Top UAE designer Reem El Mutwalli, whose client list includes Arabian Gulf sheikhas and other Middle East royalties and socialites, will stage an exclusive show during Simply Woman, a first-of-its-kind, women-only event taking place in Dubai in November.
El Mutwalli’s latest collection will be one of the fashion highlights of the two-day event on 29-30 November, which aims to become a top forum for women in the region, with topics ranging from women’s health and beauty treatments to careers and women’s rights.
Visitors at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, the venue for Simply Woman, will be able to see gowns previously worn in gracious royal living rooms and ballroom settings. Offering a modern twist to the traditional Arabic dress known as ‘athwab’, El Mutwalli’s designs feature luxurious fabrics embellished with lace, tiny flowers, Austrian crystals, sequins, beads and even semi-precious stones.
“My designs reflect the growing confidence and individuality of modern Gulf women,” said El Mutwalli who is also a gifted interior designer, art consultant and prolific scholar. She holds a Masters degree in Islamic art and archaeology and has also published a book on Abu Dhabi’s architectural heritage.
Currently working on her Ph.D. thesis in Islamic Art & Archaeology, El Mutwalli established her fashion design company in 2000, after four years of research into the history of Arabic dress.
While El Mutwalli’s gowns all follow the traditional cuts, it is the attention to detail that gives them a modern flavour. The dresses’ exquisite ornaments take such a long time to finish that El Mutwalli’s collections never amount to more than 100 dresses per year. Gowns are not displayed in stores as the designer only presents her collections to a small circle of distinguished customers. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
