Life & Style | Beauty & Fashion
Haute and hotter
Style and creativity was the highlight of the opening night of Dubai Fashion 2008. Barbara Bui and Stephane Rolland presented their collections.
- By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report
- Published: 23:55 February 11, 2008
- Rolland's dress with a zip running down the front and big zipped pockets.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
Dubai Fashion 2008 opened on Sunday with two fashion shows by young and dynamic designers Barbara Bui and Stephane Rolland. The event, now in its fifth edition, is presented by Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) in collaboration with BurJuman.
The ambience in the spacious Arena Ballroom at Madinat Jumeirah was perfect for an evening of style and high fashion. A long ramp ran along all four sides giving everyone in the audience a good view of the garments showcased by international catwalk models.
The tables set alongside the ramp were decorated with crystal studded tablecloths, candles, black orchids in silver bowls and silver napkin holders echoing the predominantly silver, white and black palette for spring/summer 2008.
Sexy
The event was officially inaugurated by former supermodel Adriana Karembu, who was dressed in a sexy Elie Saab gown. "I have visited Dubai many times and have happy memories of the city. It is one of the most glamorous cities in the region and I am honoured to be invited to this event, which is attracting international attention," said Adriana. "I worked with Rolland at the beginning of my career and am impressed with his talent. He is one of my favourite designers because he knows how to make a woman look even more beautiful than she is. It is wonderful to be here to see his latest collection," she added.
Suhaila Gobash, event manager, DSF Office, was happy that besides familiar names such as Lacroix, Dior and Valentino, this year the event has brought many well known, talented young designers to Dubai. "We are particularly happy that three of the designers, including Rolland, are here in person," said Gobash.
"Since its inception five years ago, Dubai Fashion has achieved its initial goal of putting Dubai on the international fashion map and making it the fashion capital of the region. We now want to take it to the next level by bringing in designers and celebrities such as Adriana and planning a wider range of fashion related activities around the event," she added.
Stephane Rolland
Stephane Rolland's first ever show in the region was truly impressive. His spring/summer 2008 collection, displayed on the opening night of Dubai Fashion 2008, had the elegance and luxury of classic French haute couture but with his unique, funky, Bohemian touch. The garments were stylish, dramatic and yet very wearable.
Brought up in the south of France, Argentina and the West Indies, Rolland studied fashion design in Paris and began his career with Balenciaga at the age of 20. Four years later he launched his prêt-a-porter collection with great success. He also designed costumes for cinema and became an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival. He then moved to haute couture spending 10 years at the helm of Jean-Louis Scherrer Haute Couture before opening his own couture house last year to create his original interpretation of couture.
Innovative
Rolland's creativity and expertise in design and construction was fully evident in his innovative garments. Cascading folds and pleats on trousers and jackets, flowing panels at the back of fitted gowns and complex voluminous sleeves on simple, fitted dresses and jackets presented fashion lovers in Dubai with a glimpse of cutting edge high fashion.
With amazing ease, he combined classic fitted silhouettes with flowing Greco-Roman drapes, soft silk and chiffon dresses with jackets heavily embroidered in gold thread and body hugging mini dresses, shorts and jump suits with voluminous sleeves and flowing panels. The eye-catching garments were accented with big buttons, pockets, zippers, metallic gold clasps and huge bows in a palette of silver, gold, white and black.
Perhaps the best example of Rolland's contemporary, Bohemian haute couture look was a sleek gold dress with a zip running down the front and big zipped pockets. And his bride dressed in narrow white silk pants and a hooded top with a long train, holding a bouquet of metallic gold faux flowers, sure made a strong statement.
Oriental culture
Rolland is known as the most oriental of French couturiers and admits that he is in love with oriental culture and deeply respects it. No surprise then that the young designer's fluid architectural shapes and embroidered motifs were inspired by the work of well-known Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
"I love her work so much that I decided to make this collection as a tribute to her," said Rolland, who was present at the showing. "In visualising this collection I have also taken inspiration from the work of legendary 1960's photographer Edward Weston and modern artists such as Picasso," he added.
Rolland, whose conversation is peppered with "Yani", "Inshallah" and "Khallas", is proud of his close ties with this region. "During my 10 years at Scherrer I travelled often to meet our numerous clients in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf countries. In most couture houses customers rarely get to meet the designer, but I made it a point to interact personally with my customers here. The close relationship I share with them has enriched me deeply," he said.
"Dubai is like a second home to me as I visit the city almost every month. I am very happy and honoured to be invited to present my collection at Dubai Fashion. I plan to do a special event here when I re-launch my prêt-a-porter line next year," he added.
Barbara Bui
Designer Barbara Bui is of French and Vietnamese origin and grew up in Paris. She entered the fashion world in 1983 by opening the boutique Kabuki in Paris. She launched her label Barbara Bui in 1987 and opened the first Barbara Bui boutique in Paris the next year.
She now has boutiques in New York, Milan and Moscow, and besides her garments, she is also well known for her luxury accessories collection of bags and shoes.
elegance
Her spring/summer 2008 collection, which opened Dubai Fashion 2008, had her signature look of elegance combined with a rock ‘n' roll attitude. There seemed to be no specific theme to the collection that offered something to suit every taste, from silk kaftan dresses and short leather skirts to smart capris, elegant evening gowns and stylish jackets.
The dresses and skirts came in all lengths, the trousers ranged from tight drainpipes to flared bell bottoms and the silhouettes ranged from fitted to flowing and from halter necks and off-shoulder to full sleeves. The designer combined a variety of fabrics and textures such as silk, chiffon, suede and leather and her summer palette included silver, gold, white, beige, black, brown and pale pink.
well-cut
The floral print leather trousers and dresses were typical Barbara Bui as was the printed dress decorated with ostrich feathers. And the well-cut jackets, embellished with pin tucks, pockets and buttons looked good. But what really caught the attention of the women in the audience were the beautiful bags ranging from huge totes to chic clutches and the shoes with humungous high heels.
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