The global fashion industry is booming. As per a 2010 study conducted by the Dubai branch of French fashion school Esmod, textile and apparel trade for the year were expected to reach USD 655 billion, accounting for 6% of global exports. Employment opportunities in the field were projected to grow by at least 10% by 2015.
The Middle East has come to the fore as a rapidly growing emerging market in the fashion stakes. Specifically, the Esmodstudy pegged the fashion sector in the Gulf at USD 12 billion. The study noted that more and more brands were being attracted to the region's affluent and fashion-conscious market.
Dubai specifically, and the UAE more generally, is the standard bearer in this regard, as retail spend shakes off the despondency of the recession to rebound aggressively. The fashion sector in the UAE is driven by the heady winds of high disposable income and a desire to differentiate oneself through material consumption.
The Esmod study identified the UAE as an emerging global fashion hub. Separately, a pre-recession ACNeilsen report from 2008 identified - remarkably - that Greece was perhaps the leading market for designer clothes, where almost 46% of consumers claimed to buy designer brands, while 73% claimed to know a label-chaser. Another 55% of Greeks claimed the presence of branding products was the key driver for how they selected stores to shop in. A total of 51% said they bought new clothes once a month with 47 saying they bought apparel whenever something they liked caught their eye.
The austerity in Greece has meant a demotion in the credit-card-hungry clothing stakes. But the same report also earmarked the Gulf and UAE as big fashion spenders - a fact that has remained relatively recession-proof.
The report's candid analysis noted, "the booming UAE is brimming with a growing segment of newly minted locals as well as a high percentage of expatriate consumers who are attracted by the country's favorable tax system and possess a high level of disposable income. Designer outlets dominate Emirati shopping centers, and 95% of the world's premier brands have a presence in the Emirates. The extreme weather conditions often force consumers indoors to air-conditioned shopping malls, increasing their awareness of designer brands and influencing buying behavior. In addition, the UAE attracts wealthy residents from neighboring Saudi Arabia who arrive in Dubai with one priority - to shop."
UAE'S FASHION SCENE
Apart from greater disposable income, the UAE also benefits from other structural advantages. A 2009 Grail Research report on the global fashion industry highlighted the UAE, along with South Africa, and India as a top emerging fashion market on the basis of the increase in the number of large fashion events. This propensity hasn't changed, and new fashion events, pop-up shops and designer gatherings continue to increase in the UAE, adding a steady stream of new ideas and influences to the fashion scene.
The Grail Research Report also found that the UAE ranked high for factors including government support, awareness of international brands, support from corporations and association and demand for fashion apparel. The country scored medium on recognition for local designers, but that is changing now. While designers haven't yet become household names, a larger number has entered the market and have found loyal, if niche, audiences.
More recent studies also point to the Middle East's ascendance as a fashion consumer. The Dubai Design District's research quotes a 2012 Bain Luxury Report that indicates the Middle East luxury market growing between 10%and 15% in 2011 and 2012. As per the Dubai Design District website, the UAE also scored second place in the 2011 Apparel Index. At the same time, Dubai has moved to become the world's second largest retail destination, second only to London.
In most studies on the consumption of fashion, the UAE has always been described as 'fashion-conscious', but for a concrete definition, we must trawl the annals of consumerism further back.In 1986, authors Sproles and Kendall writing in The Journal of Consumer Affairs, defined the term as an "awareness of new designs, changing fashions and attractive styling, as well as the desire to buy something exciting and trendy."
FASHION-CONSCIOUS
They also noted that brands that supplied stylish packages of features could attract loyal consumers who were fashion conscious. Tellingly, the paper stated that fashion leaders or followers usually purchase or continue repeatedly to purchase their products in stores they considered fashionable.
There is a clear link between consuming the latest brands and designs at fashionable stores and the satisfaction of consumer ego. For brands and marketers, the same lessons apply today as then. Fashion is an industry of collective belief.
Consumers need to be convinced that something is fashionable for it to become that way. The premiums commanded by high fashion represent the return on investment in the costs incurred in positioning an idea or object or garment as fashionable. Visibility, then, is key.
Interestingly, the same appellation of 'fashion-conscious' that is bestowed so regularly to Dubai, the UAE and other Gulf countries is also a threat to genuine industry. Consumers with limited disposable income are still anxious to fit into the ranks of the fashion-conscious, which has led to a thriving industry in counterfeit branded apparel and accessories such as handbags.
So while a 2013 Arabian Business article pointed to good news for the Swiss watch industry, noting that the UAE was the largest market in the Gulf for Swiss watches and had soared 23% year-on-year to USD 835.4million(AED3 billion) during the first 11 months of 2012 as per figures from the FSWI, a similarly dated articledetailed a police operation to confiscate 10,000 fake watches in Dubai.
Writing for the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management in 2013, CedwynFernandes of the Middlesex University Dubai delves into the reasons behind the roaring counterfeit trade. She notes that "lack of ethical judgment, self-ambiguity, value consciousness and being susceptible to the opinions of others are some of the key reasons for purchasing counterfeits." She notes that most government efforts are focused on the supply-side, with no real understanding of the nature of demand that makes this a lucrative market.
AFFORDABLE STYLE
Stylist JasbirJamani, who designs clothes under her 'Jazbyr' label, agrees with Fernandes' findings. She notes that there is a huge structural gap in the UAE market for accessible branded apparel.
"There is no middle market. There are no designers that do the middle income category. You need fashion to be more buyable. There is a big section population that designers missing out now because their bags are around USD 15,000 (AED55,000). More Pret [ready to wear] lines would mean your fakes would automatically disappear from the market. If someone could buy a lovely branded wallet for AED1,200, they won't need to pay AED600 for a fake."
The UAE's Ministry of Economy is aware of the challenge of combatting fakes. Work is being done to update the law for commercial fraud, counterfeiting, theft of intellectual property and other offences that could burden the economy will be given stricter punishments by law.
The law will cover items ranging from fake bags, watches and toys to more utilitarian consumables like medicine. The new legislation is designed to update the current law drafted in 1979 that limits the punishment for trading in fakes to a fine of AED10,000 or a maximum jail term of two years.
ENCOURAGING LOCAL DESIGNERS
That there is a fashion boom in the UAE is beyond challenge. But a concern is that most of the activity is centered on purchasing and consuming, and not very much on creating. Even the consumers don't always get access to the latest lines.
"Dubai is late in terms of global fashion, and not necessarily on the ball. We don't necessarily get the most up-to-date lines. There has been a rise in activity since the opening of bigger malls, yes, but the lines are still not current. You probably have a better chance of getting current lines from local designers producing in Dubai," said Jasbir.
But local designers might be losing out to international brands because of the same element of 'fashion-consciousness' where everyone tries fitting in by purchasing the same mass wear. "Dubai is definitely a zone where you get all sorts of designer wear. There is massive purchasing but they're buying from international designers because of marketing. Everyone wants the same stuff," Jasbir noted.
Fortunately, even this is likely to change. Concerted action is being taken across public and private sector stakeholders in the fashion industry, with the aim of strengthening regional fashion and design. An example is the Dubai Fashion 2020 plan that aims for improvements across the entire fashion value chain including manufacturing, retail and design.
Then there is the Dubai Design District known as D3, a gigantic project adjacent to Business Bay, which combines commercial and retail opportunities for local designers with workshop and living space. The work in progress is set to play a substantive role in promoting local and regional designers while attracting international talent.
The UAE has long been a fashion retail hub. It is now set to chart new waters as a genuine producer of new fashion ideas.
© Zawya BusinessPulse 2013
