This year’s Autumn/Winter 2010 season marked Dubai Fashion Week’s most successful year ever. Over 25,000 guests were in attendance along with 45 local, regional and international designers wowed audiences as models took to the catwalk to showcase this season’s trends.
From the first show to the grand finale, the five-day event was filled with bold and exciting fashion and collections mesmerized spectators as they strutted down the runway. Presenting a mélange of contemporary technique and traditional functionality through the traditional garment — the abaya — were collections from established Emirati designers such as: Amal Murad, Mariam Mazrou, Abeer Suwaidi and Hind & Reem Beljaflah. Indian designers like Ekta Singh, Shreekanth, Satya Paul, Nisha Sagar fused together Asian aesthetics in contemporary cuts that featured intricate embroidery and ethnic textiles. Couture designers — HSY, Aly Fawaz, Zeena Zaki, Furne One, Michael Cinco and Rahil Hesan from Warda Haute Couture — all displayed very strong collections that illuminated the catwalk with lights of high fashion and flawless technique. International designers — Barbara Bella (Brazil), Andres Aquino (New York), Pamela (Spain) and Zaeem of Z for Z (UK) — provided a well-rounded presentation of eclectic styles and various aesthetics.
Designer Amber Fezor dedicated his collection to the fallen fashion genius Alexander McQueen, while Aldrin Fernandez, chairman of Concept Group, dedicated the entire DFW to the world-class fashion icon. The event eventually came to a refreshing end with Indian fashion icon, Sabyasachi, who presented a spectacular and grand finale show that stood out from all the others with his bohemian-inspired collection.
The Splash Emerging Talent fashion show consisted of collections from four young designers: Moza Al-Mazrou (United Arab Emirates), Bisma Ahmed (Pakistan), Banan Al-Ryalat (Jordan) and Kalid Swaid of Studio Kalid (Saudi Arabia). All four designers presented a unique and interesting narrative that showcased their cutting-edge designs as they kicked off their fashion careers on a professional stage.
Another highlight was the Evian Live Young charity fashion show, which showcased its collaborative work with the designers of Dubai Fashion Week. Designers were provided with a T-shirt template inspired by the Evian Roller Babies viral campaign — the most viewed video online in 2009.
With a graphic of a baby in diapers, designers — such as HSY, House of GlaMo, Das Collection and Salma Khan — were able to design and embellish different versions of the shirt that were later paraded down the catwalk. A separate auction was held during the week at Carbon 12 art gallery to raise funds for the charitable cause that assists in providing clean water to impoverished children.
“This season, our focus was to build on the emphasis that Dubai Fashion Week is a platform for established and emerging designers — local, regional and international — to exhibit their collection in a trade environment. We have achieved this objective by the balance that the show had,” stated Saif Ali Khan, vice president, of Concept Group. “We managed to grow the show through the support of our sponsors and partners who showed commitment and determination to place Dubai Fashion Week as an international fashion event.”
The organizers, Concept Group, are already planning the next season of Dubai Fashion Week to meet the increasing demands of the international fashion market while exceeding the expectations of its attendees. They hope to mark Dubai as the fashion hub of the Middle East.
Dubai Fashion Week did it again, and they did so stylishly with altered silhouettes, celebrated embroidery and longer wish lists.
