'We want to put the UAE on map'

Abu Dhabi: Fashion fanatics' only solace used to be waiting for the twice-yearly Dubai Fashion Week (DFW) to appear on their calendars. Now fashionistas and those who sell to them can watch and buy the latest trends in the capital, with the inauguration of Abu Dhabi Fashion Expo Arabia (ADFEA), running until Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnoc).

"We have been planning this event since February. We contacted Adnoc, set the dates for the exhibition, launched the website, recruited not only international designers, but also local and regional ones and placed advertisements.

"We even contacted the Dubai Fashion Week organisers to see if we could work alongside each other but they said that they weren't interested," Christopher Hudson, Managing Director, Middle East Communications and Forums (MECOM Forums) said.

"When DFW announced their dates six or eight weeks ago, we were surprised. While it was a commercial decision on their part, it was also a naïve one, designed to act as a spoiler for our event.

"But at the end, it's the buyers who are disappointed, as they are the ones who have to choose between the events," he added.

However, the organisers at Dubai Fashion Week, had a different view regarding these two events.

"We at Dubai Fashion Week are following the international fashion calendar.

"Fashion Expo Arabia is a trade exhibition, whereas Dubai Fashion Week is a fashion week in its true sense, formatted on international fashion structures. The only thing that is constant is change, and fashion is ever changing and ever evolving," Marc Robinson, Co-Founder and Director of Fashion, Dubai Fashion Week, said.

While Dubai Fashion Week is set to showcase 20 to 30 designers, the Abu Dhabi Fashion Expo Arabia will take it one step further.

Not only will visitors be offered a chance to browse through wares offered by 350 exhibitors from around the world, they will also have the opportunity to watch runway shows and then interact with each designer, all 30 of them, afterwards.

"Abu Dhabi may not be the centre of fashion in the region at the moment — that title could go to Dubai or Lebanon, but that is changing," Hudson said. "We decided to host it [ADFEA] between the Middle East International Film Festival and Formula One, in order to give people the complete line up of film, fashion and sports," he added.

At the moment, the retail market in the region is approximately $400 billion (Dh1.47trillion). And, according to Hudson, the value of the fashion market is approximately $12 billion per year. That means that despite the global downturn, there is still demand for quality clothing products.

"Fashion is a tough industry, and we want to put the UAE on the map as a brand in itself. Our aim is to encourage interest in exporting local and regional designs, as well as importing and retailing clothes from around the world.

"We are working with ADACH [Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage] to foster young talent here by offering cash prizes and mentoring programmes," Hudson said.