By Malika Kaloo
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – For the first time, Sharjah hosted the Dubai Fashion Week in Kalba from Dec. 2 to 5 at Kalba Hall.
The fashion week marked the 51st National Day of the United Arab Emirates.
Naima Alzaabi, an Emirati businesswoman and the owner of the Florenca Group, presented this year’s DFW as part of their fourth exhibition.
The Florenca Group organized the event in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the Drugs Control Council, the National Drug Prevention Program, the Space Center and Pink Caravan.
“The exhibition has more than 120 merchants including, accreditation licenses, commercial licenses, low-income owners and productive families,” said Alzaabi.
She added that the Florenca Group collaborated with the DFW to promote Kalba.
The Florenca exhibition showcased clothes, abayas, perfumes, jewelry and footwear from designers and business owners from around the world.
“This is the first time that Dubai Fashion Week has been held in Kalba, a small city in Sharjah. For us at Florenca, this is our fourth event and we wanted it to take place during the National Day holidays so that we can have more activities,” said Rayan Alzaabi, the supervisor of the event.
Six designers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Indonesia and Algeria showcased their designs during the fashion week.
Industry professionals, models and designers from Iran, Pakistan, Morocco and other countries also attended the event.
“This is my first-time doing Dubai Fashion Week. Before this, I was in New York Fashion Week. I am really excited, especially because it is the UAE’s National Day and we will have a chance to promote the designs from the region,” said Inga Wismer, a model from the United States.
Wismer added that she was working with designers from three Arab countries.
During the show, famous artists from the UAE presented their artwork and paintings on traditional clothes and fashion in the Arab world.
The event also featured traditional dance performances from Egypt, India, Nepal and the UAE.
The fashion show continued as a digital-physical hybrid for four days.
