We look at the evolution of modest fashion and how Dubai is playing a pioneering role globally in promoting it
Read full report on www.gulfnews.com/1.1541420873727
Read full report on www.gulfnews.com/1.1541420873727
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00:00I think it's something that we can proudly say started in Dubai, and we see now big brands
00:11and international brands are going towards that, like Nike and Chanel.
00:16And it's a movement which is, the other day I was talking to a couple of people in the
00:22fashion industry, and they're saying it's picking up really well, not only in the region,
00:26but in England, in the United States, so it's a very good movement, and it started in Dubai.
00:35I think it's a niche product that the whole fashion industry needed, and when it was available
00:41people just loved it, and it's growing, and it's gaining momentum.
00:48Well, I'll tell you the truth.
00:50When I started doing Paris Fashion Week, we would do multi-brand showrooms, so I would
00:58meet a lot of international buyers, and when I would introduce my brand, I would explain
01:04my concept of making modest wear.
01:07The moment I would say modest wear, they would just turn their back and walk away.
01:12I'm exaggerating, but it's really how I felt.
01:15I felt, okay, no, your category doesn't fit our store, doesn't fit our clientele, so no,
01:22we're not interested.
01:24I don't think it didn't fit the clientele, I think it didn't fit their beliefs.
01:30I think that back then, they would not think that women should dress modestly, so they
01:35would decide for women, and not really want this kind of outfits for their store.
01:42But now, I feel that I'm getting contacted because I'm doing modest wear, and we have
01:48a lot of attention because of this big hype around modest wear.
01:53Modest fashion is a movement, somehow, that started from the Middle East, and I think
02:01that it's influenced a lot of women around the world, not just women who dress modestly.
02:07And I think 50% of what women wear, in general, are actually modest dresses.
02:12So when you're in the workplace, you're modestly dressed.
02:14When you have certain meetings or arenas, you are.
02:17So there is a domain for every single woman out there who is dressed modestly almost 50%
02:22of her time, minus the ones that are just genuinely, as part of their aesthetic, prefer
02:26to be modestly dressed.
02:28And so, again, I say that when you look at modest dressers, you don't look at them specifically
02:34and think, oh, they're modest dressers.
02:37People can be fashionable in any different domain, and I think it was high time that
02:41somebody actually spoke to that arena without having it to be pegged into one domain, because
02:45it's religious, it's personal, it's about your certain size and shape and what you prefer,
02:51what looks better on you and what doesn't.
02:53And all of that comes in part and parcel of defining a woman and her choices, and we really
02:58believe in the value of choices.
03:01So we're very pleased to see that reaction not just happen regionally, but internationally
03:04just the same.
03:06You know, when we talk about the region, we are talking about, you know, this spending
03:10of around $320 billion on luxury goods.
03:14So it's a very serious region, and the spending on luxury goods and fashion is very strong,
03:19and that spending is expected to grow and expected to go to the next level.
03:25Well, when we looked at the design industry in the region, we saw that it's a very significant
03:33industry in terms of the size and in terms of the opportunity.
03:37And when we looked around at, you know, the different designers, fashion designers in
03:41Dubai, they are all scattered with not the proper ecosystem and they don't have the proper
03:45infrastructure.
03:46So Sheikh Mohammed Barash Dal Maktoum ordered us to create Dubai Design District to become
03:53like, you know, the creative hub, you know, the creative cluster for the designers.
03:58And you know, the project was launched in 2013.
04:012015, phase one was completed, and mashallah, today we have more than 500 designers, more
04:07than 220 of them are fashion designers, and there are a lot of courses, short courses
04:13in fashion and different segments of design.
04:15Projects like Dubai Design District, a platform like Art Dubai, like Dubai Design Week, you
04:21know, providing the right infrastructure, even when it comes to education, universities
04:26that teach fashion or design, it gave the people in the whole region an opportunity
04:30to come to a place which is closer to home and, you know, to study, to work, you know,
04:37to produce their products and sell them in the same place.
04:41So all of that helped Dubai to become, you know, the center and the capital of design
04:45and fashion.
04:47I would say, you know, international platforms as well.
04:51Our participation in international platforms is very key.
04:54We have a few names and a few brands that started here, and now they are well-recognized
05:00in the international platform.
05:02Just to mention a few names, Medhi Alsharqi, Arwal Banawi from D3, and then we have Aljud
05:08Lutaw when it comes to product and furniture design, Khadid Shafar.
05:13All of them are, you know, local designers who started here, and they became internationally
05:17known now.
05:18And the idea of D3 is basically to become the home for these creative people and to
05:23potentially, you know, have a few of these designers go international, and they will
05:28be inspiring the rest of the world from Dubai, and that's the potential of D3.
05:32It really played a big part because to have a hub that puts together creatives, artists,
05:42and the industry in general was something that really made us feel part of what is happening
05:48here and made us feel part of the growth of the industry in the Middle East and in UAE.
05:54What I think as a hub, you know, you're in the world of design and you're in the world
05:57of fashion.
05:58It's very, very refreshing to see so many different brands being part of D3.
06:02You feel the vibrancy and the enormity of what fashion is, and when you want to take
06:08an area or a department or, you know, a segment of the business so seriously, there's nothing
06:12more amazing than having that creative culture around you.
06:15So when you have that facilitation and you're able to use and utilize, you know, the assistance
06:20of D3 as well as the entire arena of what D3 has to offer, it's just a great combination
06:25to basically build the fashion industry in from D3.
06:31I think having the big brands in D3 is very important.
06:36Having the anchors is extremely important.
06:38And then having the startups next to them, which will encourage collaboration or the
06:43sharings and et cetera, and there are many examples.
06:46One of them is Adidas and Arwa al-Banawi.
06:48Arwa is a young Saudi designer in D3 that collaborated with Adidas to design a full
06:54collection for Adidas and was the first Arab designer and it happened in D3.
06:58So this collaboration is very important.
07:01Knowledge sharing is very important.
07:02And then having them in important platforms such as Dubai Design Week, Fashion Forward,
07:08which is, I would say, the most important platform for fashion in Dubai anyway, is very
07:15important next to the big names, next to the international names as well.
07:19So it's important.
07:20And again, having the best schools to give education and give short courses is again
07:25important.
07:26So the whole ecosystem is very important.
07:28Anytime there's a new initiative, they're always involving us.
07:31They're always involving different people.
07:32They even involve emerging designers.
07:34They're trying to build a community and they're doing a very successful job at it between
07:38all the activities and the events and the amalgamation of Fashion Forward in here,
07:43all of the events like Seoul DXB, concerts, arenas.
07:46They're just bringing people together in the fashion arena and bringing everyone here.
07:50Certain talks, some Burberry came in and so many others.
07:53It's just a very beautiful hub to be part of that fashion element.
08:02So there are always something unique about fashion in Dubai and the ideas of these creative
08:07Emiratis or Khadijis in Dubai and being around with some of the top guys and the top brands
08:15around the world, they find that there is a lot of talent in this region and they want
08:20ideas from the talent here.
08:23We see a lot of the international brand now having calligraphy as well on their bags or
08:30on their fashion, having Arabic elements in their designs or fashion.
08:36So we see all of this and I think it's something that will keep influencing, will keep inspiring
08:40the rest of the world and every region will have something special that will offer when
08:44it comes to its design and fashion.
08:46I'm very much inspired by women in general and I think that what I love about the UAE
08:51is we've got over 180 nationalities here and what I love is that if you want to see the
08:57globe come to Dubai, I really think about that.
09:00So if you want to see that global woman, come and see her here.
09:03Women of all different shapes and sizes, women of all different nationalities live here and
09:08I think that Dubai is actually a marketplace to just literally evaluate who you're designing
09:13for and who you want to design for and when I look around me, I see the diversity and
09:17that diversity really, really stimulates me in terms of thinking what is amazing to design
09:22for this woman.
09:24You can find different frames of mind here, like you can be relaxed and you can be following
09:32the fast life and the fact that it's such a beautiful city with high, tall buildings.
09:42The skyline is so inspiring for me so there's a few of my collections that were inspired
09:46by the nighttime skyline of Dubai.
09:50I think Dubai will continue to be the leading city when it comes to design and fashion and
09:57with all the infrastructure, with what Dubai is offering, with the schools, with the creative
10:03spaces, with the ease of doing business in Dubai, I think, and having the international
10:08brands, having the, not only, you know, something very interesting we found that when we put
10:13fashion designers next to architects, next to product designers and the different designers
10:18from different fields, they collaborate with each other and you'll find an architect collaborating
10:22with a fashion designer to create a piece.
10:25So that's something very unique and very unique for D3, which we successfully managed to put
10:31together and even live and I think this is something important that will keep going.
10:38And yeah, I think Dubai will continue to do well and will continue to lead the way.
10:48For more UN videos visit www.un.org