If you’re struggling to tell your Fashion Forward from your Arab Fashion Week, confuse Modest Fashion Week with Modest Fashion Summit, and are all out at sea over the Dubai Design & Fashion Council and the Islamic Fashion Design Council, join the club.
Despite the UAE's diminutive size, it seems it is currently home to a multitude of fashion bodies and events. Of course, no one is complaining about the array of support for the burgeoning fashion industry – after all, it's always better to have too much help than not enough – and it is gratifying to see this small but discerning market finally being taken seriously on the world stage. It's just that it's, well, a little confusing.
Although delighted that modest dressing has gathered enough pace to shift global thinking, one can't but help question, with so many different fashion events all claiming to speak for the UAE, what is it that they all do? Do we actually need them all? And what separates them from one another? Why is there so much global interest in this little desert we call home? In a word, money.
The spending power of this region is enormous, and is set to grow. A report by Thompson Reuters, entitled State of the Global Islamic Economy 2016/17, valued the Islamic fashion market worldwide at US$243 billion (Dh892.4bn) per annum, (that's 11 per cent of the entire global market spend), while the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry valued the UAE retail sector at Dh200bn in 2017.
With so much money on the table, not only do international fashion houses want a slice, but it is also prudent planning to encourage emerging regional talent. Through training via courses at The College of Fashion & Design or Esmod, there is no reason why the UAE cannot produce the next generation of talent to rival Lebanon's Elie Saab, Rabih Kayrouz or Zuhair Murad. The figures show there is an appetite for spending, so it only follows there should be an option to spend on local talent.
Just as the current four big fashion centres of New York, London, Milan and Paris each has one dedicated body to oversee the promotion of local talent, it makes sense that the UAE does as well. Here is a quick guide of the who and what of our fashion movement.
Dubai Fashion Week
This first began in 2006 before disbanding in 2011 and then restarting in 2015, retitled as International Dubai Fashion Week. In addition to hosting runway shows for designers, the event also has its own awards programme for fields such as Best Fashion Tech Designer and Best Regional Designer. It's scheduled this season for April 26 to 28 in Dubai, under the patronage of Sheikha Hend Al Qassemi, board member of the College of Fashion & Design. The website promises the event will be "one of the biggest on the world's fashion-week circuit, along with New York, London, Milan and Paris", and boasts 30 designers, reaching an audience of 25 million. The participating labels currently listed are Junne Couture, Emmanuel Haute Couture, Walid Atallah and Sheikha Hend Al Qassemi's own label, House of Hend. It is open to the public via registration; www.idfweek.com.
Fashion Forward
A veteran event of 10 seasons, and brainchild of Bong Guerrero, Fashion Forward has grown steadily since its inception, even shifting venue from Madinat Jumeirah to Dubai Design District. It now offers regional- and international- runway shows, international guest speakers such as Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist), Mary Katrantzou and industry critic Godfrey Deeny, plus pop-up shops, film screenings and a Paris showroom. Although it’s usually held twice yearly, this year FFWD announced it will miss spring/summer, and return in October 2018 for autumn/winter. Entry is by invitation only; www.fashionforward.ae.
Arab Fashion Week
Launched by the Arab Fashion Council with a series of runway shows in Dubai in October 2016, this fashion week is more a conduit for international labels wanting to enter the market, rather than promoting grass-roots talent. Just as Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana provides a bridge to Italian know-how, so AFW fast-tracks overseas designers who desire an introduction to the region. Recently announcing a partnership with the British Fashion Council, it has plans to expand into Saudi Arabia, ahead of what looks like the Kingdom's loosening of social restrictions. The inaugural Arab Fashion Week Riyadh, initially slated for March, has been postponed to April 10 due to "significant interest from international guests wishing to attend" – which could mean either too many want to appear, or the timing doesn't suit. Confirmed labels include Roberto Cavalli, Jean Paul Gaultier and Yulia Yanina. Open to the public via registration; www.arabfashionweek.org.
Islamic Fashion Design Council
This body is dedicated, claims its website, to building the "remarkable modest fashion and design industry, including arts, tech, and architecture". With offices in more than 10 countries, it aims to act as a researcher, consultant and supporter of the Islamic fashion industry and those seeking entry within. In addition to its own magazine, Cover, and YouTube channels called The Modest and Modest Man, it recently hosted the first Dubai Pret-A-Cover Buyers Lane show event; www.ifdcouncil.org.
Dubai Design & Fashion Council
Set up by the Government of Dubai in 2013, the DDFC aims to promote the city as a global design hub in the run-up to 2020. As well as raising the profile of the emirate for new and emerging talents, this council also offers advice and support on markets, sustainability and how to effectively build a brand.
Modest Fashion Week
This international event was started in May 2016 in Istanbul by Franka Soeria and Özlem Sahin as a way to bring modest design to a bigger audience. In April 2017 it expanded to London, and in December last year, it arrived in Dubai. The two-day event hosts hijab designers and models, and saw Halima Aden walk the runway in support; www.dubaimodestfashionweek.com.
This is not to be confused with the Modest Fashion Summit, the newest body in Dubai that’s launching just as we go to press. Watch this space for more.
The final word must be one of support, and pride in the fact that so many believe that the fledgling UAE industry has enough potential to be worth investing so much time in. Looking farther afield to the bigger, more established markets of New York, Paris, and even Tokyo and Copenhagen, success there seems to come from one body overseeing it all. If this writer were to have one complaint about the current state of multiple organisations and events battling it out for supremacy in the UAE, it would be that, perhaps, they would be better served if they combined their talents into a single entity.
______________________
Read more:
Five offbeat looks at Tokyo Fashion Week
10 beautiful looks from India Fashion Week - in pictures
The five craziest things we saw at Milan Fashion Week
______________________
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3EMATA%0D%3Cbr%3EArtist%3A%20M.I.A%0D%3Cbr%3ELabel%3A%20Island%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
