The annual House of Lux event filled with beauty, fashion, glitz and glamor took center stage in Dubai in October, at The Address Dubai Marina and gave two lucky Lux consumers the chance to become high-end fashion designers.
House of Lux along with its three renowned experts provided the participants with in-depth knowledge and expert advice on fashion and styling. Ten Lux fans from around the region got a chance to showcase their designs on the Lux runway in the UAE. Two winners out of the ten chosen candidates were selected by the judges. Both winners were awarded AED 100,000 each to support them with the launch of their personal fashion businesses.
On Oct. 1, 2014, the day of the event, a strong flowery scent wafted through the modern halls of The Address Dubai Marina. Pink flowers adorned the reception area. I spoke to international fashion designer Abed Mahfouz before the competition began.
“It is my second year in a row to be part of the House of Lux competition. The first time was a bit strange. I really liked the idea behind it, and this year I am more familiar with the procedures and I feel more comfortable. I flew over from Beirut to Dubai to supervise the contestants and mentor them, while working on their designs and measurements,” he said.
Lux, one of Unilever’s beauty brands, partnered with Abed who headed the judge’s panel.
Abed said the contestants still need to work hard to improve themselves, either by studying or by practicing. “It is a matter of talent more than that of study and this is how designers can standout, by reflecting their passion and talents in their designs,” he said.
As part of the event, Abed presented his latest collection in an exclusive fashion show. The Abed Mahfouz brand has three product lines; Bridal, Couture and Ready to Wear, all of which are statuesque in design and quality.
He said he is displaying “almost half of the Fall/Winter 2014 collection that was originally displayed in Paris earlier this year.”
Asked about his inspiration, Abed said: “It is no longer about inspiration for me, it is more about ideas and research, we research and resource colors, cuts and fabrics for the whole season and conduct a lot of surveys before we start working on the new collections, which we usually display in Paris. After one week it hits the Lebanese market and at the same time we launch it in Dubai.
Dubai is as important to us as Beirut is as most of my clients are from this part of the world.”
Alanoud Badr, one of the region’s most talented young fashion designers, also judged the competition alongside Abed. Badr is a Saudi fashion icon, and the designer behind “Lady Fozaza,” a fashion line created in Dubai, expanding across the region and arriving into celebrity closets like that of Kim Kardashian, Nancy Ajram and Lujain Omran. The other prominent expert at the event was Dana Hamdan, a talented fashion stylist and consultant who has become a regular fixture in the local and regional media after gracing the front covers of many prominent Arab magazines. Dana is also an actress and a TV presenter, most recently hosting with her sisters the TV show ‘Sister’s Soup’.
Host Aline Watfaa announced the names of the ten contestants. Each one walked the ramp along with models who were wore their designs. One by one, each designer explained the concept of the design, why the materials were chosen and the inspiration for it.
Abed’s show comprised a selection of dresses from each color category. For dresses, the dominant material was tulle with heavy embroidery, and for jumpsuits, it was all about the details in the French Guipure with a touch of satin. The finale was, of course, the wedding dress. If there is one thing that would engrave Mahfouz’s name deeply into the world of Arab haute couturiers, it would most certainly be his signature wedding dresses. The finale wedding dress was a simple satin princess cut dress that only fits the modernized Arab bride, something that reflects how Abed sees his clients nowadays.
The judges took a few moments to decide on the two winners, moments that were stressful for the nervous contestants.
After assuring the contestants that each one of them is a winner and that it was difficult to choose, Badr and Abed announced Hanna Iskandar and Bissan Abu Zainab as the winners of the evening.
Both were awarded AED 100,000 each. Hanna and Bissan started as two regular girls with lots of talents and are now halfway into the fashion world to fulfill their designing dreams.
Lux conducted the annual competition on their social media pages, where thousands of young girls participated with their sketched designs of an evening gown.
Madhusudhan Rao, vice president of marketing, Unilever North Africa and Middle East, said: “We are extremely excited about the House of Lux event, which is dedicated to women across the region. Today, Lux is continuing its mission to make women everywhere feel fabulous through the use of its range of luscious skin treats made with superior ingredients and fine fragrances. This is also a great chance to inspire our consumers to chase their dreams with Lux.”
The contestants attended workshops in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. The judges mentored them on the latest fashion trends and fabrics, giving them styling tips that helped them in designing their dresses.
House of Lux is an initiative by Lux in response to the need for today’s woman to feel and live like a star and to give her the royal and million dollar feeling of beauty and glamor. Lux believes that all women are beautiful and House of Lux is a platform that brings out their beauty.
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