Michael Cinco is among the designer's taking part in the upcoming Fashion Forward Dubai. Courtesy Michael Cinco
Michael Cinco is among the designer's taking part in the upcoming Fashion Forward Dubai. Courtesy Michael Cinco
Michael Cinco is among the designer's taking part in the upcoming Fashion Forward Dubai. Courtesy Michael Cinco
Michael Cinco is among the designer's taking part in the upcoming Fashion Forward Dubai. Courtesy Michael Cinco

Fashion Forward Dubai – a quick look back over its six year history


Panna Munyal
  • English
  • Arabic

When it launched in April 2013, Fashion Forward Dubai aimed to become the definitive fashion platform for the region. It brings together big-name designers, emerging talent, industry experts, media and influencers for an extended weekend of runway shows, panel discussions and after-parties.

The first six seasons were held at Madinat Jumeirah, after which the event moved to Dubai Design District. Season five, for instance, was held at brunch spot Frioul, complete with Ibizan DJ Pippi and water served in bottles designed by Kenzo for Evian.

Models wearing Amato by Furne One fashions during the 2013 Fashion Forward at the Madinat Jumeriah in Dubai. Jeff Topping/For The National
Models wearing Amato by Furne One fashions during the 2013 Fashion Forward at the Madinat Jumeriah in Dubai. Jeff Topping/For The National

April 2015 also marked the opening of The Garden, a retail space for accessories and apparel designers. At the next season, in October 2015, The Showcase was launched – a pop-up shop for Middle Eastern jewellery and accessories brands to display their wares.

In 2016, FFWD shifted proceedings to D3, where it has remained since. That August, FFWD teamed up with Dubai Design Fashion Council on a programme called Epic, to support emerging local labels through mentoring, workshops and sponsorship, plus an opportunity to display their work at a pop-up in Galleries Lafayette. One of the designers, Orchid Ganji, went on to showcase her Orkalia collection during Paris Fashion Week.

Fashion Forward at D3. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Fashion Forward at D3. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

In fact, a host of Middle Eastern designers can credit FFWD as having catapulted them into the spotlight – think Madiyah Al Sharqi, Hessa Al Falasi, Rula Galayini, Arwa Al Banawi and Lama Jouni (who presented her autumn / winter 2017 collection at London Fashion Week). Veteran UAE designers Michael Cinco, Amato’s Furne One and Hussein Bazaza, meanwhile, are regular supporters of the event.

Dubai based fashion designer Lama Jouni, at her studio in the Design District, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Dubai based fashion designer Lama Jouni, at her studio in the Design District, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

FFWD also hosts talks and panel discussions, inviting bigwigs from the industry to share their expertise. Some speakers who have visited in the past include: designer Mary Katrantzou, critic Godfrey Deeny, Daniel Coutinho, chief executive of Nowness at LVMH, and Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist.

In March 2017, following the international popularity of the See Now, Buy Now shopping format, FFWD included a talk on that format's success and even gave visitors the option to buy pieces from the label Emperor immediately.

Cut to its latest iteration taking place next week, which is centred on a similar theme. What this means is that the clothes, shoes and accessories that will be displayed at the upcoming shows will be available for purchase instantly. Visitors will have access to a retail pop-up, while online shoppers from all over the world can make their purchases digitally at the same time.

"The conduit to immediate and actual consumer sales has been the missing link across global fashion platforms," says Bong Guerrero, chief executive and co-founder of FFWD. "All our show offerings are now entirely shoppable from a fashion buyer's mobile phone."  

The event has not been without controversy. Until its sixth season, one major criticism was that the same, rather small pool of regional designers were always picked to showcase their collections (that changed over the next few editions, though).

Then, last year, the event absented itself from the calendar altogether. The official reason cited by organisers was “to ensure that future editions are sustainable and address the needs of a rapidly evolving industry”, although regular attendees suggest the high-profile shine of its early years was starting to dull.     

Whatever the reason for its hiatus, FFWD is back for its 11th season, which will run from Wednesday, October 30, to Saturday, November 2, at the Design Quarter in D3. This year we'll see runway collections from Arwa Al Banawi, Amato, Behnoode, Hass Idriss, Michael Cinco, Mrs Keepa, Roni Helou and Tanya Skaff among others.

Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain

West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership

UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Brief scores

Toss India, chose to bat

India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)

Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)

India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method

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Strait of Hormuz

Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.

The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.

Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

How to help

Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:

2289 - Dh10

2252 - Dh50

6025 - Dh20

6027 - Dh100

6026 - Dh200

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

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

MATCH INFO

Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')

Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')

Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)

Info

What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship

When: December 27-29, 2018

Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823

'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Omar Yabroudi's factfile

Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager

 

 

 

 

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets