After having witnessed several lackluster attempts by earnest organizers to launch a high profile event around the MENA region fashion industry, my hopes for an inspirational Fashion Week while boarding my flight from Dubai to Muscat were somewhat slim. From the 15th to the 18th of January, the Municipality of Muscat entrusted Fashion Exclusive, a Danish communication agency, with the production of Muscat Fashion Week, as they have done for the past three seasons. Muscat aims to position itself as the Fashion Week with the most ambition in the region. The organizers and their backers understand that no matter how strong a market is in terms of sales, a fashion industry is only formed and recognized around its indigenous designers. This past weekend, Muscat Fashion Week enjoyed its biggest show to date in terms of press attendance.
Style.com Arabia was cordially invited to report on the shows, as were all major fashion publications throughout the region. Also in attendance was the renowned Daily Telegraph fashion critic, Hilary Alexander.
When I cautioned organizers that unlike many of our counterparts, Style.com Arabia conducted “real fashion reviews” and would not mince words, they didn’t seem alarmed. When I added that, “Your designers will be treated like any other designer we review whether it is a mega brand or a small up-and-coming talent”, they even appeared happy.
Muscat Fashion Week presented Spring/Summer 2013 to influential private clients, Omani dignitaries, press, and some visitors who flew in specifically for the event.
The shows were spread out over three nights, with four shows per evening featuring a selection of designers curated by the organizers and hailing from across the Arab world: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Morocco, Tunisia, and Oman. All were flown in and accommodated by the Municipality of Muscat, which allowed for smaller names like the young Tunisian, Ahmed Talfit—who produced a powerful show—to access a wide and pertinent platform and strengthen the brand’s credentials.
Although the collections were too detached to formulate trends, in a world where fashion is increasingly undifferentiated, Muscat Fashion Week designers opted for a strong cultural touch, with an abundance of abayas, caftans, and millennial Arab savoir fair like traditional embroideries masterfully used by the Moroccan brand, Zhor Rais, and Omani brand, Dibaj. In a quest for the most apt representation of Arab fashion, both designers showcased fan favorite collections that modernized the traditional costume with exaggerated silhouettes and striking colors.
While featured designers were keen to develop a strong cultural identity within their collections, the struggle to find the right balance between modernity and tradition, and a statement look and a market pleaser, was all too apparent. Dibaj, Talfit, and Toujouri made a concerted effort to put a stamp on their creations: Dibaj modernized a traditional silhouette, Talfit bet everything on avant garde couture, and Toujouri created its own signature prints and embroideries. Yet the overwhelming number of evening dresses and generic creations made for a prevalent lack of a long-term vision and brand identity. Newcomers should dare and our Arab designers seemed to be instead stuck to the beloved mantra “more is more”—a prodigious regional signature, but is it enough?
Endemage from the UAE delivered a well-constructed collection and another fan favorite, Razan Alazzouni from Saudi Arabia, produced very streamlined looks. An even bigger dissection on the tailoring and the fit could only be beneficial for these young designers and help catapult their sales among a clientele—that one must keep in mind—can always shop the internationally-recognized brands. What she gets with Arab designers, however, is an expression of her identity. Dressing with ethnic flare has always been a chic statement among major brands like Chanel or Valentino who explore the culture of emerging markets. Local brands are now gaining interest among buyers and press. Buoyed with initiatives like Muscat Fashion Week, they need to push boundaries and continue to dig deeper to affirm a stronger aesthetic and a better attention to quality. It is this talent that can ultimately make the Middle East an exporter of fashion.
