Arab designers take centre stage on second day of Abu Dhabi Fashion Week

Notes and media contacts

It is still possible to register for tickets through the official website: www.abudhabifashionweek.com

For Interviews with the designers, sponsors or Maven Corporate management team contact:

Borouj Consulting:
Randa Mazzawi
David Baker
Noha El Kafrawi
Office: +9714 3403005

ALBINO

ALBINO, Milan's freshest new label was created in 2004 as a result of the collaboration between fashion designer Albino D'Amato and Neapolitan architect Gianfranco Fenizia.

The pair met at the academy of architecture in Rome, where D'Amato studied before taking up fashion design in Paris. Going on to apprentice himself to the great fashion houses of Paris; D'Amato worked for Emanuel Ungaro and Guy Laroche, amongst others. With an abiding passion for French haute couture, he returned to Italy to work with Italian houses including Emilio Pucci, Versace, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana.

Thanks to the Fenizia cooperation, Albino was able to launch the first women's wear collection for S/S 05. This fledgling collection consisted of twenty ensembles that reverberated with sophisticated and clean style and a strong link to classic French couture. The urbane and feminine pieces were showcased at famous Place des Vosges gallery: Nikky Diana Marquard and enjoyed immediate and resounding success amongst the most discerning buyers and press.

Italy's new prodigal son, ALBINO promises to lift Milan and carry the industry to the vanguard of fashion week. One-to-watch, in only five seasons ALBINO is already distributed in leading stores such as Mercury, Russia, Saks Fifth Avenue, San Francisco and Beverly Hills, Linder Dresner, Blake's and Luisa Via Roma.

Maison Rabih Kayrouz
The very privileged relationship he has with his clients leads him to create extremely personalized and thereby unique gowns. Each creation is unique, every fabric is chosen with passion, and all embroideries are executed with the finestprecision...
Rabih Kayrouz set out on his career path in Paris. In 1990, he joined 'L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne,' and three years later he sent his designs down the famed catwalk of the 'Carrousel du Louvre,' as part of the 'Concours Internationale des Jeunes Créateurs'.
When he graduated in 1994, Kayrouz joined Christian Dior's Haute Couture atelier. Following this, and in an effort to further hone his skills, Rabih joined Chanel. After that, he packed the knowledge he had acquired and returned to his homeland.
He barely had time to set down his luggage before work came to him. In 1995 he conceived and executed 'L'Espace Mode,' part of the 'Salon des Artistes Décora' l ater, Kayrouz's firstweddinggowns came together in his atelier. In 2004, he founded 'Maison Rabih Kayrouz,' a creative hub in a beautiful old building in Beirut. The house symbolizes his style, which is both in tune with the present and in touch with a nostalgic past and a promising future. Kayrouz articulated this philosophy fully in 1999, during a retrospective held in his honor at the French Cultural Centre, entitled 'Beyrouth, de Djenny à Rabih Kayrouz.'
With every collection, 'Maison Rabih Kayrouz' tells the story of lived experience, merging the influences of the Occident and the Orient and mirroring the designer's own movements between the two. Each season is a chapter. Each design is an emotion. Each collection is an adventure whose completion ends in the sound of a new door opening, a new story beginning.
A ruby red sphere crowned by a corolla. A crowned apple glowing with the fireofthe dead star off of which it fell. Who is that queen disguised as a drifter that only the sun recognizes? What alchemy colors it, transforming red to gold, pink to dawn/aurora, yellow to horizons? What skin, never seen on a fruit, fineandtense, armed with a bitter pulp, guardian of its virtue? An Amazon with ruby secrets, if it were a woman.
I borrowed the pomegranate and all its Mediterranean playfulness. Immersing my muslins, gabardines, satins and silks into the infinite possibility of its subtle hues, I saw the cheeks that love ignites: sun-kissed, overflowing joy.
Reproducing the fragile burst of its satin skin, the pomegranate shimmers, pouring sequins. But not too soon, not too fast ... desirable.
The result is this collection of 31 slices. If the dress were a pomegranate, it would break open to reveal the fruit: a thousand sweet and sour gems each encapsulating a divine juice ready to come flowingout. The pomegranate is the other apple of temptation. Eve's accomplice and Adam's ordeal.
I present 'My return to me' as it is, strong yet fragile, audacious and full of vigor. The colors are sweet, sometimes sour and sometimes metallic, with certain lines nervous and others opulent. Let her break in the celebration. Let her invent joy.

LAYLA KOURIS

Layla Kouris is a Greek-Lebanese designer, born in Lebanon in 1977 where she spent her childhood years. She then left to England to complete her studies in marketing. Though she succeeded, she knew all along that Marketing was not for her and she was meant to be doing something else. She has always been aware of what people are wearing and of colours that surrounded her.

She grew up knowing that someday she would find herself comfortable and satisfied working in the fashion industry.

Working in such a competitive world has not always been easy. She had her ups and downs with bringing her work to life and for others to understand it.

I always see a touch of my culture in my work,' she says. 'My journey into the fashion world began in 2005, where I started creating tops that could be dressed up for the evenings and dressed down with jeans, just as I would like to wear them myself. I always design with one thought in my mind and that is for my designs to be comfortable and sexy.

Laya's Winter Collection 2008-09 has an overriding concept to it; that of a silhouette. This abstract idea, esthetically pleasing to the designer, evolved into various designs, which have one underlying current running through them: GLAMOUR. The Collection is a ready to wear line destined for special occasions. The Lace factor is dominant, giving a sensational impact to the garments. The black colour, also dominant, gives a mysterious yet unraveling effect (from a far, when someone is wearing black, you can only see a silhouette; as the person gets closer, the garment becomes alive, for all the details are then visible).

The 25 tops have a versatile allure to them (they can be dressed up or down).
They are intended to boost the sense of free spirit, flamboyance, distinguished presence, and sophistication. The finishing is very fine, with a lot of craftsmanship going into the production of each garment.

The designs are accessorized with bows (Satin, Tulle and Leather Belts) to reinforce the feminine feel. There is different play on fabrics, where the delicate Lace and Tulle are the prevailing textiles, used with a mix of Boucle (Tweed), Chiffon Silk, Radzmir Silk, Satin Lycra and Sequins. The colour Black makes its mark in the Collection.

The designs are accessorized with bows (Satin, Tulle and Leather Belts) to reinforce the feminine feel. There is different play on fabrics, where the delicate Lace and Tulle are the prevailing textiles, used with a mix of Boucle (Tweed), Chiffon Silk, Radzmir Silk, Satin Lycra and Sequins. The colour Black makes its mark in the Collection, with a few touches of Red and Midnight Blue.

MOEK HADRA

MOK continuously pays a tribute to the sea horse creature, where its movement, poise, and mystery are similar to those of a Geisha. MOK's ideology is character oriented. There are no limitations to the identity of a garment and that is in its layered construction and dimensional textures. By layering, MOK does not shield, but maintains transparency to accentuate a lifestyle. MOK's garments are street-wear outlooks yet the way you wish to put on a MOK's piece sets the scene.

Mohamad Khadra is originally Lebanese with an Omani nationality, he was born in Beirut and brought up in the Sultanate of Oman.

In 1998 he was granted a full scholarship by the United World College headed by Nelson Mandela and Queen Noor of Jordan to obtain his IB in Hong Kong, where he started his investigation into art, design and performing arts. During his two-year stay in Hong Kong he taught theatre and poetry in Chinese public schools and organized theatrical social services in Bombay with the street children.

In 2000 he pursued his performing arts education in Saint Louis University in Madrid, where he worked as a set designer and Flamenco dancer. In 2001 Mohamad was offered a job in Beirut as TV presenter, scriptwriter, and researcher for live and recorded TV shows on lifestyle, arts and culture segments.

His intense interest in cult and design lead him to his current career as a fashion designer and stylist, where he obtained his commercial fashion design and styling B-A at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute in the Netherlands from 2003-2005. During his 3-year stay in Amsterdam: Mohamad worked as a textile designer at Oromono company based in Amsterdam, was awarded a fashion honours program where he researched current trends in Milan and Paris, and won best textile design by the Prato Textile Museum in Prato in Italy.

Recently he was spotted in a reality TV show on Future TV in Beirut called Project Fashion, making it to the final stages of the show, where he was acknowledged 2nd best Arab designer 2006. Later that year he became part of The French Fashion University ESMOD Dubai, where he conducted master courses for graduate students on Trend forecasting and Fashion media communication.

Mohamad launched his own brand MOK in Dubai and Beirut, featuring spring-summer 2007 shoes and bags collection, and last a spring-summer 08 clothing line & accessories collection for men and women showed at the International Dubai fashion Week.

MOK has recently found partnership with renowned architect Mr. Sámi Fayed and has expanded production, where they will soon introduce into the market a fall-winter 08/09 collection.

MOK is launch its fall/winter 08-09 ready to wear women's collection at Abu Dhabi titled YURI. Conceptually YURI tells a story of two geishas who meet between two eras, with that comes clash, emotion, and poise.

The collection is a high-street ready to wear line; it is print oriented in a very MOK style where new geisha illustrations will be silk-screened on shoes, bags, and garments.

MOK remains loyal to its cotton and silk jersey fabrics in addition to satins, chiffon, open weave cottons and paper finished fabrics.

The colour codes are monochromes with accents of yellow, violets and blue Gitans. Garments are tailored with details of ropes, layered fabrics, and sharp masculine cuts.

The collection is fragile in feeling and at times rough and sportive in details and finishing. Accessories: Yuri presents a huge range of shoes and bags in pure leather and printed on canvas and leather clutches, one of MOK's best selling items in addition to the MOK ballerina.