Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD) is the definitive fashion platform for Dubai and the Middle East, providing development, exposure and a progressive direction for the regional fashion industry.
FFWD welcomes members of the regional and international fashion communities to come together in support of Middle Eastern design talent and to foster industry discussion and professional development.
Held bi-annually in April and October at Dubai Design District, the key components of FFWD include: Runway shows and presentations by the best couture, ready-to-wear and accessories designers in the Middle East. Additionally FFWD hosts the d3 Fashion Talks, a series of inspiring seminars and panel discussions led by global industry experts and fashion academia.
RUH favorite designers For Fashion Forward Dubai 2017: ARWA AL BANAWI Arwa Al Banawi is a contemporary women's ready to wear label tailored for "The Suitable Woman". Like her eponymous label, Saudi-born designer Arwa Al Banawi is an eclectic mix of contrasts. While raised in conservative Jeddah, Al Banawi also spent a large part of her childhood in Switzerland. Her travels abroad instilled a deep love of and appreciation for fashion. A former investment banker, she saw a void in the market for womenswear that is both professional and fashion forward. After studying at the London College of Fashion in Dubai, she launched her namesake brand in 2015. Al Banawi's expertly-tailored suits in graphic prints have been spotted in the pages of Vogue and on street style stars across the world. Designed for "the suitable woman," her aesthetic is subtly androgynous yet undoubtedly feminine. GALLERY
HUSSEIN BAZAZA Beirut born designer Hussein Bazaza developed an appreciation of all artistic fields at a young age before enrolling at ESMOD Beirut. Graduating in 2011, Bazaza continued with an internship at Maison Rabih Kayrouz in Paris, and later worked for Elie Saab as a junior designer before launching his first collection in 2012 where he was selected by the Starch Foundation to launch his eponymous ready- to-wear line.Bazaza has received the prestigious Elle Style Award “Best Upcoming Middle East Designer”, “Best Emerging Designer” for The Middle East Fashion Awards 2015 as well as the inaugural winner of the Style.com/Arabia - DDFC Fashion Prize with the launch of his winning capsule collection on Farfetch.com in Spring2016. GALLERY
MASHAEL ALRAJHI Mashael AlRajhi is a Saudi based designer. She founded her company, MASHAEL ALRAJHI, in 2013, devoting herself to a never-ending pursuit of artisan creations, and mixing street wear with couture.The brand takes pride in its modern outlook while drawing key inspirations from its arabesque roots, with its collections being made and produced in Saudi Arabia. Further, as a designer, Mashael Alrajhi is the first among her Saudi contemporaries to create and design collections for men.The brand has several awards to its name as well as several breakthroughs for a Saudi brand; In 2016 she was selected as the first Saudi Arabian Next in Line designer to represent the Kingdom by Riyadh Fashion Days, the British Fashion Council and the British Council at the International Fashion Showcase 2016 during London Fashion Week. The same year she became the first Saudi brand nominated for the prestigious Woolmark Prize 2016-2017. GALLERY
LARA KHOURY Lara Khoury, an ex-Starch designer, is a multi-disciplinary experimental designer whose work spans and unites the realms of fashion, interiors and film. Since 2012 Lara has presented at LK between Paris and Beirut, garnering recognition both locally and globally.Alongside her work in fashion she has worked on artistic projects and collaborations, and continues with such to fulfill her creative capacities. GALLERY
MOHANAD KOJAK Mohanad Kojak; the founder/creative engine of Kojak Studio started his journey in his younger years when he was making dresses for cat-dolls.His demand for greatness pushed him to reach higher grounds in an industry that is built on sultry and fame; where he broke its standards and created his own genre of fashion. Kojak’s creations seem to reveal the exquisite details and special techniques that raise fashion to the level of true art.His work proves the imaginative ways fashion works with line, texture, and ornament to create sweep and volume, draping and pleating, illusion, and drama. He sees fashion as an art that persist in providing us with a quintessence of the most beautiful clothing that can be envisioned and make history. GALLERY
SARA ALTWAIM Born to a family of art lovers, Sara Altwaim developed a love for everything artistic. She took up writing poetry as a hobby and fashion design as her life’s passion. After attending the college of arts and design in Jeddah, she went on to teach art and took the time to develop her own unique style in fashion.Her first collection launched in 2015, inspired by the Japanese blossom ‘Sakura’, was a collection of delicate and feminine pieces made from organzas and chiffons in pink. Her latest collection Salam, reflects the designers ideas of wishing peace for the entire world. GALLERY
