Dubai, UAE, 14 March 2022:  Arab Fashion Week (AFW) Women’s is back with a bang and is bigger than ever. The Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council© (AFC), in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), a global creative hub dedicated to design, art and culture, is delighted to announce that Arab Fashion Week Women’s Fall/Winter 2022/23 will carry as scheduled both in-person and online from 24-28 March 2022.

AFW has traditionally been the high spot of the regional fashion calendar, displaying boundary-pushing young designers, globally renowned luxury brands, and inspiring key players within the industry. With the combined efforts of the AFC and d3, this edition will feature over 25 runway shows from across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and America, staged over five days as fashion’s most talented and forward-thinking creators present their latest collections to editors, retail buyers and celebrity guests.

The shows will be held in-person in d3 and will run from 6 pm-10 pm across the five days. In partnership with Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc, the shows will also be broadcast live on Meta’s social media platforms, Facebook, and Instagram. The platform is adding to its official calendar this season the events calendar, which highlights retail and entertainment celebrations of the Fashion Week in the City. Also, the shows will be available to watch for the public on the big screens at d3.

Commenting on Arab Fashion Week, Khadija Al Bastaki, Executive Director of Dubai Design District (d3), said: “Dubai has earned its growing renown as a global fashion capital in large part due to the relentless ingenuity and curiosity of our region’s creative talent.

Our mission at Dubai Design District has always been to enhance the visibility of our comprehensive design community and enrich their access to new partnerships and growth prospects. Arab Fashion Week is fast becoming a landmark event for creatives, brands and enthusiasts the world over, and every season reinforces Dubai’s position on the global fashion stage. We are confident this year will deliver on the promise of innovative and inspiring runway shows and our district’s commitment to rethink the regular through digital explorations, immersive activations, pop-ups and more.”

AFW welcomes to Dubai every year over 80,000 audiences, and it has become the place to be for socialites, celebrities, and those seeking to discover the next big name in the fashion industry. In line with the Council’s vision to keep growing the sector, this upcoming edition will be divided into 3 calendars: The couture, the ready-to-wear, and the events including pop-ups.

Showcasing designers on the couture calendar are Maram Borhan (Egypt), Giannina Azar (the Dominican Republic of Lebanese origin), Ihab Jiryis (Palestine), Hian Tjen x Make Over (Indonesia), Hamariff (Russia), LuLu Liu (China), Dorota Goldpoint (Poland), Michael Cinco (UAE). On the ready-to-wear calendar: Bougessa (UAE), Aboud Jammal (Lebanon), Lili Blanc (UAE), Pearla Collection (UAE), Mada’En (Jordan), Emergency Room (Lebanon), Ilyes Ouali (Algeria/ England), American Rag (UAE), ALL’s (Belarus), Gosia Baczynska (Poland), Sara Al Twaim (Saudi Arabia), Born in Exile (Libya), Poca & Poca (Poland), Nouvelle Silk (USA), Death by Dolls (Saudi Arabia), SemSem (USA), Amato (UAE), Francesca Liberatore (Italy, member of Milan Fashion Week) and Weinsanto (France, presented in collaboration with the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode the body that coordinated Paris Fashion Week).

In addition to the shows, the events calendar will include retail pop-ups around d3, holistic art experience and roundtables.

Moon Baz, Creator Partnerships Lead, Middle East, Africa & Turkey at Meta, commented: “We’ve been building support for creators and their aspirations for years, and we continue to put a ton of investment into improving and building out our foundational suite of tools so that creators can build and grow their communities and their business. Our goal is to help as many creators as possible find sustainable, long-term success on our apps.”

“The next big opportunity for us all is the metaverse and we are keen to work with creators from all industries including fashion to help them realize its potential,” added Moon.”

The event continues to maintain its robust digital presence and reinvent its competitiveness through the strong strategic alliance with tech giants such as Meta, Microsoft, and GoDaddy.

Selina Bieber, GoDaddy’s MENA General Manager, said: “We are excited to strategically support the AFC in fostering the growth of regional talent. Together, we will ensure our creatives are ready to embrace and conquer the global shift into tech.”

To continue the story of Fashion and Technology within holistic sustainable creativity, the AFW will unveil a patented invention in the world of fabric that soon will take the fashion world by storm via “Ferronato” the luxury Swiss-made bag that is built to protect your privacy through meta isolation technology and radiation block virtual walls.

Mohammed Aqra, Chief Strategy Officer of the AFC, said: “AFW has evolved throughout the years to establish a remarkable position within the international fashion calendar. Our mission remains to reinforce our commitment to empower and support designers operating in the Middle East and North Africa to adopt an innovative approach in their growth journey.  Together with d3, we continue to champion Dubai’s role as the capital of the fashion industry in the region.”

AFW is supported by global players across various sectors such as Meta, Maserati, Aramex, Schwarzkopf, KIKO Milano, Ferronato, and Waldorf Astoria. The calendar is live on www.arabfashionweek.org.

To watch the shows live, visit Arab Fashion Week’s Facebook channel here and the Arab Fashion Council’s Instagram channel here.