Cairo Fashion Experience Finalists Portray the Egyptian Identity at Milan Fashion Week

Cairo Fashion Experience finalists; which is a unique scouting project developed by Cairo Festival City Mall (CFCM) in collaboration with Vogue Italia, captivate Milan Fashion Week with their displayed collections at VogueRama; complementing Cairo Festival City Mall’s strategy to empower the fashion industry, and highlight Egyptian artistic talents in the international scene. Vogue Italia’s “VougeRama”, which took place from September 22 to 23, gave the three finalists the chance to express their unique fashion designs, as well as the one thing they all had in common: showcasing and shedding light on emerging Egyptian talents internationally.

Heba Abdallah, Head of Marketing at Cairo Festival City Mall, said: “We are privileged to be empowering and enabling the emerging Egyptian designers to showcase their creativity to the world, and promote Egypt as a growing and promising fashion destination worldwide. Cairo Fashion Experience has drawn hundreds of brilliant fashion enthusiasts, who have shown a strong desire to take their talents to an international level. The participating fashion designers were shortlisted to our very own three remarkable finalists who were positioned among niche and international fashion brands; in Milan Fashion Week and will have a display at Festival Avenue; Egypt’s upcoming hottest premier fashion destination in Cairo Festival City Mall.”

She further commented: “With over 45,000 square annexed to Cairo Festival City Mall, by 2023 Al-Futtaim Group will be inaugurating “Festival Avenue”. It is bound to be Egypt’s ultimate fashion forward destination, and the leading retail address and commercial center point in the MENA region, aiming to deliver exceptional retail, and recreational environments for our customers.”

Sara Sozzani Maino, Educational and Scouting Initiatives Advisor at Vogue Italia said, “Egypt has been the land of art and since the oldest of times. Starting from the Pharaohs, whose art, literature and knowledge are still impressive until now, to the modern days with variety of Egyptian artists and designers who represent the beauty of the Egyptian identity skillfully. Presenting the Egyptian talents at Milan Fashion Week is a proof of Egypt’s uniqueness and creativity and we are proud to be mentoring such talented designers.

Cairo Fashion Experience journey started when the participant’s applications were submitted to be evaluated by Vogue Italia. A short list of ten finalists were then presented in front of a jury of experts and the jury selected three of them as the first, second and third placed, considering their level of innovation and style, and also the sustainability of the collection. The three finalists had the chance to attend panel discussions and workshop hosted by Sara Sozzani and Okhtein and were mentored and enlightened by Vogue Italia team and designer Marco Rambaldi in Milan. Moreover, the finalists exhibited their collections, during the Milan Fashion Week, within Vogue Italia event. Eventually, the three finalists will also display their collection at Festival Avenue, the new luxury expansion of Cairo Festival City Mall (CFC Mall), through a pop-up display dedicated to their collections.

It is worth noting that Festival Avenue will soon to take Cairo Festival City Mall’s celebratory experience to the next level of luxury and fashion. Festival Avenue will be introducing a series of first-to-the-market luxury men’s and women’s fashion brands together with jewelry and watch brands that will call the Avenue their first address in Egypt. Festival Avenue will also offer an entertainment destination for all ages and an assortment of restaurants with indoor and alfresco outdoor seating.

Spectacular residential villas

Spanning a land area of over 3 million sq. m (700 acres), Cairo Festival City is a visionary, mixed-use urban community strategically located at the gateway to New Cairo city. Cairo Festival City sets new standards as Egypt’s premier indoor-outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment destination, providing spectacular residential villas and luxurious apartments, as well as prime office spaces, together with internationally renowned hotels, international schools, and automotive showrooms, all set within a beautifully landscaped and tranquil community. Combining a relaxing lifestyle and picturesque landscapes, the many parks, gardens, walkways, and plazas bring together the districts to enhance and foster gatherings for family and friends as an addition to Cairo Festival City amenities. A truly distinctive lifestyle experience where meticulous attention to detail is obvious and all elements of the project are seamlessly interconnected. Cairo Festival City Mall (CFC Mall) was established in 2013 to extend over 160,000 sqm gross leasable area. CFC Mall has risen to become the number one shopping and entertainment destination for Cairo, containing more than 300 shops, 95 restaurants and cafes anchored by 10,755 sqm Carrefour hypermarket and home furniture flagship store, two department stores, all served by 7,000 parking spaces. And launched the country's most eagerly awaited fashion destination, Festival Avenue, Egypt’s upcoming hottest premier fashion destination at Cairo Festival City Mall (CFC Mall) opening 2023 which will include 80 shops and 15 restaurants to the current 310 CFC Mall outlets.

An unwavering emphasis on customers

Al-Futtaim Group, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, pioneered the commerce sector in the 1930s and has since evolved to become one of the most versatile and sophisticated regional companies. The corporation is divided into five operational divisions: automotive, financial services, real estate, and retail; it employs roughly 42,000 people in more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. It also collaborates with over 200 of the world's most renowned and creative brands. Al Futtaim's leadership and unwavering emphasis on customers enable the organization to constantly upgrade and flourish significantly while responding to our customers' ever-changing demands within the communities in which we serve. Day after day, Al-Futtaim enriches its consumers' lives and aspirations by adhering to our core values of respect, excellence, teamwork, and honesty. Please visit www.alfuttaim.com for further details.

Sustainable revenue growth

Al-Futtaim Malls provides development and asset management expertise, specializing in building retail-led super regional malls in prime locations across MENA and beyond. With a proven track record of creating both sustainable revenue growth and value enhancement for tenants, Al-Futtaim Malls delivers exceptional experiences and exciting shopping environments for customers.

Part of the Al-Futtaim Group, Al-Futtaim Malls leadership team brings more than 30 years of experience and a deep understanding and knowledge of the retail sector, both from a shopper’s point of view but as curators of space or landlords to other brands. The company has a directly managed portfolio including over 9 million sqft of retail space across four malls in the MENA region and two under development. Malls under the Al-Futtaim Malls portfolio include Dubai Festival City Mall and Festival Plaza in the UAE, Cairo Festival City Mall in Egypt and Doha Festival City in Qatar.

PLEX Management Services is part of Al-Futtaim Malls within the Al-Futtaim Group, one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses. Leveraging on the expertise of its parent company, Al-Futtaim Malls, PLEX Management Services offers a full array of services including asset management and development, leasing, and brand experience expertise to shopping malls and retail organizations in the MENA region and beyond.