Former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach to open Arab Fashion Week by modelling for Amato

Wearing the latest collection by designer Furne One, Wurtzbach will kick off the autumn / winter 2021 season

The film starring Pia Wurtzbach for Amato Couture will open the event on the new date of 28 March. Courtesy Amato

Arab Fashion Week is set to kick off in style with a filmed presentation starring former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.

The pageant winner will sport the latest designs by Dubai label Amato Couture in a high-fashion video, which will be released on Wednesday at 8pm to mark the start of AFW.

The collection, entitled Inner Sanctum, is, as the label's Philippines-born designer Furne One explains, about a woman “finding her true self and facing her own fears".

When not modelling for Amato, the beauty queen-turned-model, who became only the third Filipina to wear the crown when she won the title in 2015, is now the Goodwill Ambassador for conservation organisation World Wildlife Fund in the Philippines and the UNAids programme.

Running digitally from Wednesday to Sunday, AFW will showcase the winter womenswear collections of designers from across the world.

This season's special guest is British-Italian designer Antonio Grimaldi, who will close the five-day event, with regional names such as Michael Cinco, Nohma Design, Euphoria, Aavva, Maliche and, of course, Amato also due to present their designs.

Other names taking part stretch the globe, with presentations by Jean-Charles Zakaria (Lebanon), Sophia Nubes (Italy), Ezra Tuba (Turkey), JAP Petelicka (Poland), Brazilian designers Andrea Conti and Sandro Barros, and Palestinian designer Ihab Jiryis.

Arab Fashion Week will run from Wednesday to Sunday. Courtesy AFW

Continuing a partnership with the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode of France (FHCM), five new French labels from Paris Fashion Week will also be participating in AFW. These are Heliot Emil, Germanier, Situationist, Weinsanto and Ester Manas.

As part of the Green Label initiative by the Arab Fashion Council, British brand Bav Tailor, Croatian name Krie Design and Italian designer Francesca Liberatore will present a sustainable collection following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Jordanian designer Zain Farouki, meanwhile, will show a capsule collection on the theme of Human Expression, in collaboration with stationery giant Bic.

Featuring designers from across the globe, Arab Fashion Week offers a platform for emerging talents. Courtesy AFW

"By presenting these talented labels ... we give them the possibility to take part of a global conversation for a better world," says Serge Carreira, head of the emerging brands initiative at FHCM.

"More than ever, emerging designers push the boundaries by impressing a new view on the world. They are committed on sustainability, on inclusivity and on respect."

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