The Dubai Design and Fashion Council brought together a wealth of design and fashion industry experts and top tier journalists for its inaugural community event in Dubai, UAE.

Nez Gebreel, chief executive officer of the council, welcomed guests at the pop-up urban majlis and revealed the council’s mandate, its promise and purpose, and gave an overview of its upcoming initiatives over the coming year, said a statement.

Its purpose is to ‘make Dubai the emerging design capital of the world,’ an objective that will be achieved by delivering on their promise to ‘create global opportunity and invigorate a world-class design community in Dubai,’ it said.

International fashion designer Roland Mouret made a special appearance to talk about the importance of having a solid business case and tips on how to thrive in the design industry, drawing on his own experience of establishing a brand and gaining international recognition.

A panel featuring Gebreel, Cyril Zammit, fair director for Design Days Dubai, Zayan Ghandour, Lebanese designer and owner of Sauce boutiques and Mouret followed the presentations where they discussed the potential of Dubai’s design industry, challenges they have each faced and the benefits of being based in Dubai.

Dr Amina Al Rustamani, chairperson of the council, said: “To ensure sustainability of our creative industries, we are creating an environment that would produce and nurture future business leaders and entrepreneurs. The Dubai Design and Fashion Council aims to provide a framework for this environment.

“Furthermore, by ensuring we are helping to build a thriving creative ecosystem, we will be able to draw the leading regional and international operators to be based here. We want to see others join them to facilitate collaboration that in turn, will help emerging designers grow into international players in their own right.”

“The establishment of the Dubai Design and Fashion Council signals a strong commitment by the country’s leadership towards making Dubai the emerging design capital of the world. There is a tremendous amount of creativity and positive energy in the region’s industry and we are here to help support and mentor these upcoming designers to realise their potential and achieve their dreams,” said Gebreel.

“We are here to create global opportunity and invigorate a world-class design community in Dubai. We want to establish a framework for the industry, one that will position Dubai as an international hub for design, offering excellent infrastructure for brands to make the most of the significant consumer base here. This is our promise, and we will do everything in our power to make it happen,” he said. - TradeArabia News Service