Haute couture comes to Dubai
Dubai’s shopping festival has provided an unlikely venue for top couture houses to strut their stuff, which organisers hope will boost the Gulf emirate’s drive to become an “international city”.
Creations by Emanuel Ungaro, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix and
Christian Dior – straight from the Paris catwalks – will be showcased at the four-day event. A three-day Dior jewellery exhibit is scheduled to begin on Monday.
Except for a presentation by Lacroix, the shows that began late on Thursday are the first by the leading fashion houses in Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) federation.
The participation of the four houses in the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) “once again positions Dubai as a major international city and will help its growth as a future centre for world-class design and fashion,” said DSF Chief Executive Officer Said Muhammad al-Nauda.
The month-long shopping festival, which runs until mid-February, has proven a regional favorite, with fun-seekers flocking from neighbouring Gulf states and the six other UAE members to join in the entertainment and celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which coincided with this year’s event.