HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY FIVE OF WOMEN’S ARAB FASHION WEEK READY-TO-WEAR FALL WINTER 2022/23

The fifth day of Women’s Arab Fashion Week – RTW – Fall Winter 2022/23 kick-off with the Polish brand Poca & Poca followed by the Italian designer Francesca Liberatore who is member of Milan Fashion Week’s official calendar, American label Nouvelle Silk, Saudi-based label Death by Dolls, Egyptian label Semsem, and Dubai-based label Amato.  

Stellar, Enticing, Charming, Daring, and Monochrome are the keywords of the Fifth Day.  

POCA & POCA 

The talented duo of POCA & POCA consists of sibling stars Karolina, and Wiktor Gniewek. Both of them have taken the fashion world by storm; in Poland and around the world. Their passion for unique fabrics and details, help them to form one of the most enticing, charismatic, and charming ready-to-wear collection of the season.  

The dresses that were featured during the Arab Fashion Week all have classic 80s party dress silhouettes. Certain features were exaggerated like the flounced large collars and slant cut silken blouse yolks. Ruffled flounce sleeves on an empire waist dress were also featured in purple leaf embossed fabric. The more modest looks are layered and draped with asymmetrical cut hems. The sturdier fabrics were in black and had textured print details. POCA & POCA has vitality in design. Their pieces are retro but translate well for the younger generations too.  

The jumpsuits also sported the classic retro flare. Their dress in pink, with a form-fitting, gathered waist and puled seem, is charming; and sports a cool sash-like cloth over the bust. Lots of yolks and gathered details made the collection fun, including the patterns: Polka-dot, geometric-grid, and light feather-inspired tassels. Karoline and Wiktor’s understanding of women’s everyday life is evident in this collection. All the styles can be worn from work to play. The color palette is also subtle, and can easily fit into many formal events. Bag accessories that doubled as a belt is a great styling technique that brought all the looks into the trend. POCA & POCA is sprite and lovely aesthetically. Every style in the collection is remarkably gorgeous in more ways than one.   

FRANCESCA LIBERATORE

Francesca Liberatore is an amazing Italian designer. Her namesake brand received great reviews, and won the Next Generation Competition, promoted by Camera Nozionale Della Moda Italiana.

Francesca’s vast knowledge of the industry is evident in her collections. There’s an undeniable feel of emotion invoked from her collections. Smart suits with shimmering fabrics, blazers that form dresses, and sparkling accessories give her collection just the right amount of edginess.  

There is a very ‘my fair lady’ vibe to Francesca’s Fall-Winter 2022/23 collection. The utilization of the lace is impressive. It was either worked into an ensemble as an underlay, or used as an accent. Take for example the dress styles made entirely of lace. The patterns were distinct to the collection and gave each model a very ethereal appeal. Francesca’s color coordination was on-point. The orange seam highlight detail on the full white floral laced dress is classic and exuberant. Knitwear is also concurrent with Fall. Manipulation of striped fabric on certain gowns were hypnotic to the eyes. That yellow fitted dress had a knit-like folded off-shoulder detail but a different fabric on the body. 

There’s so much to love about this collection. The sweet sparkling pink beret was a nice dip of color to add to her mellow and rich color selection. Cinched waists were also peppered throughout the collection and gave a nice color or pattern accent to the given look. Francesca’s version for Fall is very svelte, with a smooth V-neck cut and creative side slit trimmed with bright yellow. Speaking of yellow, the knitted styles in that shade had plush volume. Blazer sets with iridescent animal print and yellow highlights looked professional yet trendy. It’s difficult to pick a favorite in this collection; every piece is fantastic in its own unique way. 

NOUVELLE SILK 

She’s a South African Native with an exemplary set of skills. Joanne Snodgrass is a fan of luxury with a specialty in silk. Joanne created Nouvelle Silk as a glamorous brand that speaks to the sensuality in everyday fashion.  

Nouvelle Silk is as exquisite as it sounds. Every look was just so smooth and graceful. The golden dress, with its clever loop can be worn comfortably as a key basic. The cinched blazer and pants combo set is also solid on its own, with little accessorizing needed. Another nice set is the mid-calf skirt and rich purple blouse. That color combination is the signature palette of royalty. Even the solid purple dress with the cuffed like forearm was a stunning solo look. Each style presented in the Nouvelle Silk collection was truly ready-to-wear; meaning every outfit could be worn exactly how it is styled on the runway.  

The mild green floor length dress is ultra-feminine and is in line with the popular large cut trend. Neutral brown chocolate tones looked splendid on the models and gave a carefree effortlessly sleek look. Blue, fuchsia, purple, and lime green silken fabrics were also fashioned into the same loose and luxurious silhouettes. The deeper tones of silver, steel grey, deep blue, and berry; gave options in style to those who adore Nouvelle Silks flattering Fall/Winter silhouettes, but need something a bit more subtle in color. Then came the black and white styles, still with the same great wrap and robe design; but monochromatic. Cowl draped fabric on the bust on pant jumpsuits; those are extremely sporty, and in high demand for the upcoming season. Nouvelle presents a collection that is conventional, breezy, bright, and bold.

DEATH BY DOLLS 

Death by Dolls releases the rebel within. Each eclectic and 80’s inspired piece is ready to hit to runway and with monumental effect. Sara Al-Saud, the Saudi fashion designer, and her sister created Death By Dolls. Their electric and fun collection is sure to be the talk of Fashion Week.  

Layering is a staple trend for Fall/Winter 2022/23. Death by Dolls as a brand is most definitely hip and on trends. The sparkling skirt overlay on a two-piece pinstriped button-down shorts set is low-key cool. Lots of emphasis was put on bust details and vertical silver raised details. The model in this style is also wearing a fur trimmed denim overcoat. Speaking of trim, the fleece lined coat set with tie-dye treatment was styled well over the front slit denim, with silver bows, and white crop top. Denim weights are worth mentioning in this collection too; halter tie-dye sundresses with spaghetti strap details are super sleek. Models were scantily clad, wearing eclectic sheer pieces with quirky iconic details. Sparkles make anything shine, and in any form. That chic black spaghetti strap mini dresses, with the large, adorned diamonds is a nice change to the ever-present sequin sparkle. The bustier mini-dress with rushed details, glittering verbiage, and comfortable knit jumper blouse was iconic. That’s one detail to love about Fall ready-to-wear, the ‘flashy’ textile usage. The outfitted model wearing a sparkling blazer over an ankle length see-through dress, showed the versatility of Sara’s two-piece short set underneath it all. The same see-through sparkling mesh style can be seen in the collection with a thick blue fur trim, and over a bikini. Bold and daring are the most expressive works that describe Sara’s collection. All the styles are impeccable. Death by Dolls is fierce with unapologetic style.  

SEMSEM 

The Egypt-born designer Abeer Al Otaiba is capable of transforming beauty into runway-ready art. SEMSEM is Abeer’s brand. Her collection has been featured in top-tier magazines and boasts a slew of talented celebs, for example, Drew Barrymore. Her most recent collection features metallic fabrics and bold saturated green shades. The 70’s inspired silhouettes have layered designs and conservative flare. The sophisticated and classy woman will absolutely adore SEMSEM. 

Emerald green and radiant lux are what best describe the brand. Those colors are glowing on full-length butterfly gowns and fitted sharp-shouldered cocktail dresses. The fan style details in her asymmetrical shoulder floor-sweeping gowns were reflective and stunning. A very intense focus was put into making the monochromatic blouse and trouser set featured. It had a stair-like silhouette extending from the sleeves and the hips. The same sharp shoulder detail can be seen on another accordion impressed dress, with rippling bust detail, and in pearl white. The pieces in SEMSEM are reminiscent of seashells and beautiful sea coral; highlighted by the moonlight.  

As the models walked, the fabric flowed like the ocean water, under the dark knight sky. The grey jumpsuit with large exaggerated asymmetrical shoulder details was beautiful. A standout piece is the gold goddess-like flowing strapless dress, with clever necklace halter detail. All the gold gave a very old Hollywood glamour vibe, as the models walked. 

The red gowns and two-piece sets gave the same old-school charm. Brilliant indigo-colored pieces carried on the subtle theme of oceanic influence. For those who crave color, the ombré multicolored gowns were like a lovely, saturated ray of light. Abeer is a designer whose passion radiates and inspires all who wear SEMSEM.

AMATO 

AMATO is a brand that makes the fashion elite swoon. Yes; designer Furne One knew that when a brand’s name stands for ‘beloved’, that also means the adoration of all who would see it. Furne partnered with textile expert Rashid Ali, to create this Avant-Garde and luxurious brand.  

After creating his couture empire, AMATO just launched his Ready-to-wear line which depicted a cool array of solid white, beaded and glimmering garments. The menswear had soft lines and billowing structures. Theatrical and moving was the flow, as each model walked the runway. Long regal cape overlays had leaf-like raised details on the shoulder and acted as a wedding-like train. There was certainly a marriage in style for the collection. White fur was another exciting textile. While the 3-D effects of each textile were evident, the accessories had appeal too. Mirror lens sunglasses gave a ‘glamorous day in the alps’ imagery.   

AMATO’S version of the two-piece set is also stellar. The trousers are low-waist, and the cropped top long sleeve blouse is adorned with blooming white flowers. The same goes for the romper, sporting the clever waist chain accessory. Of course, since the strapless bustier is trending, AMATO featured one too. Their bustier was bikini styled, but with a cool tie-front gathered construction on the front. The model’s matching low-rise pants were a great component to the overall edgy-cool look. Of the many show-stopping pieces featured, the cropped top, with large and exaggerated fluffy sleeves was the most avant-garde of them all. See-through mesh dresses with glittering 3-D details along with exclusive lace designs is what makes the AMATO Fall/Winter 2022/23 collection unforgettable.