The numbers speak for themselves. But in case anyone is unaware: fashion is big business in the UAE. How big are we talking? Try more than $12bn (Dhs44.1bn) per year – that’s according to a report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which reveals clothing sales amounted to about $12.3bn (Dhs45.2bn) in the UAE in 2018.
The financial opportunities are one reason why more international designers are coming to the UAE. That was evident at the most recent Arab Fashion Week (AFW) in October, when more than 40 international and regional designers descended on Dubai to showcase their latest collections – a new record for the event.
Among those was Moldovan designer Lilia Bezer. The co-founder and creative director of the label Malliny (which she founded in 2015 with her daughter Marinela), Bezer – whose couture gowns have been featured in the likes of British Vogue, and who has shown at Paris Fashion Week – was showing for the third year in a row, an 18-piece collection in blues, greens, pinks, purples, black, gold and silver. She says the reason she keeps coming back to do runway shows in the Gulf is simple.
“In the last 20 years in the Gulf region, almost all the projects – including hotels, restaurants, stores or buildings – begin with “the most...’ in the world,” she explains.
“The demands and standards of the fashion industry, as well, have to be the best. Malliny dresses are made for customers with an income from medium to high, because of their unique luxurious style, most of them being created just in one sample. This is why we believe Dubai is for Malliny, and vice-versa.”
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