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Maybe Zuhair Murad is right

By March 17, 2019 No Comments

It’s time the Middle East invested in its local talent, who have often looked abroad for support.

He’s known for dressing some of the world’s most glamorous women walking the red carpets of Hollywood, but would Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad have become the globally-recognised figure he is today had he not left the Middle East?
Maybe it’s time the world listened to Murad.

Billion-dollar dreams

While the MENA region’s fashion industry will be valued at an estimated $55bn this year, according to the MENA Design Outlook 2014-2019 report by the Dubai Design and Fashion Council (DDFC), it is unclear whether Arab, local designers are getting a piece of the profit pie.

Murad is not the first to make such claims. In January 2019, Dubai-based fashion designer Rami Al Ali – also designer to the stars – said, “There are too many designers, too many products and not enough funding,” and added that support from banks and investors is the “biggest issue” facing designers in the region.

When renowned entrepreneur Fadi Ghandour set up his logistics firm Aramex, he turned abroad for investment, because the region did not believe in local talent.

“Aramex could not find funding, because they didn’t believe in Aramex. The minute I went public, [regional] investors said, ‘Oh, now you’re eligible for investment” Ghandour said in 2016.

Written by Lubna Hamdan
Image: CC
Publication date: 27 Feb 2019

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