How Dubai became a global fashion city

The National

22-05-2025

When I first moved to Dubai nearly two decades ago, its fledgling 'fashion week' featured badges stuck on T-shirts and a make-up artist who offered a choice between all of two lipsticks. It was enthusiastic, but amateur at best. Fast-forward to 2025, and luxury conglomerate LVMH has announced it is launching its own fashion training programme in Dubai with Skema Business School, a leading French institution. Elsewhere, The Business of Fashion brought its Crossroads event to town in April; and Zegna has chosen Dubai to present its spring/summer 2026 collection, in its first-ever runway show outside Italy. Any one of these would be meaningful validation, but together they confirm the city's transformation from exotic shopping outpost to established fashion powerhouse. That evolution didn't happen overnight, though. In the early 1990s, the Al Tayer group understood there was an appetite for high-end luxury, bringing first Bvlgari to Dubai in 1993 and Giorgio Armani a year later. Around the same time, the Chalhoub family shifted its fashion empire from Kuwait, where it opened the first Louis Vuitton store, to Dubai. One figure who has helped shape the local occasion wear industry is haute couturier Michael Cinco. 'When I arrived in 1997, the fashion scene in Dubai was still finding its voice. It was modest, emerging and deeply rooted in tradition,' he says. A first-hand witness to what he calls 'an extraordinary transformation', Cinco credits Dubai's international population for spurring innovation. 'The city has become a melting pot for couture and innovation. I've been privileged to grow alongside this evolution.' Today, he says, Dubai is a place where 'dreams are stitched into reality'. The city's ambition to become a global landmark were made clear in 2004 with the groundbreaking unveiling of Burj Khalifa. Two years later, French fashion school Esmod opened a Dubai outpost – a sign that Europe clocked the region's fashion potential early on. 'We started when there was no other fashion school here,' says Esmod Dubai co-founder Tamara Hostal. 'But already there was a feeling for fashion, for elegance.' Since then, she says, the passion and consumption has only grown. Hostal believes the 2014 launch of Dubai's 'happiness index' helped create a culture where people feel emboldened to pursue creative dreams. 'Dubai has created itself as a city of happiness, and it helps people who love fashion to be here, to buy. When you visit the shops, they're crowded, and people are talking about fashion. All the major brands are here, which is why we can say the market is stable.' Another essential part of the fashion ecosystem is the big-name department store. Harvey Nichols opened in Mall of the Emirates in 2006, followed by the first international Bloomingdale's in Dubai Mall in 2010. That same year, Armani launched its first hotel outside Italy – in Burj Khalifa, no less – cementing Dubai's luxury credentials. By 2013, Vogue Italia brought the Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience to the emirate, led by the late Franca Sozzani. Paradoxically, it was often the brands themselves that struggled to understand local needs. As more malls offered prime retail space, some labels continued to treat Dubai as a dumping ground for over-the-top stock. The resulting aesthetic misfires said less about consumer taste than about the lack of tailored options. To cater to the growing sophistication of the market, homegrown platform Fashion Forward Dubai launched in 2013, promoting regional talent and drawing speakers such as Fashion Network's Godfrey Deeny, designer Mary Katrantzou and The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman. In 2015, the Arab Fashion Council launched Dubai Fashion Week in conjunction with Dubai Design District, which has since attracted the likes of Roberto Cavalli, Carolina Herrera and Manish Malhotra. Chanel restaged its Cruise collection in the city in 2015 and again in 2022, while Dior did the same for its 2019 haute couture show. 'The unique design mix of Dubai is being recognised on the global stage as the city brings new concepts and exciting first-rate creative talent to the fore,' says Khadija Al Bastaki, senior vice president of Dubai Design District, where fashion week is held. 'This mix of homegrown Arab designers blended with influences from all over the world – representative of Dubai as a global city – is an exciting and dynamic one, and is creating a nimble and responsive fashion ecosystem here.' This is supported by steps taken beyond the fashion industry, with the UAE investing in infrastructure, museums, theme parks and world-class schools, encouraging expats to invest here and settle long-term. In February 2025, when BoF hosted its Crossroads conference, the conclusion was clear: There is a fashion shift towards the Middle East, India and the Global South. And Dubai is the key beneficiary. That said, not every brand has mastered regional nuance. Case in point: 'Ramadan collections' by international labels, some of which feel forced and over-commercialised. Still, with a booming economy, growing international population and sophisticated consumers, Dubai is making it easy for brands to enter the region. As global markets tighten, and fashion grapples with cost-of-living pressures and shifting consumer values, Dubai's open-door optimism is a welcome constant. 'The city's fashion trajectory looks strong from here,' says Al Bastaki. 'Macroeconomic trends in the creative landscape are in our favour, and world-leading brands increasingly recognise Dubai as a strategically vital creative capital and want to be part of the city's fashion community. 'Local design talent is also flourishing and the manufacturing, e-commerce and re-sale sectors are strengthening. The population continues to grow, so Dubai has a strong, distinguished and diverse consumer base.' In two short decades, the city has gone from fashion outlier to influential player. And so the enthusiasm endures – backed by skill and ambition – but now the world has caught up.