Dubai is often considered the fashion capital of the Gulf region. It was, until recently, a large part of the industry’s highest-growth story, with the Gulf on track to outpace nearly every other market in 2025, according to Bain & Co. Then came the Iran-US conflict, and Dubai found itself exposed. Despite the turmoil, which heavily interrupted travel, the region’s response has been to carry on with business as usual.
Against this backdrop, Dubai Fashion Week (DFW), which first ran in 2023 in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), is set to have many eyes on its Spring/Summer 2027 edition. There’s some newness this time. The Arab Fashion Council appointed its first chairwoman, Amina Taher, in July, and the fashion week has shifted from September to October, now taking place from October 22 to 26.
DFW is the headline event of the Arab Fashion Council (AFC), which was founded by its CEO, Jacob Abrian, in 2014, with a mandate to represent fashion across the 22 countries of the Arab League. Emirati executive Taher, who is well-respected in the Arab business community, was appointed as its first chairwoman to work alongside Abrian, who remains involved in making Dubai the Gulf’s definitive fashion week.
Taher formerly served as chief marketing officer of Wio Bank, the UAE’s first digital-only bank, as well as VP of marketing, brand and sponsorships at Etihad Airways. At AFC, she sees her new role as “opening doors, building strategic relationships and bringing together government, investors, institutions and international partners” to help shape the region’s fashion scene at a difficult moment.
Since her appointment, DFW has moved to align itself more closely with international buying cycles, Taher says: Ramadan 2027 falls in early February, roughly 10 days earlier than in 2026, and a September show would have sat too far ahead of that window to function as a real buying moment.
As Taher settles into her role during a challenging time for the local industry, she speaks to Vogue about her other plans for the fashion council and what to expect from Dubai Fashion Week SS27.
Vogue: How did the appointment come about, and what was the conversation that convinced you to take it on?
It came from a shared belief that AFC is ready for its next chapter, one focused on scale and long-term impact. What drew me in was the opportunity to build more of the infrastructure around the regional talent, connecting fashion to business, investment and international markets. We see enormous potential here, and I wanted to be part of building what comes next.
I don’t think fashion needs another person who only understands fashion. It needs people who understand how to turn creativity into sustainable businesses and institutions. My background has taught me to think about audiences, capital, growth and long-term value, while respecting the cultural power of fashion.
Vogue: With fashion month about to start, where do you see Dubai Fashion Week sitting on the global calendar, and what are its strengths and weaknesses?
The global fashion industry needs new markets, new consumers, and new creative voices. That’s where Dubai matters.
It gives the industry access to something they don’t have in the same combination, the Middle East, Asia, capital, consumers, and culture in one market. DFW also goes beyond the runway, providing designers with 360-degree support across visibility, business, market access and international opportunities.
That combination makes it more than a fashion week, it makes it an ecosystem for designers to grow.
We can become more intentional and discerning as we grow. A place on the DFW calendar should feel meaningful. What I would protect is DFW’s openness, its ability to bring different cultures, markets and creative perspectives into one room.
Vogue: Tell us more about DFW’s role as a fashion week where different cultures meet.
Dubai naturally sits between the Arab world, Asia and the West, so it would be artificial to ignore those connections. Our identity remains rooted in the Middle East, but our platform is increasingly international. We see strong potential in deepening the exchange with Asia as well, particularly given the depth of its creative and commercial ecosystem.
International participation is also important, because it puts our designers in a larger conversation, rather than overshadowing the talent emerging from the region. We want DFW to be a place where established global names create excitement and credibility, while emerging regional designers have the space, attention, and opportunities to shine. The strongest calendar is one where both can elevate one another.
Vogue: DFW’s SS27 edition was originally slated for September 1-6 and has now moved to October 22-26, shifting from opening the fashion season to closing it. Why the change?
The calendar has to evolve with the needs of the industry. September gave us the advantage of being one of the first major fashion moments of the season; October gives us the opportunity to create stronger commercial and cultural momentum, and aligns more closely with international buying cycles. Fashion is an industry built around movement, and our calendar should respond to where we can create the most value.
As Ramadan approaches, this move protects our designers’ season-to-season calendar, allowing them to focus on their Ramadan collections and capsules to cater to the region, while giving buyers flexibility to prioritize these key deliveries without disruption.
Vogue: How has AFC responded to the difficult period the region has found itself in, and how have regional designers responded?
What struck us most is the determination to keep moving. Designers are not waiting for perfect conditions to create momentum. For many, showing is about far more than a commercial decision, it is a statement of identity, ambition, and belief in the region. That instinct to keep building, even in uncertain moments, says a great deal about how far the industry has come.
The most important thing AFC can provide is continuity. When circumstances become uncertain, creative industries need platforms that keep people connected to markets and to each other. AFC’s role is not to ignore what is happening around us, but to ensure that the region’s creative economy continues to have a voice and a place at the table.
Vogue: What is something international fashion should know about the region right now?
In this region, there is a real shift from looking outward for validation to defining what feels relevant on our own terms. We would like people to speak about Dubai not simply as a place that hosts fashion, but as a place where new ideas, designers, and conversations are genuinely being shaped. That would be the real measure of progress.
There is depth of culture, craft and storytelling here, but we don’t want Arab fashion to be defined by those things. The new generation is sharper, more experimental and globally minded. The opportunity is to move the narrative from Arab fashion being interesting to being influential.