Dubai is Looking to be the “It” Fashion Week for Pre-Collections
It looks like the “Big 4” of New York, London, Milan and Paris will have to watch out. Dubai is jockeying hard to make a place for itself as a distinctive fashion capital, specializing in resort / pre-collections and “ready-couture:” custom-tailored garments that are more personalized than ready-to-wear.
According to the Arab Fashion Council, who organize Arab Fashion Week, the aim of its 4th Edition is simple: revolutionize the Fashion Week Calendar and — almost as an afterthought — amplify the “see-it-now, buy-it-now” model by setting up the world’s largest pop-up department store under the title of THE BOUTIQUES.
From May 16-20, 2017, Arab Fashion Week Ready-Couture & Resort 2018 will take place in Dubai, at the Meydan Hotel & Grandstands, attracting designers from all over the world to present their resort collections in a truly exotic destination and to address the appealing luxury consumer of ready-couture.
the only platform designed to showcase “ready-couture” and resort collections
This year the runways will also host “one of the most influent Italian designers in the world,” according to Arab Fashion Council Executive Honorary President H.E. Cavaliere Mario Boselli, who also sits as the Honorary President of the Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana, organizers of Milan Fashion Week.
While New York, London, Milan are the Landmark capital for ready-to-wear, and Paris for haute couture, Dubai is pioneering “ready-couture:” the platform introduced by the Arab Fashion Council to address the luxury client who is increasingly looking for privacy and exclusivity alongside with social responsibility and ecology-care.
the luxury client is increasingly looking for social responsibility and ecology-care
The mission of “ready-couture” is to re-establish a more privileged designer/client relationship, which has been lost with ready-to-wear. The model has found in Dubai its most suitable environment, as it addresses perfectly the needs of the Middle Eastern and Asian markets, where the most affluent clients ask for custom-tailored garments and fine personalization.
Arab Fashion Week is also a privileged destination for resort and pre-collections. The impressive infrastructure and the truly exotic flair of Dubai marks the city as the most appealing fashion capital for resort, which make up for the lion’s share of the designer-clothing revenue.
Arab Fashion Week is also a privileged destination for resort
Along with the focus on pre-collections comes the choice to organize the event in May, long after the fashion week calendar usually followed by other fashion capitals. Indeed, the main concern of Arab Fashion Week is to meet the requirements of the fashion industry, addressing buyers who spend 75% of their buying budget on the pre-collections. “[It’s] a new perspective which might be soon followed by other councils, leading to a revolution in the fashion week calendar,” says Boselli.
Ultimately, the essence of the 5-day Arab Fashion Week is to offer an industry platform that gathers buyers, UHNWI, and press from around the world. This year, the fashion week will be kicked off on a special gala dinner setup under the title of Fashion Night Out, where designers will showcase a preview collection for the private invitees from the region’s most important individuals.
More than 25 fashion shows, VIP ladies Luncheon, THE BOUTIQUES — 50 temporary boutiques at the world’s largest pop-up department store — seminars, 5 days of designers workshops, after-parties along with a Royal Gala dinner, Red Carpets and AFC Industry Awards will follow. While last season registered more than 16,000 guests, “the upcoming Arab Fashion Week foresees an even greater result by adding value to the international fashion system,” said Jacob Abrian, CEO of the Arab Fashion Council.
last season registered more than 16,000 guests
The Arab Fashion Week is a creation of the Arab Fashion Council (AFC), the world’s largest non-profit fashion authority, representing the 22 Arab country members of the Arab League. It was established in London in 2014 with the license of an International Extraterritorial Authority to develop the Fashion infrastructure and creative economy in the Arab World.
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