DREAMING BIG
Last year, we set out to see if we could dress a wide range of UAE residents in clothes from labels designed right here. It was a challenge – the aim was to find outfits for men and women, for all the things they might do in a typical day – take their child to school, work, relax and go out in the evening.
The difficulty lay not in finding fancy dresses for a night at the opera – locally based designers have been knocking out gowns covered in crystals for years. But UAE-designed everyday clothing for people who don’t have a huge budget (and a social calendar to rival Meghan Markle’s) hasn’t always been available.
That’s certainly changing, however, as this weekend’s second annual photoshoot of UAE-designed looks proves. In fact, there’s only one evening gown in the whole line-up. The job of featuring local designer wares to feature is just as challenging now, but in a different way. There are so many, we could not include them all. Otherwise we’d fill the magazine.
Our criteria was that the all the labels we use be based here in the UAE, in any emirate, although most of them are from Dubai (a notable exception: Madiyah Al Sharqi, who designs and manufactures her wonderful pieces in Fujairah). Many of these designers are based in Dubai Design District, proving that the free zone’s remit of supporting the local industry is quickly paying off. Some of them manufacture clothes here, too – you will love the story behind Bedouin and the family business it supports. To find out more about the people behind these brands, check out the full interviews
UAE-designed clothing for people who don’t have a social calendar rivalling Meghan Markle’s wasn’t always available
on fridaymagazine.ae.
Fashion is just one area in which local entrepreneurism is flourishing. The UAE has always been a place for people to make their dreams a reality – whether you’re a couple of young Emiratis with a plan to change how people view the local population (page 30), a make-up artist with plans of global highlighter domination (page 48), an engineer shooting for the stars (page 32) –ora cafeteria cook with a crazy plan to mix Chips Oman and laban in one barmy beverage (page 28). Read all those stories in this week’s edition as we celebrate the UAE’s 46th National Day.