Business Today Egypt | October – November 2023, Special Edition

Fashion
niz, Yasmine Yeya, and Azza Fahmy already have
their indisputable international imprint, and
are now the choice of international celebrities.
Queen Rania was spotted wearing Nuniz bags,
Kourtney Kardashian wearing Okhtein, Julia
Roberts in Azza Fahmy jewelry, and the list goes
on.
This trend has also created a snowball effect,
resulting in an increasing interest and trust in
the Egyptian fashion industry.
Sohayla Ali tells BT that the growing interest
in fashion design and trends has given Egyptian
designers the confidence to start their own
design houses. On the global fashion radar, international
buyers are seeking Egyptian-made
items, be they clothes, shoes, jewelry, or bags,
because the price and quality of locally manufactured
products are “more desirable,” she says.
The Fashion and Design Center (FDC) is a
state-sponsored organization established in 2001
in Cairo and Alexandria. FDC is administered
by the Technology and Industrial Innovation
Center, moderated by the Ministry of Trade and
Industry in collaboration with Instituto Di Moda
Burgo Milan, Italy. The center offers programs
to equip students with the required design skills,
supported by technical consultations for textile
companies. Their certificates are accredited by
the Trade and Industry Ministry.
FDC provides many services that go along
with their mission and vision, which is “seeking
to keep pace with the international fashion standards
through providing international accredited
training courses.”
Cairo Fashion Week (CFW) is also a new fashion
forum that was first launched earlier in 2023
by Media Hatem Salem. It is a fashion trade
event that aims to bring together advocates of
the fashion world in one forum. CFW is organized
according to International Fashion Week
standards, and aims to become a nationally
grown platform to provide markets, networking,
marketing, and trade opportunities for both regional
and global designers. Further, CFW is an
opportunity to showcase designers’ work to potential
investors, buyers and the public.
FDC and CFW are both important initiatives
contributing to the revival of the fashion industry
in Egypt. They highlight the public’s interest
in fashion, as well as the government and private
sector’s readiness to create a globally competitive
fashion hub in Egypt.
www.businesstodayegypt.com
51