Thirty-one leading regional designers will be showcasing their Fall/Winter 2008 collections in 16 exciting runway shows during the Isla Moda Dubai Fashion Week 2008.

The region’s fashion trade event is endorsed by Dubai Chamber.

The third seasonal installment of Dubai Fashion Week, with the objective to establish Dubai’s position as a global fashion hub and to promote the fashion design industry in the Gulf, will be held from March 19 to 22, 2008, at the Godolphin Ballroom in the hotel tower at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, said an official spokesman.

The shows will kick off at 3pm and will run through the day with the last show starting at 10pm. Collections will range from bridge/couture to prêt o porter collections by both established and up and coming designers.

“DFW maintains its aim of providing an exclusive platform to develop opportunities for the region’s fashion fraternity and with the growing response from the media, buyers and the designers, it is a pleasure to know that we have established the brand as the region’s flagship trade event,” said CEO and chairman of Concept Group Aldrin Fernandes.

A ‘by invitation-only’ event, DFW is a trade event that will focus on offering retail buyers, fashion professionals, and media attendees an inside look into the latest contributions from the region’s top designers, generating increased exposure and revenue in the industry.

In addition to the runway area, the venue will accommodate a media conference room for press interviews, a media center and lounge to schedule one-on-one interviews, a buyers’ lounge to further facilitate business opportunities.

“DFW offers a career progression path for those in the fashion and design industry. Going forward there will be a ‘Young Generation Talent’ hunt incorporated with the objective of giving young fashion design graduates an opportunity to collectively showcase amongst leading designers at DFW. A tier above is the third edition of the ‘Splash Emerging Talent’ show at DFW, which features a group of young and upcoming designers in a sponsored show,” said director of DFW Rohit Sabikhi.

Isla Moda Dubai Fashion Week is organised by Concept Events together with Isla Moda, a Dubai Infinity Holding project, as the title partner.

Located in “The World” development, Isla Moda is the world’s first dedicated fashion island set to bring a bespoke lifestyle and experience to Dubai.

Concept Events would also like to acknowledge the continuous support of Splash, L’Oreal and Dessange. Concept Events is also delighted to be associated with Philips, Solaris, Emirates Bank Al Shaheen, Audi and Image Works, the spokesman added. – TradeArabia News Service