Oriental Fashion Show FW 19/20

by Abdon FLORES

The Oriental Fashion Show (OFS) is a project launched fifteen years ago by business lawyer and writer Hind Joudar. Its purpose was to show in Paris the couture being made in the Eastern countries. This fall/winter 19/20 season the OFS celebrates its 30^th edition, a robust number that consolidates the event as a sort of tradition and reference for this kind of fashion.

The chosen place to honor this anniversary was the Ritz Hotel, an emblem of luxury and style in Paris. Backing the OFS are a couple of associations, Silk Road and Al Andalus; both have promoted Oriental couture in places like London, Moscow, Marrakech, Istanbul, Kuwait City, Baku in Azerbaijan, Samarkand, Tashkent and Bukhara in Uzbekistan, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Doha in Qatar and lately Ulan-Bator in Mongolia. Over one hundred designers from fifty different countries have shown in the OFS, a virtual bridge between West and East.

 

 

 

 

For this 30^th edition ten designers were showing their collections including, for the first time, two creators of « ethical fashion ». Russian, veteran creator Slava Zaïtsev opened the ball with a series of cocktail dresses in both dark and colorful hues. Yasmina was another of the animators of this 30^th OFS. The Algerian designer showed a rather oriental collection with looks recalling characters of an Arabian tale.

 

 

 

 

Trad Art Tailor by Amina Lahbabi from Morocco explored the traditional tunics and large volumes. The OFS was closed with a solid collection by Egyptian designer Hany El Behairy. His collection was full of glamour, silk, fanciness and capes, which transformed the Ritz in a real Oriental palace.