Flurry of fashion!
Posted by: Letizia, 0 comments
This week has been a busy one in the Dubai fashion scene!
The Grazia style awards attracted the well heeled in Dubai, at the Address Dubai Marina.
Meanwhile in the vicinity of the other Address, Downtown Burj, the long awaited Armani hotel was opened in the Burj Khalifa.
Unfortunately I was not on the guestlist for the momentous event of a first for the Armani brand, however, the pictures of the hotel that have been published show a very minimalistic, clean, crisp interior....very UnDubai, which i must say is a relief. The Burj Al Arab and the Emirates Palace style of decor are only palatable in small doses.
Exquisite Ezra
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UAE based talent has reached new heights. Ezra, a Filipino designer with a knack for exuberant expressions of fashion flair has certainly raised the bar for the quality of fashion coming out of the region. His show earlier this week themed "in the beginning" was reminiscent of the garden of Eden with snake like couture slithering down the runway, dresses befitting a temptress with Swarovski crystals dripping off well tailored seams.
This breath of fresh air was much needed for the local fashion scene after the mediocre quality of couture witnessed at the Dubai Fashion Week.
Good job Ezra! your next mission...if you choose to accept it... my wedding dress!
Viktor & Rolf RTW Fall 2010
Posted by: Letizia, 0 commentsHow surprisingly refreshing! Who would have thought that a show so devoid of colour could ellicit such an inspired reaction from me? I appreciate black clothing and ocassionally I'll wear it, but colour dictates the contents of my wardrobe so to watch a show that had no colour and LOVE it, is something to be noted!
I couldn't have asked for a richer treat as I went about my daily morning routine which consists of cardio exercise whilst watching fashion TV. The combination of fashion meets art meets showmanship was truly a spectacle to behold, particularly having attended a number of shows within Dubai that purely lacked the creativity that was exemplified in V&R's RTW Fall masterpiece.
Granted I'm slightly biased towards the duo due to their intoxicatingly sweet "flower bomb" fragrance, packaged in a grenade shaped bottle, however, they proved themselves despite my leanings.
What impressed me mostabout the runway show was the style of exhibition of their artform. The collection itself was also far from dull. They gave us a glimpse of the craft of designing. They were part of the show both in the back and foreground, lending a touch of reality to the usual hum-drum of waif coat hangers strutting their gangly legs down an endless runway. I was particularly drawn to the industrial feel of the show where you felt like you were part of the process. Watching the designers undress and dress the models brought an element of authenticity to the show because the designer's hands were physically on the clothing structuring each look especially for the audience as they watched.
Very well done! I almost burst into applause at the end of the show - good thing i didn't because a fall from the elliptical machine would have been a little less than graceful. Definitely looking forward to their next collection!
Dubai Fashion Week A/W 2010
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The 7th installment of the Dubai Fashion week found me attending the Iconic show which was very well attended. The recently opened megastore sits in old Dubai in Deira City cnetre and offers every type of Fashion with over 200 brands spanning from the affordable high street fashion to more niche, cult brands and the premium brands that get Dubai shoppers excited.
I enjoyed the show and will be interested in what the in-store experience is like. In the next few months, I'll be trawling through the myriad of fashion outlets in Dubai to experience the brand offering.I want to see what's out there, for whom and how is it offered to them.
The TIA by Soraya and Ajay show was good to see because of the strong local influence. The colours were vibrant, almost to the point of shocking. The Sari's were less traditional and were probably designed for opulent occasions of which Dubai does not have a shortage of!
This show was less well attended which was a surprise, perhaps because it was late at night (close to 11pm) on a Saturday. Maybe it was because they didn't have goodie bags!
Although its been running for 7 years now, the Fashion week here still has a long way to go. There is no real buzz generated around it which is something worth exploring since the city is so label and fashion crazed. Its almost as though this event is only targeted at people in the fashion industry. I personally didn't come across any sort of messaging around it.
There are some positive aspects about the fashion week in Dubai, the main one being that it is totally supportive of local talent. If they were to bring in the more established brands from Europe, it would not allow for these local brands to flourish as we would witness the flea market effect of everyone flocking to the European brand shows and ignoring the local brands.
I look forward to the next Dubai Fashion Week!
