Arab Fashion Week is back, and freshly reinvented for the pandemic era.
Running from October 21 to 24, this latest round builds on the digital format launched last season, meaning that once again, physical fashion shows are out, replaced with virtual runways that can be streamed live.
The event is supported by Microsoft, with shows broadcast live across Facebook, with the potential to reach two billion viewers.
“The entire world is passing through a transitional period of stepping into the new world’s revolution, which is governed by technology and artificial intelligence. We, at the Arab Fashion Council, are taking the right steps to ensure our fashion community is ready to be part of the big change," said Jacob Abrian, founder and chief executive of the Arab Fashion Council.
The event will be opened by Lebanese singer Maya Diab, who was named Fashion Icon of the Arab World by the Arab Fashion Council. Lebanese media personality Sally Hajjar will be hosting The Hue of Fashion interviews and panel discussions, which will take place across all four days.
Showcasing more than 30 designers from around the globe, the four-day event will also have a day entirely dedicated to the best of Brazilian designers, for the very first time. Named Brazil Noble, the showcase is set to take place on Thursday, October 22, and will feature the likes of Emannuelle Junqueira, known for its bohemian take on occasion dresses, as well as Maison Alexandrine and its glossy tailoring.
Cementing its links to the prestigious Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), the body that oversees Paris Fashion Week, there will also be a full day given to French designers, entitled Parisians in Dubai, which promises to bring Iris van Herpen and Jean Paul Gaultier to the UAE.
A showroom will run for the duration of the event at City Walk. Customers can also buy pieces they see at the shows at the Shop the Runway department at Galleries Lafayette, The Dubai Mall.
In another change, Amato, one of Dubai's most famous brands, has switched out its traditional closing spot and instead will open the four-day event with a short film starring Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela, called Divine Indwelling. Dealing with racism and equality, it promises to be thought-provoking. The event finale will now go to regional name SemSem.
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The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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.”
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
CHELSEA SQUAD
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