The Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council has pioneered the first men’s fashion week in the Middle East. But will it be eco?
Presented by Arab Fashion Week in partnership with Facebook, Arab Fashion Week- Men’s will run from January 28 to 30. Thereafter, it will take place twice a year each January and June in line with the menswear fashion week calendar.
Reinforcing the Arab Fashion Council’s goal to establish a sustainable platform through which to champion fashion design talent from across the region, both established and emerging menswear designers from the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iran, have confirmed their participation in Arab Fashion Week- Men’s. A sustainable platform, but will the wear actually be sustainably? Made ethically, to last, with materials that are ecologically sourced?
Furthermore, as part of a strategic partnership between The Arab Fashion Council and The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, four emerging menswear designers from Paris Fashion Week Men’s, have been selected to participate in the first Arab Fashion Week- Men’s.
“Emerging brands express a fashion forward view on the world. We are pleased to present some of these talented designers from the Paris Fashion Week calendar in Dubai at Arab Fashion Week-Men’s, to allow them to increase their global reach,” said Serge Carreira, Head of Emerging Brands Initiative, The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
Arab Fashion Week– Men’s will commence on January 28 with designers premiering their collections through their individual expressions of digital creativity on Facebook Live and Instagram Live, allowing 2 billion users all around the world to view and pre-order the designer’s collections direct through Instagram Shopping and the ByTribute luxury marketplace.
Karin Kloosterman, editor and founder of the Middle East sustainable news site Green Prophet says that “finally a recognition that Arab men are fashionable and want to see runway fashion. But how can we weave local traditions into Arab fashion, along with an eco-ethos? Leading American brands ready-to-wear brands like Reformation use sustainable fabrics and deadstock.
“The word sustainable is thrown out too lightly now. Everyone is using it. But what is sustainable? What can menswear creators do to change the polluting face of men’s fashion? Usher in a new reality. We are waiting.”
Arab Fashion Week- Men’s is powered by the Arab Fashion Council’s commitment to the principles of equality and progress across the region.
“Facebook, Inc is pleased to partner with the Arab Fashion Council to present the first Arab Fashion Week- Men’s on Facebook Live and Instagram Live, as part of our combined mission to empower the creative community in the Middle East,” said Joana Jamil, Strategic Partner Manager, MENA, Public Figures & Social Influencers at Facebook.
“As the only official fashion week established within the region, The Arab Fashion Council is thrilled to launch Arab Fashion Week- Men’s and to begin a new journey to shape the future of the emerging menswear market across the Arab world both by nurturing the creativity of regional designers and, through our continued support to international designers wishing to explore opportunities within the region,” said Jacob Abrian, Founder & CEO, The Arab Fashion Council.
