the stray thread - Dubai Fashion Week Day 1

8 things I learned at Dubai Fashion Week A/W 2011

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DFW 4/2011 the stray thread

1. DFW is NOT an international fashion Week on par with the most western cities.

Each season of Dubai Fashion Week I attend at least three shows a day to observe and evaluate the quality of both the collections and the event to report my findings back here. I am dismayed to announce that each season I get my hopes up only to have them dashed worse than the year before. I do not maintain exceptionally high standards but rather posses a healthy sense of the local design community and market trends. Year after year I watch DFW fall short of its potential. Currently in its ninth season I have come to accept that DFW will never compete with New York, Milan, Paris, or even San Paulo, Berlin or Istanbul and perhaps it shouldn't. Instead, it is a great place for new designers to gain experience and exposure and with a noticeable peak in recent buyer presence, more sales opportunities.

2. Capital Marketing can produce 37 shows in 5 days but can't organize a food vendor. hmmm?

Capital Marketing is still struggling to get it right with their second attempt at DFW having bought the event late last year. I always say "dress the part" but I reckon that sentiment is lost on these guys. From the venue to the staff nothing about this event even sighed "fashion". One sponsor even admitted embarrassment to be seen at the event and couldn't understand why DFW representatives weren't dressed to impress. I am a bit more forgiving but not by much. I beleived the Atlantis Hotel, venue of S/S 2010, was a step down from previous years but it seems they could do worse and did by hosting A/W 2011 in the Zabeel Hall of Dubai World Trade Center. It was less exciting than your average pharmaceutical convention when you combine the strong AC, florescent lights, poor acoustics, late shows and shoddy Internet with no food available. How could Capital overlook that money-making opportunity or risk the wrath of hungry media?

3. If the UAE won't represent other countries will.

The heavy weight Dubai-based designers were missed at Dubai Fashion Week this season leaving room for regional designers to shine. Our beloved Furne One’s Amato, Michael Cinco, Hatem / Toby, Walid Atallah and Amber Feroz have all shown at DFW at some point in recent years. However, everyone of them have opted out this season to pursue other opportunities. With One and Cinco reportedly showing in London and New York while others have chosen to show with alternative organizations like the highly successful Who’s Next Show in October, our home grown talents are either fed up with the DFW organization or they have simply out grown it. However, HSY, the renowned Pakistani designer and a regular in Dubai, brought out the biggest crowd with his 42 piece collection of mostly traditional Pakistani couture pieces on the opening night. He set a bar that could be only reached by the closing night show by Indian designer, Rajesh Pratap Singh’s collection of woven aluminum, ikat and laser cut leather making for a sublimely urbane ready-to-wear line.

4. DFW should enforce quality control on the runway.

Hitting up as many shows as possible is hard work and can be worth the time. It is usually a sure thing that the later shows (more expensive time slots) will be worth my while but it is the day shows that can be hit or miss and this year was no different. As I am a blogger, for lack of better word, who is all about supporting local artists and designers I am sticking to “if I don’t have anything nice to say then I won’t mention the name of the designer”. Fair enough? Therefore, I will say my peace and move on the highlights of the week.

Do not send a model down the runway with a broken zipper. An exposed back where a closed corset should be breaks the proscenium and kills the magic of the show.
Do not send a garment out with pins still it. Duh! You have no business showing if the garments are incomplete. You will compromise your brand.
Properly care for and manage your garments. It is disappointing to see satin and chiffon flowing past you with tears, puckering and pulls.
Iron the garments and manage your models! Proper preparation and management is essential to a successful show so take care.
You can’t hide cheap fabrics or poor construction. I saw a number of cheap fabrics and bad sewing come down the runway, which looked absolutely trashed. See above note.
Never send anything down the runway that isn’t yours. I saw denim come down the runway that were not part of the collection on more than one occasion. It is unprofessional and begs the question “Why?”. A designer should only send out completed looks.

Had DFW consulted with new designers on this front they may have been able to maintain a higher level of quality and presentation but these repeated offenses represent (season after season) the status quo of this event.

5. Capital Marketing tries?

Even with the prime opportunity of closing out the shows on Earth Day DFW still haven't incorporated any sustainable ethics and standards, not withstanding the switch from plastic to glass bottled water sponsors. However, this year Capital Marketing and official DFW sponsor Chopard held the first ever “photo of the week” and “model of the week” competition. I can appreciate the gesture but they had a hard time stirring up participation in the first few days. Perhaps it was the mysterious Chopard gift bag that a mostly male media crew was vying for but by day five the wall of the media center was filled with submissions that saw fellow photographers, journalists and models stopping by for a look.

Photograpers of the week winners - 1^st Place – Zarina Fernandes, 2^nd Place – Muthukrishna, 3^rd Place – Preeti Saxena

Model of the Week - Yulia Saparniyazova

6. A good PR team is priceless!

Once again the DFW PR firm Hill & Knowlton deserve a big thumbs up for looking after all the media! They hold down the fort with grace and never seem to be in the weeds. They always treat media types big and small with repsect and courtesy making DFW an ideal place to make your bones as a blogger. It is always a pleasure to work with them!

7. DFW gets on the app bandwagon much to our delight.

On day 3 DFW released a iphone app available through itunes. Better late than never I guess. It is quite a handy feature and I do hope they develop it further for next season as it provides access to video of the shows, schedules designer profiles and more.

8. There were some cohesive and exciting collections that harked of real talent!

DFW's Emerging Talent show is defianlty worth a visit to show support and scope out fresh ideas. The stand out this season was Sarah Mrad's superbly, Parisian chic collection inspired by Hollywood icons like Audrey Hepburn and Sarah Jessica Parker.

The noteworthy ready-to-wear collection of the week include local and regional talent. Mariam Al Mazro's MiMi Designs keep me impressed season after season with her aptitde for mixing wilding busy patterns with style and restraint while her sister Maza's new collection, Gmaash, represents an entirely different style DNA. Nasrine Dechache, former Emerging Talent winner, brought the fun and sexy back to DFW with her line Montaigne after Lebanese designer Paula K brought the most original, conceptual and perhaps most sustainable line of clothes with models dancing barefoot down the runway. Rabia Z does urban cool for the modest set with excellent draping and fit. Students at Esmod, Lamees and Eman offered us some very strong pieces from their collection At A Glance. Rehnu Tandon representing Mubai Se impressed the crowd with her take on safari glam while local designer Shrekahnth out did himself with his interpretation of Futurism with tech savvy prints and out of this world accessories.

With no shortage of glamorous affairs to attend in Dubai a few evening wear designers sent some fetching gowns down the runway.

The abaya is a garment that I always enjoying seeing float down the runway in its many interpretations. Slouchy Z, whose name baffles me, was the break through abaya designer for me with the curious use of color and elegant cuts. An 1001 Abaya should be in anyone woman's closet while Nabrman did what she does best this season. Modest by Aisha Al Aleeli has kind of an old school Arabic approach to abayas. Lastly Surbhi Jaggi mixes traditional Arabic clothes with Indian trims and global fashion trends to render her signature abayas.

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8 things I learned at Dubai Fashion Week A/W 2011

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