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Highlights from Day Four of Fashion Forward Dubai

As another successful season of Fashion Forward Dubai draws the curtain, we take a look at the highlights from the closing day.

1. Mrs Keepa

French-Egyptian designer Mariam Yeya who founded the label in 2016, delivered a lighthearted celebratory show with a nod to youth culture and inclusivity. The “Les Silhouettes” line-up featured exaggerated shapes and fabric choices, including leather, denim, tweed, cotton, faux fur, linen, and feathers on a diverse cast of models including homegrown plus-size model Ameni Esseibi. With emphasis on proportion and a somewhat hedonistic color scheme that could perhaps have been slightly more tightly edited, we couldn’t help but smile as the models danced freely, making it a party we all wanted to join.

2. Reemami

 The Dubai-based label “Reemami” has been making waves in the region since 2010 when Reema Al Banna launched the ready to wear label. With a deep understanding of sustainability, her collection is produced in Sharjah, ensuring a reduction on her labels carbon footprint. There was a definitive whiff of bohemianism in the design aesthetic with an eccentric use of fabric combination, cutting techniques and adornment. However, some of the more simple cuts stood out, such as a beautifully executed red chiffon look and an exquisite long white button-down floor-length dress.

3. Learn How to Perfectly Pitch your Brand to Buyers

 Moderated by Rani Ilmi, the founder of Frame Publicity, an insightful panel talk guiding young designers on how to kick start a small business took place in the late afternoon. With speakers such as Maria Muñoz, co-founder of Maison Pyramide, Julia Macrae, the buyer from Level Shoes, brand consultant Zeina Ladki, and founder and designer Laura Constantine, young talent was given the important and necessary advice on how to utilize social media and move forward with a young brand.

4. Behnoode

Persian fashion designer Behnood Javaherpour returned to Fashion Forward with his label Behnoode founded in 2005 showcasing a timeless and tasteful menswear collection inspired by the phrase: “Take me away to a different place in time.”

5. Amato

Furne One needs no introduction as the Filipino, Dubai based designer who has dressed some of the leading female celebrities in the world such as Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, and Britney Spears, in a sea of crystals and opulence that wouldn’t look out of place in an Edwardian court. At the closing show of Fashion-forward, his latest collection, ‘Coronation of the Virgin’, was inspired by the portal of Santa Maria Forisportam’s wall sculpture in Lucca. Tuscany, Italy and certainly didn’t disappoint on the showmanship front. Huge, over the top and dripping in his signature embellishment he obviously has a blueprint that works. Yet look past all the razzle-dazzle, and there were hints of what we would perhaps love to see a little more of – his clever and beautifully streamlined cutting techniques that modernize the overall form and help move into the avant-garde.

Until next time Fashion forward!

Read Next: Exclusive: Karen Wazen Eyewear Debuts on Farfetch

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