Thursday, March 20th marked the one year anniversary celebration of the cARTel, Dubai’s first wearable art gallery and avante garde fashion store. The exclusive night where art meets fashion witnessed special guest appearance of the world’s first unisex haute couturier, Rad Hourani ( @RADHOURANI ), who inaugurated his fashion exhibition titled: 5 Years of unisex, at The cARTel. The exhibition merges photography, video, installation art and exclusive haute couture pieces by Rad Hourani and was profoundly received by The cARTel audience, who were treated to a glamorous evening of art, music and fashion.
Celebrating their one-year anniversary in a journey that often seems richer and far longer, The cARTel offered their audience the highlight of the night: a visual treat of astonishing fashion theatrics combining drama, art, theater and unique fashion garments from The cARTel. “We wanted to break away form the traditional catwalk as we are notorious for offering a unique out of the box edge to fashion so we wanted to present to our audience the true essence of The cARTel which is the unique combination of art in its various forms as well as fashion” – May Barber, Managing Partner and Founder of the cartel. The 15 minutes theatrics revisited the idea of the name ‘cARTel’, featuring a virtual boardroom with models acting their roles in a fashion business meeting as well as showcasing their uber sense of fashion using the globally-curated fashion of The cARTel. “The name cartel suggests a union or a league and in The cARTel we act as a multi-designer platform curating designers from all around the world and offering them a unique place to exchange dynamics of talents and expertise and the performed theatrics is a homage to this concept” – Peter Richweisz, Founder of the cartel.
The multi-brand store and gallery which features designers from Japan, Korea, Italy, France, Holland, all the way to South America as well as some unique talents from the Middle East, turned one year closing a chapter dense with events, highlights and achievements. “Our one year journey included signature events, fashion films screenings for the first time in the region, fashion weeks visits, participation in Fashion Forward season 2, and many other signature contributions to the art and fashion scene locally and regionally. We are delighted to welcome our 2nd year with the presence of Rad Hourani, a renowned designer with unique aesthetics and prolific achievements whose creations are very much in synergy with The cARTel” May Barber added.
Rad Hourani is the first unisex designer in history invited to join the Chambre Sydicale de la Couture after launching his namesake collection in 2007. He is a designer, photographer, filmmaker, and artist who created his fashion label Rad Hourani, as a celebration of neutrality and unisex. His timeless garments are created like origami, with patterns appearing to have their own magic folds leaving their wearers feeling comfortable, powerful and beyond time. “I started imagining clothes the way I started creating images: with a sense of curiosity and innocence, driven by my no background background. It was my pleasure to exhibit my 5 Years of Unisex at The cARTel, a place where self expression is evident in Dubai.”
The surprise of the night was The cARTel release of their own magazine titled: The cARTel, printed in black and white and stretched to a very ambitious size. The guests of that glamorous evening each left with a copy of the cartel first issue which is rich with critical articles, fashion content and creative editorials shot by Peter Richwiesz. “Quote by Peter”
With a magazine, signature exhibitions and statement market offerings, the future still holds a lot for the ambitious store which aims to make their mark globally and continues to offer to the UAE and region the latest of hand-picked fashion apparel and artistic accessories for both men and women.
The cARTel
The cARTel is ( @thecartelme ) Dubai’s only conceptual fashion retail showroom bringing artistic and progressive fashion to the region. Considered a “wearable art” gallery, The cARTel is located in one of Dubai’s art hubs, Alserkal Avenue. Hosting over 60 designers from around the world as well as locally based, collections are curated in a unique environment blending fashion, art, and architecture. The cARTel provides its clientele with exclusive and one of a kind pieces that cannot be found anywhere else in the region.
The store is open Saturday-Thursday 10 am – 8 Pm.
Phone: 04-3884341
www.thecartel.me
5 Years of Unisex Exhibition
Rad Hourani’s exhibition ‘5 Years of Unisex’ comes to the Middle East for the first time at The cARTel. Visitors were taken into the world of Rad Hourani and his seamless approach and his five years in unisex fashion, through his study of the human body, his patterns, his photography and his twenty collections. The exhibition also featured a clothing installation of cARTel, selected couture pieces available for purchase. Exhibition ran until March 28th.
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The cARTel
