Abu Dhabi Fashion Week to feature top international and regional designers

Abu Dhabi Fashion Week, a week long fiesta of high fashion and glamour that has become part of the international fashion calendar alongside the fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, is scheduled to be held from November 20 to 24 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

This annual Prêt-a-Porter event has put Abu Dhabi on the map of the world fashion.

The high profile fashion event debuted in March 2008 with tremendous fanfare amid frenzied media blitz, attracting top notch international and regional designers and buyers.

Italian fashion maestro Valentino provided a fitting finale to the launch event of Abu Dhabi Fashion Week by showcasing his Haute Couture Collection.

Leading international brands such as Missoni and Pucci, unveiled their creations at the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week earlier this year.

The event also provided a much-needed platform for several regional designers to present their talents and creativity to an international audience.

The upcoming Abu Dhabi Fashion Week will be held 20-24 November 2008 and will showcase top international and regional designers' Prêt-a -Porter 2009 Spring -Summer Collections.

Top international runway models, hair and make-up technicians and fashion stylists are also being flown to Abu Dhabi for this world class festival of fashion.

Abu Dhabi Fashion Week is being jointly organised by Maven Corporate and The Fashion Resources Park.

Fashion Resources Park, the brain-child of Maven Corporate, spearheaded by Mr Ali Al Badi, is an Abu Dhabi-based state-of-the-art centre, specifically created for International Fashion Brands, designers and fashion industry professionals from the SAMENA region.

"The city of Abu Dhabi has a cosmopolitan outlook, political stability and a liberal economy. With The Fashion Resources Park, Abu Dhabi will emerge as the new centre for high fashion in the Middle East."

said Mr Al Badi, director and major stakeholder of the park.

Since its debut, Abu Dhabi Fashion Week has emerged as the premier high profile fashion industry event in the Middle East.

ADFW brings together top international and regional designers, models, celebrities, Royalty, regional and international businessmen including buyers, brand representatives, distributors, retailers, alongside international media and followers of fashion.

"We started Abu Dhabi Fashion Week as part of a wider initiative linked with the fashion industry." said Dr Alice Teeuwen, chairperson of Maven Corporate.

"We're happy that Abu Dhabi Fashion Week has evolved into a successful business driven event that focuses on showcasing international designers seeking greater exposure to the rapidly growing consumers markets of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, and on providing a platform and infrastructure for leading local and regional designers to reach out to the international fashion markets."

"Abu Dhabi Fashion Week is a prestigious launching pad for Emirati designers" explained Mr. AL Badi.

Ten Emirati students of Sheikh Zayed Private Academy, Abu Dhabi, aged between 16 to 18, have a passionate interest in fashion design and have created their own brand, "She Arabia", inspired by the Emirates' traditions, culture and environment.

This new brand, initiated for the inauguration of the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week, has now become an integral part of the event, earning a perennial spot during the week.

The ten young women designers are: Alanood Omar Abdulaziz Al Mubarak, Amna Mohammed Bin Saeed Al Qamzi, Fatima Al Qubaisi, Hind Eissa Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, Latifa Mohamed Al Nuaimi, Maha Al Mehairi, Mona Ahmed Al-Qamzi, Mouza Sultan Rashed Saeed Al-Dhaheri, Shamma Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and coordinator Fatima Mohammed Al Qubaisi.

"The inclusion of these students in the event is in conformity with our vision to develop fashion designing in the country and to encourage and provide avenues for our talented designers to evolve into international creators," Mr Al Badi pointed out.

"What we want to create is a centre of excellence, by bringing a lot of elements together. And the fashion week is the first step to make a statement within the region that the city of Abu Dhabi supports Arabic value and creativity."

Sponsored by Aldar, Mubadala, Etihad and The Fashion Resources Park, the five day Abu Dhabi Fashion Week is one of the initiatives being taken by Maven in Abu Dhabi to create a new value added hub for the fashion industry in the region.

It is a glamorous, business driven international event that is rapidly becoming a key focus point for the regional fashion industry.

Alongside the formal Sponsors, the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week has drawn enormous support from within the UAE and from the region.

Key strategic support is also being given by the Abu Dhabi Women's General Union, with whom the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week has signed a long term agreement focusing on recognizing and fostering the fashion talent and knowledge in the women of Abu Dhabi.