Monday, Oct 26, 2009

Gulf News

Dubai Dubai Fashion Week (DFW) is more a platform for social networking than trade, say buyers attending this year's event.

With no intention of doing serious business or placing bulk orders, many of the registered buyers told Gulf News that the five-day Spring-Summer 2010 season is simply a smart way to understand local market trends.

Sonia Mabrouq, brand manager of Etoile Group and one of the registered DFW buyers, says placing orders after seeing the collection is a distant possibility.

"I am attending Dubai Fashion Week to check out the local talent and find out more about the current market needs. I am going to be very cautious about placing any orders, though. We have reduced our buying budget by more than 20 per cent — which means there will be less buying," says Mabrouq.

As many as 128 buyers — predominantly retailers from GCC countries like Kuwait and Bahrain, and also Lebanon — have confirmed their attendance. According to the Concept Group, organisers of Dubai Fashion Week, the number of buyers has gone down compared to last year.

Last season, DFW had more than 150 registered buyers. The global downturn and two other fashion events — Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and Fashion Expo Arabia in Abu Dhabi — taking place at same time as DFW could have been a dampener.

Amal Nain, an independent buyer and owner of Jumeirah boutique Touch Of Class, takes a harsher stand.

"From a buyer's point of view the clothes are often lousy. There is not much choice and the collections are often outdated. The standard is nowhere near the collections shown at Milan or New York Fashion Week. Each year I attend Dubai Fashion Week, hoping that they will become better with each season," says Nain. But the buyer of the influential retail store Villa Moda begs to differ. Its buyer Pippa Draker is optimistic about unearthing fresh talent this year.

"For Dubai, the Spring Summer season is the best time to discover new talent. If an emerging designer can bring something fresh to the table we will definitely consider them. Dubai is inundated with super brands, but it will be interesting to see a local designer bring something unique and special to our stores," says Draker.

Harvey Nichols buyer Samira Raouaha confirmed she would attend, but did not elaborate on her expectations for the event. Rohini Gehani, head buyer of Dubai-based The Samsaara boutique, which stocks creations by many leading Indian designers, says the after-parties are given more importance than the runway shows. Gehani will be attending only the last day of DFW, as she plans to conduct most of her buying at Delhi's Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW).

‘Glitzy social dos"

"Dubai is known for its glitzy social dos. Don"t look at Dubai Fashion Week as a serious trading event because there are not going to be any bulk booking orders. The parties are happening and it's a good platform for emerging talent to showcase their designs," says Gehani.

Natalie Bozoyan, an independent buyer, has her priorities clear. She considers DFW a good starting point to learn about local fashion needs, using the information to then place orders with other international designers such as Vera Wang.

"I am from New York and an event like Dubai Fashion Week allows me to learn more about the local market needs. It has a long way to go before it reaches the standard of New York Fashion Week or Milan Fashion Week," says Bozoyan. Some of the other major fashion players such as Boutique 1 — which stocks creations from world's leading designers like Azzedine Alaia, Chloe and Carolina Herrera — will not participate in DFW as a registered buyer. The timing was not right, says Boutique 1's buying director Nicole Robertson.

"We have already finalised our orders for Spring/Summer two months ago. What Dubai Fashion Week does is fantastic for local talent, but maybe they should consider sending us correspondence much earlier. It's happening too late in the year."

However, Robertson — like many others — plans to attend a couple of shows out of interest.

Even if Dubai Fashion Week has a long way to go to be considered a serious style trading event, not many have given up hope.

Alejandra Tokoph, head buyer of Luxecouture and a member of the DFW advisory board, feels DFW is a great place to discover new talent. "Every time I see the runway shows, I feel a rush of excitement. Dubai Fashion Week is a great platform to discover fresh talent."

In a separate interview with Gulf News, when asked if much business is done at DFW, Marc Robinson, Dubai Fashion Week co-founder and director of fashion, said: "I hope so. Designers will never ever tell and we are not here to measure what business it being done." DFW's role is to promote talent he said.

However, there is a need for a fashion design council, said Robinson, to regulate and observe how much business is being done at these sorts of events. The council would comprise fashion designers, entrepreneurs, textile manufacturers and members of the Dubai Chamber of commerce.

By Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.