Men’s Arab Fashion Week FW22/23 kicks off today, bringing the best talent in the region to the fore, and highlighting the best that modern style has to offer.
To celebrate the event, we sat down with Khadija Al Bastaki, Executive Director, Dubai Design District (d3) on the much-anticipated event, the state of fashion in the region, and how this year’s event pushes the boundaries like never before–including bringing the metaverse and NFTs into the fold for the first time.
The third edition of Men’s Arab Fashion Week in Asia, Middle East, and Africa is set to take place from today, January 28, through Sunday, January 30 2022 at d3, brought to us by the Arab Fashion Council and Dubai Design District.
Arab Fashion Week-Men’s Fall-Winter 2022/23 program will showcase local, regional, and international designers from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, Jordan, England, and France. Among the designers featured will be: Amato, Michael Cinco, Anomalous, FLTRD, BHYPE and American Rag from the UAE; Lebanon’s Tagueule, Maison du Mec, Emergency Room and Ahmed Amer; Jordan’s Zaid Farouki; Libya’s Born in Exile; plus Valette Studio and Asher Levine. Michael Cinco, Amato and Zaid Farouki are all designers based at d3.
Find out more about the event and get the full schedule here.
Read our full conversation with Al Bastaki below:
What are you most looking forward to during Men’s Arab Fashion Week FW22/23?
The 15 runway shows over the three days should present many memorable moments and it will be fantastic to have the menswear shows live here, for the first time, at Dubai Design District (d3) – as well as live-streamed through the Meta platform. I can’t wait for the buzz and excitement around the talent being showcased and to see our creative community back together again – sharing, learning, supporting and inspiring. It will also be great to see the narrative around ready-to-wear menswear gain even more momentum locally, regionally and globally. It is such exciting times for our regional fashion industry – menswear and womenswear – and it will be a privilege to see more names, from all across the region, come to the fore over the coming days.
Regional and local talent are gaining in prominence in the fashion world. What defines that style sensibility, in your mind?
The Middle East has long been home to some incredible designers and there is a long and strong history of interest in and passion for beautiful couture – as well as the arts and creative industries more generally. However, designers from across the region have certainly started to come to the fore on the global stage more than ever in recent years with the growing appetite and desire for Arab contemporary fashion. There is a growing interest in more modest fashions and fashions that tell a story about background and where people come from. Younger buyers want to feel connected to their roots and reflect their culture.
How has the local talent grown and developed, and how has d3 aided that growth?
Local talent has evolved enormously in recent years, which is so exciting and inspiring for Dubai and the UAE. Three of the designers showcasing work over the coming days (Michael Cinco, Amato and Zaid Farouki) are d3-based and we are very proud of them. They are all playing their part in redefining fashion in the Middle East.
The previous years have brought a greater focus on the local and homegrown, given the restrictions on travel that resulted. So, this has seen more local talent and designers rise up. And indeed this is also supported by the ever growing sustainability mindset as well – and consumers thinking more and more about where their clothes have come from, who made them and carbon footprint. We are deeply committed at d3 to the sustainable development of the regional fashion industry. In all that we do as well, we work to enable the creative community and provide an ecosystem that allows creatives (whether in the fashion industry or architects, designers, artists) to experiment, flourish and inspire. We provide state-of-the-art facilities as well as nurture talent and encourage collaboration. To serve as the region’s fashion hub for creative exchange and collaboration and to support and empower emerging creatives reach new heights, is a point of pride and humility for us at d3.
How has the partnership between d3 and the Arab Fashion Council evolved?
Our partnership with the Arab Fashion Council was announced last summer and it is one that we are very proud of. We look forward to working with the Council to contribute to the sustainable development and growth of the region’s fashion industry, cementing Dubai’s position as a global hub for talent and companies in the creative sector. We have held three Arab Fashion Weeks since the partnership was launched – in June, October and now – and the Fashion Week format gives regional designers a platform to come together and showcase their talents and ground-breaking ideas and be inspired and connect. d3 effectively provides the ideal backdrop to premier the season’s most cutting-edge designs and collections.
At d3, we have been the strategic driver behind Dubai Design Week, for our design community, since its inception in 2015 so cementing our alliance with the Arab Fashion Council was a natural progression, particularly as we look to cement d3’s position as a creative hub even more. The Arab Fashion Council was an ideal partner to enrich our fashion community.
What other highlights would you like to draw our Esquire’s readers attention to?
Be sure to look out for the FLTRD pop-up! This exciting pop-up is in collaboration with our d3 partner, 1Life, FLTRD – a homegrown concept store that features emerging and talented designers. The See-Now; Buy Now pop-up will enable fashion enthusiasts to shop the Fall Winter 2022/23 collection directly off the shelf, with the aim of revolutionising the industry’s business model. We’re delighted to be hosting this pop-up for the very first time and it will run from 27January to 1February.
The entire fashion week will be broadcast through Meta, the former Facebook, platforms. Do you see Meta’s newest offering, the metaverse and NFT culture, as an important part of the future of fashion?
We at d3 are deeply committed to creating a fertile ground for creativity and innovation, having established a space where the world of design, art and fashion co-exist. Yes, we think these growing technologies and platforms bring so many exciting opportunities and possibilities for the fashion industry – and it is our role at d3 to explore and experiment with them. The recent years have seen the digitalisation of the fashion industry accelerated. The livestreaming of runway shows has meant that the shows are reaching an even bigger audience – all over the world – which is incredible.
A designer to look out for in the shows is the US designer Asher Levine. His label, AL, features designs and techniques that radically question and reconfigure paradigms of the 21st-century wardrobe. AL has become known for integrating cutting-edge techniques in fashion and science. Over the coming days he will enable the d3 audience to try on, using in-app experience, a virtual fashion experience and will indulge in the NFT reality.