The Women’s Arab Fashion Week returns to Dubai next month with Couture FW 22/23 and Spring Summer 2023 Ready-To-Wear shows.

Staged in a strategic partnership between the Arab Fashion Council and Dubai Design District (d3) from October10-15, the shows will unite more than 35 designers.

Supported by TECOM Group’s creative platform, the six-day calendar will be packed with runway shows, an international collaboration, roundtable talks and activations.

As the global fashion industry continues to emerge from the pandemic, Arab Fashion Week will welcome regional and international editors, buyers, industry leaders, and global celebrities, to view a curated selection of fashion-forward designers from the MENA region, Europe, the Americas and Asia.

A roster of new designers and returning ones are expected to be on the season’s dynamic calendar and La Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the French body responsible for coordinating Paris Fashion Week, will once again present Paris-based label Weinsanto. It will be the fifth occasion in which Weinsanto participates at Arab Fashion Week, highlighting the ever-growing relevance of Dubai to global brands.

UAE-based brand The Giving Movement will debut its new range of clothing named FiftyMade on the catwalk, while Atelier Forger will take centre stage as the first Syrian label to showcase at Arab Fashion Week.

Emerging and established designers from as far afield as Mexico, Nicaragua, Thailand, Malaysia and Ukraine will also be participating at Arab Fashion Week for the first time – and these are in addition to names from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, France, the UK, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Paraquay and Belarus. Some 23 countries will be represented in total.

Furthermore, Arab Fashion Week will kick off with a special event commemorating Barbie, the 2021 recipient of the Fashion Icon Award. The Arab Fashion Council forged a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the world’s most diverse doll, tapping Lebanese couturier Jean-Louis Sabaji as the first Arab designer ever to work with the global icon, following similar partnerships with Balmain and Moschino. The historic capsule will be unveiled on October 10 at d3.

To usher in the season of physical presentations, the runway shows will be broadcast on live screens positioned around the d3 space. The public will also be invited to view the live shows via the Arab Fashion Week and Arab Fashion Council social media platforms.

Khadija Al Bastaki, Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), said: “We are proud, with our strategic partner the Arab Fashion Council, to announce the line-up for this autumn’s Arab Fashion Week, which will be by far, the largest edition to date with more than 35 designers set to hit the runway over the six-day event – from all corners of the world. We look forward to welcoming the creative community to d3 to engage, connect and be inspired, and to see many emerging and established talents hit our runway for the first time, as well as to partake in workshops, panels and wider activations. It is very much our mission at Dubai Design District to elevate the creative ecosystem here in Dubai and the wider region with opportunities to showcase, tap into new stakeholders and audiences, and – most importantly – rethink the regular. Arab Fashion Week continues to be at the very heart of our regional fashion industry while also taking the global narrative on all that is happening here in our region to new heights, further growing Dubai’s reputation as a global fashion hub. We look forward to welcoming all fashion lovers and enthusiasts.”