Dubai hosts a one-of-a-kind global fashion gathering

With the fashion world rapidly evolving, the need for inclusive, global conversations has never been more urgent. This urgency drove Imran Amed and the team at The Business of Fashion (BoF), the leading global platform for fashion intelligence, to bring CROSSROADS to life in Dubai on April 10 and 11. This new, invitation-only event was designed to foster dialogue between emerging fashion markets in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The aim was to create a space where creative and business leaders could learn from one another, build bridges, and rethink how the industry operates across cultural and geographic borders.

BoF CROSSROADS brought together industry heavyweights, including celebrated Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Her Highness Princess Noura Bint Faisal Al Saud, designer Tory Burch, Diriyah Company’s CMO Kiran Haslam, Al Tayer Insignia’s MD Khalid Al Tayer, and many more. Ahead of the event, The Kurator sat down with Imran Amed, founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion (BoF). Amed shared his excitement about the launch of CROSSROADS in Dubai, the goals behind the event, and his insights on both the present and the future of the industry.

After the pandemic, I resumed my global travel and everywhere I went, I heard the same question: “How do we get the West to pay attention?” Creatives and distributors in these fast-growing markets felt overlooked, despite the energy and talent in their regions.

At the same time, CEOs from major fashion brands—whether Gap or Valentino—were asking me questions about these markets. “What’s happening in India?” “Should we invest in Bangkok?” There was clear curiosity on both sides, but no real connection.

Then, about a year ago, I visited Dubai after nearly a decade—and the transformation was incredible. It felt like a truly global city. One night, I found myself at an event where you couldn’t even tell where in the world you were—people spoke different languages, wore traditional dress, danced to Afrobeat, Bollywood, Latin music. It hit me: this is a crossroads.

And I thought—what if we bring all these voices together here? To connect, to learn, to understand one another’s markets, and to create an informal network of support. That’s what CROSSROADS is all about: building real relationships and leaving with insights you can act on.

I’m lucky to work with a diverse team that helps shape our content programming. We’ve brought in experts from across the regions we’re covering, who’ve suggested incredible speakers with local insight.

For example, we have a streetwear panel featuring voices from Nigeria, India, and Brazil—three vibrant scenes that have never really shared a stage like this before. We also have a modest fashion panel highlighting perspectives from Indonesia, the Gulf, and beyond.

Part of our goal is to surface global commonalities—where scenes are emerging in parallel—and part of it is to go deep. So we’re zooming in on places like Sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi Arabia, and India, with speakers like designer Sabyasachi sharing direct, on-the-ground perspectives. It’s about both breadth and depth.

The goal is to put everyone on the same level and ask, “What can we learn from each other?” Too often, brands approach emerging markets with a one-size-fits-all formula—copy-pasting strategies without real cultural understanding.

But there’s so much pride and sophistication in these local markets. People want to feel seen, and they notice when a brand activation—like one for Ramadan—feels surface-level or disconnected. To create something meaningful, brands need to involve local voices from the start.

That’s part of what we’re trying to do with this event: make sure people feel recognized, not just as part of a global market, but for their unique cultures and experiences. And that starts with truly showing up and listening.

Dubai—and the wider GCC region—is at an interesting inflection point. It's often seen as a market full of consumers with spending power, and that’s true. But increasingly, there’s a desire to go beyond consumption and become a more integral part of the global fashion system—not just as a marketplace, but as a creative and production hub.

Right now, there’s no real fashion manufacturing base here, and that’s a gap. A full ecosystem includes everything: education, design, production, supply chain, and retail. These are the conversations we're hoping to spark during this event—how to build that infrastructure in a way that’s relevant to the region.

I also try to avoid terms like “advanced” or “emerging” because they imply a hierarchy. Every market has its own rhythm, its own strengths and challenges. The point is not to compare, but to understand and collaborate.

Historically, what hasn’t changed about fashion is its role as a powerful reflection of identity. What we wear communicates who we are—our roles, professions, beliefs, status, and even our emotions. Think of a uniform, religious dress, or a performer’s outfit on stage—clothing tells a story, often without a word being spoken. Fashion is our daily opportunity to express creativity, mood, even our response to the weather. It's the most accessible and democratic form of self-expression we have—everyone participates in it, consciously or not.

But what has changed is how fashion is perceived and accessed. For a long time, the fashion industry operated like a closed circle—insular, exclusive, and largely disconnected from the wider world. That started to shift about 15 years ago, around the time I founded BOF. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok began opening up that world. Suddenly, fashion shows, events, and trends became global conversations.

Today, fashion is a central pillar of popular culture—on par with music, sport, and film—and in many ways, it intersects with them all. It has moved from the periphery to the core of how we express ourselves and shape collective identity. That’s why, for me, fashion sits at the center of culture, and BOF’s role is to sit at the center of fashion—tracking, interpreting, and helping shape these global shifts in identity and creativity.

I don’t really believe in trends. What people are truly seeking is a sense of personal style—something that reflects who they are, not what’s momentarily popular. Style is about wearing what works for you, not chasing the latest shape, color, or fabric.

I think of fashion more in terms of tribes than trends. People connect with designers whose vision aligns with their identity. Look at Rick Owens or Yohji Yamamoto—their work doesn’t change much, but it speaks deeply to a specific audience. When fashion becomes all about chasing trends, it loses that authenticity.

 Not really. Fashion shows are a legacy from a time when there were two seasons: spring/summer and autumn/winter. But we don’t live in that world anymore. The climate is different, the calendar is different, the audience is different.

In some places, it’s hot during “winter” and cool in “summer.” The whole system is based on a Eurocentric, Global North lens. It doesn’t reflect today’s reality—and I think the format needs to evolve.

I think we’re at a really fascinating inflection point in fashion. Young consumers today aren’t chasing the newest thing—they’re searching for uniqueness. They want pieces with identity, something they find in a vintage market or on a secondhand platform that no one else has.

So the question for luxury brands is: how do you respond to that? Why would someone spend $10,000 on a mass-produced bag just because it has a big logo? The value now lies in rarity and personal meaning, not just branding.

That’s why I find this industry so compelling—it’s constantly evolving. And in times like these, thoughtful media becomes more important than ever.

Our goal at BoF has always been to illuminate the fashion industry—not just what’s happening within it, but how it intersects with the broader forces shaping our world. Fashion doesn't exist in a vacuum. It reflects shifts in economics, politics, culture, technology, and social values. And as these forces evolve, so too must the way we think about and report on fashion.

From the beginning, part of our mission has been to change the way the industry sees itself—to ask harder questions, to dig deeper, and to provide clarity in a world that’s increasingly complex. We also want to change how the rest of the world sees fashion. So often, people outside the industry dismiss it as superficial—my sons included—but there’s so much more going on beneath the surface.

At this inflection point, where everything from sustainability to identity to generative AI is shaping the future, we want to be a trusted guide. We want to help people across the industry connect the dots between what's happening on the runways, in boardrooms, and out in the streets. Media plays a vital role in helping us all make sense of these changes—and fashion media, in particular, has a responsibility to bring rigor, context, and global perspective to the conversation.

So, whether it's helping people understand new markets, rethink value systems, or respond more thoughtfully to global challenges, our job is to offer insight, challenge assumptions, and ultimately help move the industry forward.

We remind them of why BOF exists. We have good relationships with them. We're not confrontational. I think in order to do the kind of constructive journalism that we aim to do. You have to operate fearlessly, but you also have to operate constructively.

We want to be a constructive guide, you know. And so. So you're guiding them. Sometimes. Good. You know, they're seeking our opinion on the way things are going. And I have lots

of conversations like the one I'm having with you, which happened behind the scenes. Okay. you know i think this kind of i'm happy to hear that yeah this kind of exchange is it's what we all need right and so like um there's that and then we're underpinned by a business model which is based on subscriptions as you're recording oh my god i forgot to yeah it's still i think yeah yeah um our business model which is underpinned by subscriptions also enables us to sustain that model because we're not accountable to the brands we're accountable to our readers and this is your responsibility yeah and good luck with this Imran you're doing a great job honestly and I'm really I'm so happy that you chose Dubai for this event I'm sure I'm sure everybody will learn.

The pace of change. Consumer habits, technology, sustainability—all of it is shifting fast. And if constant novelty and exclusivity are no longer the answer, brands need to rethink what value really means.

But I don’t think luxury is going away. People will always crave things that make them feel seen, that reflect who they are. The challenge is to offer that in a way that aligns with today’s values: authenticity, sustainability, individuality.

That’s where the opportunity lies.