Future Fashion Focus
Marhaba <<First Name>>
There's a buzz of excitement and expectation in the air here in the UAE. It is only eight months until the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, and whether you are personally involved with it or not, the excitement is palpable and contagious.
Adding to the Expo-fever, our participation in the AFWME event last month with their focus on futurism, our new affiliation with the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), and our Draped in Heritage project launching soon, we truly are in a Future Fashion Focus mode.
As a heritage initiative, it is easy to get lost in history, past events, and 'the good old days', therefore it is important for us to keep our focus on the future. After all, who do we do all this documenting, preservation, and conservation for, if it isn't for the future generations and for those who come after us?
Here's to the future. The future of fashion, heritage, Arab culture, and The Zay Initiative.
Ma'a Salama
The Zay Team
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Through a collaboration with the Zay Initiative, students at DIDI have the opportunity to explore new and lesser-known fashion histories, rooted in the MENA region.
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Jewellery in the Arab world is like a language. It tells you many things about the wearer, stories that unfold if you know how to read them. In this blog post, we will look at jewellery, identity and cultural contacts.
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Anita visited us in December from The Netherlands, to share some of her rare photographs of everyday life in the Dubai area. Since then Anita's photographs, taken between 1975 and 1980, have rapidly become part of Dubai's national history, Her Bedouin photographs from the desert must have been among the last taken before they gave up their nomadic existence and settled down near the town.
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Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation event
The Zay Initiative had the privilege to be part of an important collaboration this month:
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The Zay Initiative/DIDI collaboration launch:
By studying historical clothing, the origins and evolution of fashion, we can understand a changing society. Conventional fashion history is predominantly focused on Western theories and context. Through a collaboration with the Zay Initiative, students at DIDI have the opportunity to explore new and lesser-known fashion histories, rooted in the MENA region. This research into the past will be used for predicting future fashion trends as well as inspiration for innovative new designs.
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In the media
We are always grateful for the media's interest in The Zay Initiative. During February we had coverage in:
L'Officiel Arabia
Arab News
Sama Dubai
Read the full articles here.
Our Bedouin jewellery expert, Sigrid van Roode, wrote a beautiful blog post about the Sultani book. It is worthwhile browsing the rest of her blog too for interesting and well-written content on topics of jewellery and adornment, complementing the Zay's work.
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Sama Dubai Interview Dr Reem Tariq el Mutwalli, Introduction to the Zay Initiative, Dress in the Arab World, History of dress, Memory Closet, Dress Archive, Arab Women Empowerment
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Coming up in March
We are always working on future projects behind the scenes. Here are a few things you can look forward to:
March on the blog:
- Sujata Assomul is a fashion journalist, consultant, curator, and founding editor of Harpers Bazaar India. She is also the author of a new book called 100 Iconic Bollywood Costumes. We talk to her about the importance of documenting fashion and the close relationship that has existed for decades between the Arab and Indian fashion world.
- The next instalment in Sigrid van Roode's jewellery series where she looks at the significance of colour in both dress and adornment.
And, of course, we always have a few things up our sleeve we can't talk about yet...
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The Sofa Series
Omani photographer Issa Saleh Al Kindy produced a series of limited-edition photographic prints called The Sofa Series: Sultani. These prints are available to purchase.
To read the full story
To purchase
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We live in exciting times and we are so grateful that you are joining us on this journey. We invite you to reach out with comments, contributions, stories, images and any other form of support or requests that you might have.
Make sure you follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
As always,
Ma'a Salama
The Zay Team
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