The third and final day of Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD) season eight showcases ended in a celebration on Sunday, as a cheerful theme ran throughout the spring-summer previews on the catwalk and via presentations.
Dubai menswear designer Varoin Marwah started the day with his FFWD debut with the ocean as his muse. Called Aquadip, Marwah played with geometry with his blue-tinged collection, and looked like he had a lot of fun creating it. From sporty jackets to formal suits, he bathed his collection with colours drawn from the ocean, with a bit of grey sky and trees thrown in.
“The collection has a lot of future reflected throughout and I am a firm believer in pushing the boundaries,” he said.
Starch Foundation, the Lebanese platform for emerging designers brought three labels to FFWD. Starting with Salim Azzam’s serene collection, which featured beautifully embroidered shirts, many taking on androgynous proportions, the show took on a ’70s vibe when Lobnan Mahfouz sent out his models, both men and women, dancing. His almost entirely black collection for his label Perverse came with smatterings of gold, an ode to iconic discotheque Studio 54.
“I am an old soul at heart,” Mahfouz said laughing about the era of his inspiration.
His fellow Starch Foundation designer Timi Hayek took us to Scotland, with her earthy collection. “I loved the raw, rugged landscape of the Highlands and translated that into tough linens with silver and gold touches,” she said.
Omani designer Amal Al Raisi, who started off her career of designing abayas, celebrated her country’s role in the ancient Silk Route with her feminine western-wear collection.
“I collaborated with a print designer and we created designs inspired by old drawings from Oman and used it in the collection,” Al Raisi explained. “It’s very important for me to have a bit of Oman in every dress, every collection.”
Dima Ayad, an FFWD regular, celebrated women. Her romantic collection featured soft drapy fabrics in subdued colours as she mixed her models with regular women.
“I wanted to celebrate women of different shapes and sizes because fashion is for everybody,” Ayad said after her show. “These are all women who’ve taught and inspired me and they are all different kinds of women.”
As is tradition, Filipino designer Furne One closed the event with his Amato label in what was undoubtedly the most well-attended show of the season. Called The Dancing Sun and inspired by a Catholic event called Miracle of the Sun, the religious symbolism was hard to miss as models walked out wearing veils typically worn by nuns. The catwalk was strewn with sand and cactus, giving it a Western feel.
The clothes, however, were signature Amato: feminine, flowy and intricately embroidered. There was a lot of French lace, tulle and linen and the pallet was mostly pastels.
“It’s nice to close FFWD because there are not many platforms for designers here in the region,” said One, who has dressed everyone from Beyonce to Katy Perry. “It’s the best platform here in the Middle East.”
