Some 90 Qatari brands out of the more than 150 international brands will take part in the 12th Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition from November 3-7 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. The number of Qatari exhibitors represents a 25% increase in local designers this year compared to the previous edition of Heya.
The event, held under the patronage of HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, will showcase a wide range of abayas and modest fashion brands from emerging and established designers from 12 countries. These include Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, India, Turkey, Lebanon, Indonesia, Morocco, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany and Italy, organisers have announced.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, QTA’s festivals and tourism events director Mashal Shahbik said they are fully supporting Heya as part of their strategy to bolster and grow the business events sector in the country.
“We have worked closely with our partners at Design Creationz to ensure this edition of Heya provides a solid platform for local emerging and established businesses, designers, and institutions to enrich and offer well-rounded experience to our visitors,” she noted.
She cited HE Sheikha Mayassa’s “generous support’ to this exhibition, which demonstrates her keenness to shed light on Qatari culture and traditional design at its best.
Heya, Qatar’s biggest platform for contemporary Arabian fashion creations launched in 2007, will hold a Qatar National Day catwalk show hosted by local designers.
In collaboration Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar) and Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC) led by CEO Aysha al-Mudahka, the event will also hold numerous fashion shows, workshops and panel discussions with experts who will be talking about various topics such as fashion marketing and finance, and how to start a fashion business, among others.
French-Algerian model, actress and filmmaker Farida Khelfa will speak about empowering women to achieve in fashion, the arts and other fields while two German designers will host a fashion show of their collection before holding a discussion, which forms part of the Qatar Germany Year of Culture.
Two Italian designers will also showcase their collections as part of a new partnership with the Italian embassy in Doha.
The exhibition will also offer shoppers and visitors unique collections from high-street apparel, couture and luxury, to the latest modest fashion evening gowns, leather accessories, and for the first-time, perfumery and make-up.