Last week, Dubai Shopping Festival hosted a special catwalk show to promote Middle Eastern fashion designers who all share a common love for eye-catching abaya and evening-wear designs.
Entitled Abbati (meaning “My Abaya”), the one-day fashion event was held at the Godolphin Ballroom in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and featured six emerging fashion designers from the Middle East, with a 15-minute catwalk show per designer.
Hessa Al Obaidli, the Sharjah-based Emirati fashion designer, kicked-off the catwalk evening with her brand Hesseh, and was followed by Badreya Faisa and her Dubai-based brand Bleach, and showcased a take on billowing volumes and black and white patterns. Finally, Sara Al Madani’s UAE-based brand Rouge Couture played with hand-crafted embroidery, and Das, the abaya couture label of Reem and Hind Beljafla, focused on opulent flower motifs and patchwork adornments.
The 2014 edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival started on January 2nd and will end on February 2nd. Launched in 1996, the one-month shopping extravaganza aims to support the local fashion and lifestyle industry. According to official data, the first 18 Dubai Shopping Festivals attracted a total of 47 million visitors, who injected AED 114 billion into Dubai’s economy.
