UAE-based fashion designers to create protection gowns and face masks for frontline medical workers

Covid-19: Dubai Design District has teamed up with the Arab Fashion Council on a campaign entitled #AThread4Cause to present seven Dubai-based fashion designers who have pledged to create thousands of protection gowns and surgical face masks for frontline medical workers.

To facilitate logistics, d3 is set to host a unified distribution centre, to store and deliver the protection gowns and surgical masks produced by d3 designers as well as other designers based in the UAE. This will turn the d3 community into a strategic hub for personal protective equipment (PPE) made by luxury brands.

“With six d3-based designers, we aim to aid the life-saving work of vital medical staff by contributing to the UAE’s stockpile of gowns and facemasks,” said Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3.

“d3 is well placed to be able to cater to the needs of the local population, as well as export to the rest of the world, heralded by the strong logistics and infrastructure of Dubai.  This will enable #Athread4cause to quickly receive the PPE carefully produced by highly skilled, luxury fashion designers across the Emirate,” she added.

“Due to this uncertain time, the Arab fashion industry has been able to highlight its strong capacity to operate a purely local value chain” said Jacob Abrian, founder & CEO of the Arab Fashion Council.

Dubai based couture label, Michael Cinco, is among the seven d3 business partners taking part in the initiative.

“In exceptional circumstances such as this pandemic, it’s more important than ever to stand together. The future is not bleak and it’s crucial that we provide people with something to believe in. We need to demonstrate the sense of belonging, community spirit and light that only fashion can bring to our world. We are proud to be part of d3’s response to #AThread4Cause and believe it demonstrates the value of fashion and design in Dubai,” Michael Cinco and his business partner Sayed Ali said in a joint statement.

Yasmine Yeha, founder & creative director of Maison Yeya, who has been instrumental in working on the project since its inception, added: “We are facing an unprecedented situation and we are all in this together. The UAE has worked extremely hard to address the current situation and the creative community stands ready to support these efforts because it’s our duty to stand united against this challenge.”

Cinco is joined by couture labels, Maison Yeya, and Amato, brainchild of creative designer Furne One are among the seven. Emirati designer Yara Bin Shakar, Egypt’s Marmar Halim, Arab/American designer Zaid Farouki and women’s clothing retailer Si Fashion make up the seven-strong group.

To provide the designers with ample material and to support local suppliers, d3 has established a partnership with a Dubai-based Saudi Arabian fabric manufacturer who will supply over four tonnes of technical fabric to the participating brands.

d3’s participation in #AThread4Cause comes after creatives, cosmetic brands and industry suppliers were called upon to join the Arab Fashion Council’s emergency network and support the community by producing PPE for frontline heroes. The initiative was established by the council’s charitable arm.

Companies that want to enroll in the initiative and contribute positively to the UAE’s efforts to curb coronavirus and protect the vital medical professionals across the country can apply through the Arab Fashion Council’s website.