Arab Fashion Week completes Riyadh, Dubai SS18 editions

Source: Arab Fashion Council.
Fashion from Aram by Arwa Al Ammari. 

Following the first edition of Arab Fashion Week (AFW) in Riyadh, KSA earlier this season, the Arab Fashion Council (AFC) has held the sixth edition of Arab Fashion Week held in Dubai, UAE. The biannual event on 9 to 12 May on board the historical Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) ship, attracted more than 15,000 visitors.
 
AFW is one of the first and only platforms in the world dedicated to promoting resort and 'ready-couture' collections.

Ready-couture refers to the sweet spot between the privacy and exclusivity of haute couture and ubiquity of ready-to-wear, with a social responsibility and ecological-friendly component. Ready-couture reduces mass production and offers a more privileged designer/client relationship than ready-to-wear fashion offers.

Resort collections, on the other hand, refer to pre-collection shows. In the past, designers lacked the resources for pre-collection shows and would "resort" to using photographs.

Twenty-one international and regional fashion designers showcased their collections at the 6th edition of Arab Fashion Week in Dubai, UAE, including:

Source: Arab Fashion Council.
Fashion from Aiisha Ramadan, UAE. 

Aiisha Ramadan (UAE),
Amato Couture (UAE),
Aram by Arwa Al Ammari (KSA),
Asmaraïa (Russia),
Asory House (Egypt),
Fllumae (US),
Harmony (Armenia),
House of MuaMua (Italy),
Humariff (Russia),
Ilse Jara (Paraguay),
J by Jordy (UK),
Maison Lesley (Lebanon),
Nicole+Felicia (Taiwan),
Renato Balestra (Italy),
Simone Racioppo (Italy),
Sophia Nubes (Switzerland),
Tatiana V. Layalina (Russia),
Tony Miranda (Portugal), and
Villafane (Argentina).

The Arab Fashion Council also introduced the AFC Green Label initiative that supports emerging ecofriendly labels at AFW. The first 'green' designers to present their collections were Italian-born Bav Tailor and Croatian label Krie Design with plans for more ecofriendly brands to participate in the next editions of AFW later this year.

There are typically two editions of AFW a year, corresponding to the spring/summer and autumn/winter collections put out every year. AFW will return later this year with Riyadh and Dubai editions. These will take place in October and November 2018 respectively.

Gain knowledge to succeed in the fourth industrial age

Source: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation. The summit was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai (6th from left). He was accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai (2nd from right), and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (right).

Knowledge will be key to succeeding a digital world, said speakers at the opening ceremony of the fourth Knowledge Summit in the UAE. The fourth edition of the summit, under the theme Knowledge and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is studying the impact of the new industrial revolution on individuals, institutions and nations.

Dr Hani Al Mulki, PM of Jordan and the guest of honour, told the audience that the Arab world must continue to embrace change caused by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). “The digital revolution is a competitive and collaborative campaign between man and machine,” he said.

Dr Al Mulki said the 4IR is an opportunity for all nations to develop expertise on human development, technological change and sustainability. “The question is, are we ready to absorb [the impact of the 4IR] and use it for the development of our countries?” he asked.

He stressed that emerging technologies such as drones, autonomous vehicles and 3D printers are meant to empower humans. “This revolution is not taking place to empower machinery, but to collaborate with people in order to empower them and to result in higher levels of productivity, and less pressure on natural resources — and accordingly, a better living standard for everyone,” he said.

Dr Al Mulki also emphasised on education in the Arab world and referred to the global initiatives launched by HH Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and PM of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “Education is the true indicator of a country’s progress and success in addressing the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.

Dr Al Mulki predicted that the Arab world will see more education and less unemployment as it embraces the digital revolution. “We will witness smart projects, digital marketing projects, flying cars, driverless cars, and a world without disease,” he said.

Dr Al Mulki also spoke of the need to empower Arab youth with technological skills. He pointed out that job requirements in the near future will differ from those needed in the traditional job market. “The economic, social and human structure must be developed,” he said.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) separately announced that Switzerland tops the Global Knowledge Index, followed by Singapore, Finland, and the Netherlands. The Global Knowledge Index 2017 was launched by the Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to study knowledge at an international level, identify opportunities and challenges in the Arab world and compare them with those of other countries around the world. The Index studies 131 countries over six categories, namely ICT, research and innovation, the economy, pre-university education, technical education and training, and higher education.

Hashtags: #KnowledgeSummit, #4IR

Gen Z perspectives are different from Millennials'

A panel discussion on Generation Z at the Global Islamic Economy Summit has highlighted the characteristics of the generation after Millennials. Gen Z individuals have not experienced a time without the Internet or mobile phones, and other than being more technologically savvy, also have clear differences in outlook.

“The group is increasingly on the radar of governments who are beginning to question whether the existing education and employment ecosystem can cater to their expectations,” said Sunil John, CEO, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. John quoted from the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2016, which found that most young Arabs – 58% – want to further their education, and that more than a third of young Arabs – 36% – want to start their own businesses. Traditionally, young Arabs have looked to the government to provide them with jobs.

“These findings are really interesting in terms of the Gen Z effect,” he said. “If you really look at it, these are very positive findings. Government will see light at the end of the tunnel. They will see a young generation that has a hunger to be successful; people who have an appetite for education, and who want to start their own businesses.”

John added that change will not be gradual. While 95% of nationals in the UAE for example work in the public sector today, depressed job markets and unemployment rates in countries such as KSA mean that the public sector cannot continue as the main employer for long.

Marcie Merriman, Executive Director, Growth Strategy and Retail Innovation at Ernst & Young contrasted Generation Z and Millennials. Millennials, she said, expect companies to do the heavy lifting, and patronise firms they respect in terms of environmental and sustainable practices.

“When I talked to Generation Z, however, who I originally thought of as young Millennials, I began to see something very different: they immediately talked about what they were doing about the environment, as opposed to what the companies were doing.

“The key difference between these two groups, apart from age, was their self-awareness. Gen Z see themselves as having responsibility for their ecosystem, whereas Millennials were looking at others to do things.”

Commenting on their choice of employers Merriman said: “Gen Z has seen what has happened with Millennials. They say this isn’t going to happen to us, we’re not going to let other people tell us what to do. We’re going to take charge of it. And that’s what underlies the entrepreneurial spirit. They have nothing to lose.”

Amani Al Khatahtbeh, founder of Muslimgirl.net, a US website for Muslim women and herself a Millennial, agreed. “For Generation Z, a lot of industries are outdated. They want to be disruptors. They want to flip these institutions upside down, and that gives us a lot of hope.”

A third of young Arabs plan to start their own businesses within five years

• The 2016 ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey* finds more than a third of young Arabs intend to start own business in next five years
• Young Arabs say governments can do more to encourage lending, provide training and cut red tape
• Young Arabs are increasingly positive about entrepreneurship with more than half believing members of this generation are more likely to start a business than the previous one

Asked “do you feel people in this generation are more likely to start a business than in previous generations,” 54% agreed, with youth in the GCC most enthusiastic at 62%, compared to 54% of North African youth and 44% of youth in the Levant.

The key finding from the Eighth Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey was unveiled by Sunil John, the founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. Now in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has established itself as a key referral source for businesses and policymakers across the world.

In a separate response, the survey found that 36% of young Arabs said they themselves intend to start their own business in the next five years – specifically 37% of youth in the GCC, 39% in North Africa and 31% in the Levant.

Real estate, technology and retail were the top three sectors in which Arab youth would like to start a new business venture. Real estate is the preferred choice for a startup in the Gulf states, where 24% of youth said they would opt to launch a property-related company, whereas technology was the top choice for would-be entrepreneurs in the Levant (15%) and North Africa (18%). Retail is the second most popular choice in Levant and North Africa for 15% and 16 of respondents respectively; however in the Gulf only 9% would opt to start a retail operation.

Across the whole Middle East 34% said they did not intend to launch their own business, while 30% didn’t know. Lack of financial resources to start a business was cited as the main reason overall, by 20% of young people, however in the GCC only 8% believed they lacked the means to go it alone, while in North Africa, 37% saw this as the biggest hurdle.

Young Arabs believe governments can do more to support young entrepreneurs, with 39% saying that encouraging affordable lending should be made a priority; 25% calling for education and training to be improved and made more available; and 19% asking for government regulations and red tape to be cut.

“These findings suggest governments in the Middle East have an excellent opportunity to really help kickstart an entrepreneurial culture in the region,” said Sunil John. “With the Arab world needing to provide 80 to 100 million jobs by 2020, according to the World Bank, this represents a rich resource of largely untapped talent who can help drive the Arab world’s transformation to knowledge-based economies, and provide the opportunities of the future.”

This year, for the first time, the survey also asked potential entrepreneurs – young Arabs who said they intend to start a business in the next five years – in which Arab country they would like to set up their business. The UAE ranked as the most preferred country with one in four (24%) citing it as the top business destination in the Arab world, followed by Saudi Arabia (18%) and Qatar (13%).

Interested?

Explore in-depth results from the 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey, including survey highlights and a white paper in Arabic and English

*For the 2016 survey, international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18 to 24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted in the period January 11 to February 22, 2016.