Having absented itself from the fashion calendar last year, Fashion Forward Dubai is set to make its return in October 2019. While the FFWD stage was traditionally a platform for emerging (and some established) regional designers to send their seasonal collections down the makeshift runway at Dubai Design District, this year the event is pitching itself as a "shop now platform".
See now, shop now
The clothes, shoes and accessories that will be showcased at the upcoming FFWD show will be available for purchase instantly. Visitors will have access to a retail pop-up, while online shoppers from all over the world, too, can make their purchases digitally at the same time.
It's not confirmed yet whether all participating designers will make their wares available for immediate sale, but we do know that latest iteration of Fashion Forward will be open to both Middle Eastern and international designers who have expressed an "interest in this region".
The concept has been around since 2015, and is more commonly phrased as see now, buy now (SNBN). It has found both supporters and detractors. The former argue that by cutting that time lag between seeing clothes on the catwalk and in-store, SNBN offers a direct connection to a new, more demanding consumer, offering instant gratification to the Insta-generation. Critics, meanwhile, note that overhauling the system comes at exorbitant restructuring costs, and there's no way to tell how successful or in demand a collection will be.
"Fashion Forward Dubai was previously postponed to ensure that future editions are sustainable and address the needs of a rapid evolving industry. We have taken steps to understand what Dubai and the region need," says Bong Guerrero, chief executive and co-founder of FFWD. Either way, it's a bold move for Fashion Forward, and it remains to be seen how it will translate to the Dubai fashionscape.
Past year designers
The list of designers and brands at this year's FFWD will be confirmed by June 27, for the October 30 to November 2 shows. In the past, the event has welcomed Beirut's Roni Helou, Saudi designer Arwa Al Banawi, Emirati Madiyah Al Sharqi, Morocco's Amine Bendriouich and Dubai label Amato Couture.
It also included a smattering of guest designers from overseas, such as Mary Katrantzou at the 2017 edition, although we expect that list to grow this year. Burberry, Tom Ford, Thakoon, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren are all fans of the see-now, buy-now model, so you never know.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue
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Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
