Modest fashion: A Dubai story

Gulf News

We look at the evolution of modest fashion and how Dubai is playing a pioneering role globally in promoting it  Read full report on www.gulfnews.com/1.1541420873727

Transcript

00:00I think it's something that we can proudly say started in Dubai, and we see now big brands

00:11and international brands are going towards that, like Nike and Chanel.

00:16And it's a movement which is, the other day I was talking to a couple of people in the

00:22fashion industry, and they're saying it's picking up really well, not only in the region,

00:26but in England, in the United States, so it's a very good movement, and it started in Dubai.

00:35I think it's a niche product that the whole fashion industry needed, and when it was available

00:41people just loved it, and it's growing, and it's gaining momentum.

00:48Well, I'll tell you the truth.

00:50When I started doing Paris Fashion Week, we would do multi-brand showrooms, so I would

00:58meet a lot of international buyers, and when I would introduce my brand, I would explain

01:04my concept of making modest wear.

01:07The moment I would say modest wear, they would just turn their back and walk away.

01:12I'm exaggerating, but it's really how I felt.

01:15I felt, okay, no, your category doesn't fit our store, doesn't fit our clientele, so no,

01:22we're not interested.

01:24I don't think it didn't fit the clientele, I think it didn't fit their beliefs.

01:30I think that back then, they would not think that women should dress modestly, so they

01:35would decide for women, and not really want this kind of outfits for their store.

01:42But now, I feel that I'm getting contacted because I'm doing modest wear, and we have

01:48a lot of attention because of this big hype around modest wear.

01:53Modest fashion is a movement, somehow, that started from the Middle East, and I think

02:01that it's influenced a lot of women around the world, not just women who dress modestly.

02:07And I think 50% of what women wear, in general, are actually modest dresses.

02:12So when you're in the workplace, you're modestly dressed.

02:14When you have certain meetings or arenas, you are.

02:17So there is a domain for every single woman out there who is dressed modestly almost 50%

02:22of her time, minus the ones that are just genuinely, as part of their aesthetic, prefer

02:26to be modestly dressed.

02:28And so, again, I say that when you look at modest dressers, you don't look at them specifically

02:34and think, oh, they're modest dressers.

02:37People can be fashionable in any different domain, and I think it was high time that

02:41somebody actually spoke to that arena without having it to be pegged into one domain, because

02:45it's religious, it's personal, it's about your certain size and shape and what you prefer,

02:51what looks better on you and what doesn't.

02:53And all of that comes in part and parcel of defining a woman and her choices, and we really

02:58believe in the value of choices.

03:01So we're very pleased to see that reaction not just happen regionally, but internationally

03:04just the same.

03:06You know, when we talk about the region, we are talking about, you know, this spending

03:10of around $320 billion on luxury goods.

03:14So it's a very serious region, and the spending on luxury goods and fashion is very strong,

03:19and that spending is expected to grow and expected to go to the next level.

03:25Well, when we looked at the design industry in the region, we saw that it's a very significant

03:33industry in terms of the size and in terms of the opportunity.

03:37And when we looked around at, you know, the different designers, fashion designers in

03:41Dubai, they are all scattered with not the proper ecosystem and they don't have the proper

03:45infrastructure.

03:46So Sheikh Mohammed Barash Dal Maktoum ordered us to create Dubai Design District to become

03:53like, you know, the creative hub, you know, the creative cluster for the designers.

03:58And you know, the project was launched in 2013.

04:012015, phase one was completed, and mashallah, today we have more than 500 designers, more

04:07than 220 of them are fashion designers, and there are a lot of courses, short courses

04:13in fashion and different segments of design.

04:15Projects like Dubai Design District, a platform like Art Dubai, like Dubai Design Week, you

04:21know, providing the right infrastructure, even when it comes to education, universities

04:26that teach fashion or design, it gave the people in the whole region an opportunity

04:30to come to a place which is closer to home and, you know, to study, to work, you know,

04:37to produce their products and sell them in the same place.

04:41So all of that helped Dubai to become, you know, the center and the capital of design

04:45and fashion.

04:47I would say, you know, international platforms as well.

04:51Our participation in international platforms is very key.

04:54We have a few names and a few brands that started here, and now they are well-recognized

05:00in the international platform.

05:02Just to mention a few names, Medhi Alsharqi, Arwal Banawi from D3, and then we have Aljud

05:08Lutaw when it comes to product and furniture design, Khadid Shafar.

05:13All of them are, you know, local designers who started here, and they became internationally

05:17known now.

05:18And the idea of D3 is basically to become the home for these creative people and to

05:23potentially, you know, have a few of these designers go international, and they will

05:28be inspiring the rest of the world from Dubai, and that's the potential of D3.

05:32It really played a big part because to have a hub that puts together creatives, artists,

05:42and the industry in general was something that really made us feel part of what is happening

05:48here and made us feel part of the growth of the industry in the Middle East and in UAE.

05:54What I think as a hub, you know, you're in the world of design and you're in the world

05:57of fashion.

05:58It's very, very refreshing to see so many different brands being part of D3.

06:02You feel the vibrancy and the enormity of what fashion is, and when you want to take

06:08an area or a department or, you know, a segment of the business so seriously, there's nothing

06:12more amazing than having that creative culture around you.

06:15So when you have that facilitation and you're able to use and utilize, you know, the assistance

06:20of D3 as well as the entire arena of what D3 has to offer, it's just a great combination

06:25to basically build the fashion industry in from D3.

06:31I think having the big brands in D3 is very important.

06:36Having the anchors is extremely important.

06:38And then having the startups next to them, which will encourage collaboration or the

06:43sharings and et cetera, and there are many examples.

06:46One of them is Adidas and Arwa al-Banawi.

06:48Arwa is a young Saudi designer in D3 that collaborated with Adidas to design a full

06:54collection for Adidas and was the first Arab designer and it happened in D3.

06:58So this collaboration is very important.

07:01Knowledge sharing is very important.

07:02And then having them in important platforms such as Dubai Design Week, Fashion Forward,

07:08which is, I would say, the most important platform for fashion in Dubai anyway, is very

07:15important next to the big names, next to the international names as well.

07:19So it's important.

07:20And again, having the best schools to give education and give short courses is again

07:25important.

07:26So the whole ecosystem is very important.

07:28Anytime there's a new initiative, they're always involving us.

07:31They're always involving different people.

07:32They even involve emerging designers.

07:34They're trying to build a community and they're doing a very successful job at it between

07:38all the activities and the events and the amalgamation of Fashion Forward in here,

07:43all of the events like Seoul DXB, concerts, arenas.

07:46They're just bringing people together in the fashion arena and bringing everyone here.

07:50Certain talks, some Burberry came in and so many others.

07:53It's just a very beautiful hub to be part of that fashion element.

08:02So there are always something unique about fashion in Dubai and the ideas of these creative

08:07Emiratis or Khadijis in Dubai and being around with some of the top guys and the top brands

08:15around the world, they find that there is a lot of talent in this region and they want

08:20ideas from the talent here.

08:23We see a lot of the international brand now having calligraphy as well on their bags or

08:30on their fashion, having Arabic elements in their designs or fashion.

08:36So we see all of this and I think it's something that will keep influencing, will keep inspiring

08:40the rest of the world and every region will have something special that will offer when

08:44it comes to its design and fashion.

08:46I'm very much inspired by women in general and I think that what I love about the UAE

08:51is we've got over 180 nationalities here and what I love is that if you want to see the

08:57globe come to Dubai, I really think about that.

09:00So if you want to see that global woman, come and see her here.

09:03Women of all different shapes and sizes, women of all different nationalities live here and

09:08I think that Dubai is actually a marketplace to just literally evaluate who you're designing

09:13for and who you want to design for and when I look around me, I see the diversity and

09:17that diversity really, really stimulates me in terms of thinking what is amazing to design

09:22for this woman.

09:24You can find different frames of mind here, like you can be relaxed and you can be following

09:32the fast life and the fact that it's such a beautiful city with high, tall buildings.

09:42The skyline is so inspiring for me so there's a few of my collections that were inspired

09:46by the nighttime skyline of Dubai.

09:50I think Dubai will continue to be the leading city when it comes to design and fashion and

09:57with all the infrastructure, with what Dubai is offering, with the schools, with the creative

10:03spaces, with the ease of doing business in Dubai, I think, and having the international

10:08brands, having the, not only, you know, something very interesting we found that when we put

10:13fashion designers next to architects, next to product designers and the different designers

10:18from different fields, they collaborate with each other and you'll find an architect collaborating

10:22with a fashion designer to create a piece.

10:25So that's something very unique and very unique for D3, which we successfully managed to put

10:31together and even live and I think this is something important that will keep going.

10:38And yeah, I think Dubai will continue to do well and will continue to lead the way.

10:48For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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