Dubai Design District (d3) is part of the newest campaign —#AThread4Cause with Arab Fashion Council to combat COVID-19.  The seven talented designers are poised to create thousands of protection gowns and surgical face masks for frontline medical workers.

To facilitate logistics, d3 is set to host a unified distribution centre, to store and deliver the protection gowns and surgical masks produced by d3 designers as well as other designers based in the UAE. This will turn the d3 community into a strategic hub for personal protective equipment (PPE) made by luxury brands.

Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3, said: “As the fashion capital of the Middle East, d3 is both humbled and delighted to support #AThread4Cause. With six d3-based designers, we aim to aid the life-saving work of vital medical staff by contributing to the UAE’s stockpile of gowns and facemasks. d3 is well placed to be able to cater to the needs of the local population, as well as export to the rest of the world, heralded by the strong logistics and infrastructure of Dubai. This will enable #Athread4cause to quickly receive the PPE carefully produced by highly skilled, luxury fashion designers across the Emirate.”

“The Arab Fashion Council is proud of d3’s remarkable support to #AThread4Cause campaign by joining forces with us and its readiness to strengthen the emergency network of creative force. Due to this uncertain time, the Arab fashion industry has been able to highlight its strong capacity to operate a purely local value chain” said Jacob Abrian, Founder & CEO of the Arab Fashion Council.

Dubai-based couture label, Michael Cinco, is among the seven d3 business partners taking part in the initiative. Cinco is joined by couture labels, Maison Yeya, and Amato, brainchild of creative designer Furne One are among the seven. Emirati designer Yara Bin Shakar, Egypt’s Marmar Halim, Arab/American designer Zaid Farouki and women’s clothing retailer Si Fashion make up the seven-strong group.

To provide the designers with ample material and to support local suppliers, d3 has established a partnership with a Dubai-based Saudi Arabian fabric manufacturer who will supply over four tonnes of technical fabric to the participating brands.