one, Dubai has firmly established itself as the fashion hub of the region with leading international designers opening flagship stores here. Top couturiers now preview their collections here every season.
The city hosts several major fashion events throughout the year and well-known fashion institutes have come here as well, encouraging youngsters to pursue a career in fashion.
Credit for bringing the global fashion spotlight on Dubai should go to Dubai Fashion, launched by Dubai Shopping Festival in 2003. The event has brought to Dubai the latest collections from famous labels such as Lacroix, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier, just days after their launch at the Paris Fashion Week.
It has also provided an opportunity for UAE-based choreographers, make-up artists, models, event organisers, fashion students and others in the industry to interact with and learn from the best professionals from abroad.
Dubai Fashion has also provided a platform for established designers from the region as well as promising young talents from the UAE to showcase their creativity and reach a wider market.
The Dubai International Fashion Week (DIFW), launched this year, has taken the next step by putting Dubai on the international fashion calendar. Conceived as a trade event, it aims to bring together regional and international designers and buyers.
By appointing celebrity stylist Kithe Brewster as consultant creative director, DIFW has ensured that the production and styling of the event matches international standards. "I expect DIFW to be ranked among the top fashion weeks in the world very soon," says Brewster.
Other events such as The Bride Show Dubai and Dubai Fashion Fiesta have also attracted top international designers and buyers to the city.
But fashion connoisseurs know that the future of fashion in Dubai depends on events such as the Emerging Talent Hunt, organised by DIFW, to identify and nurture promising young designers from the region.
However, the best yardstick of a fashion capital is a local name making a mark on the global fashion scene. And Dubai has a few.
Labels such as Affascinare, Mille Rostock and Ayesh Depala have taken the flavour of Dubai to international ramps by participating in fashion events abroad.
"Four years ago, local boutiques were not interested in designers from Dubai and there was no proper fashion media to promote it.
"Today, we have many fashion magazines published here, boutiques eager to showcase new local brands and fashion events where we can display our collections," says Uma Ghosh Deshpande, who launched her label, Pepper by Uma, in 2003.
And there is no dearth of similar regional talent.
The spring-summer 2008 edition of DIFW featured emerging talents from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Dubai. The fact that young Emirati winner Rabia Z. launched a label designed for the modern Muslim woman who wants to be trendy yet modest, augurs well for Middle East fashion and for Dubai as a global fashion hotspot.
But the most heartening aspect of Dubai's growth in the fashion arena is that it continues to find the balance between the modern and tradition. The Emirati style and its influence on fashion is an example.
The evolution of the abaya and shayla into trendy garments that make strong fashion statements, could be seen in the collections of Emirati and expat designers from the region displayed at the annual Shayla and Abaya Fashion, organised by Dubai Summer Surprises.
