The Dubai Mall hosts 3 million visitors over month-long shopping festival

The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination, hosted three million visitors over the one-month long shopping and entertainment extravaganza, which concludes today (Friday, May 29, 2009). Festival@The Dubai Mall attracted more than 750,000 visitors every week, strengthening sales across the mall’s 900 retail and F&B outlets.Marking the formal opening of the mall by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Festival@The Dubai Mall offered a diverse bouquet of bargain deals on global brands, ’Win Millions’ raffles, Bid 2 Win auctions for premium products, a Grand Bentley draw and mall-wide entertainment. One of the spectacular attractions during the festival was the unveiling of The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain.Today (May 29, 2009), one lucky winner will get AED 1 million in cash prize at the ’Win Millions’ raffle. The Grand Bentley draw for the luxurious, four-door Bentley Continental Flying Spur will also be held, adding to the prize bonanzas offered on the final day. The mall will come alive to a spectacular display of entertainment as several performers come together for a grand finale. Apart from daily entertainment programmes, the mall has also hosted more than 100 fashion shows during the festival at the newly inaugurated Fashion Catwalk at the Fashion Avenue.Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: "We have achieved the objectives of hosting the Festival@The Dubai Mall, which were to enhance visitors and strengthen sales at our retail outlets. To draw over 3 million visitors in one month is a testament to the success of the mall as well as the city’s global reputation as a premier tourist destination."He added: "The Festival@The Dubai Mall has been a confidence booster for the economy, and offered customers a perfect continuum of shopping and entertainment spectacles from Dubai Shopping Festival to the Dubai Summer Surprises, which will start shortly. We are thankful to all our partners for their support, particularly to the Dubai Shopping Festival Office."With a total cash prize of AED 3.1 million apart, The Festival@The Dubai Mall has set a new benchmark in mall-wide entertainment with the spectacular array of leisure attractions. The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, a popular attraction at the mall, introduced Shark Dives for the adventurous, offering the opportunity to dive into the 11 metre deep aquarium and surf the waters with sand tiger sharks and rays. The Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink introduced ’Disco on Ice’ with an in-house DJ belting out popular music and the Fashion Catwalk was abuzz with haute couture events.The Festival@The Dubai Mall is supported by Dubai Media Inc, Arab Media Group and The Address Hotels + Resorts, a part of Emaar Hospitality Group.

Grand Finale Of Fashion Catwalk Shows At The Dubai Mall On May 22 And 23

The grand finale of the Fashion Catwalk Shows at The Dubai Mall will be held on May 22 and 23 (Friday and Saturday) with some of world’s leading brands showcasing the latest in fashion trends at the event.

The Fashion Catwalk shows are a crowd-puller at the ongoing Festival@The Dubai Mall, and celebrate the extensive fashion retailer spread showcased at the Fashion Avenue of the mall. Visitors can get bargain deals on fashion haute couture at Fashion Avenue, a dedicated precinct featuring the world’s most technologically advanced catwalk and 70 stores dedicated to global brands.

Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The launch of the Fashion Catwalk has proven to be very successful and popular as is evident in the increasing numbers of guests to the shows. It has helped complement Fashion Avenue, which features one of the largest collections of the world’s leading fashion labels in a mall environment. The Dubai Mall is the first to also have an in-mall fashion ramp, which is a true technological marvel, as is highlighted at the shows.”

Thousands of visitors have attended the Fashion Catwalk shows featuring high-end fashion names, elaborate displays of high-street fashion and children’s wear. Some of the participating brands include Missoni, Mulberry, Furla, Topshop, Topman, Guess Jeans, Diesel, ALDO, Reiss, Gap, Jacardi Paris and Tommy Hilfiger.

Temperley, a London-based ready-to-wear brand launched in 2000, was one of the lead participants in the shows. A spokesperson of the store said: “We were delighted to have participated at the Fashion Catwalk show at The Dubai Mall. It was a great success and the store’s footfall has increased significantly. We have had customers visit the store requesting a specific outfit seen on the catwalk. The Fashion Catwalk has helped us reach our target audience in a very creative way.”

The upcoming Fashion Catwalk shows will be held during the Festival@The Dubai Mall from 5pm to 9pm at the Fashion Avenue, located on the ground floor of the mall.

Fashion Catwalk Drives Sale Of Fashionwear At Festival@The Dubai Mall

Thousands of fashion enthusiasts have visited the 20-meter long hydraulic Fashion Catwalk at The Dubai Mall since its opening last week with the weekend fashion shows driving sale of fashionwear at the retail outlets.

The fashion shows being hosted on the Catwalk include elaborate displays of high-street fashion and brands including Top Shop, Guess Jeans, Diesel, ALDO and Reiss as well as children’s brands such as Gap, Jacardi Paris, and Tommy Hilfiger, to name a few.

Top Shop, Top Man and Aldo were among the brands that participated in the first weekend of shows at the newly launched state-of-the-art Catwalk. Ivy Inza, Store Manager of Top Shop/Top Man said: “We are delighted to be one the first brands to participate in the Fashion Catwalk shows. We displayed 24 outfits for Top Shop and an additional 12 outfits from Top Man. We have already received interest from customers asking for the same outfits that were displayed. It is a fantastic way to drive sales.”

ALDO provided the Fashion Catwalk models with the latest collection of accessories, and men’s and women’s shoes. Kabrndra Sapkota, Store Manager of ALDO said: “The initiative is the first of its kind in the region. We displayed a wide selection of shoes including flip flop, wedges, sport and ballerina, as well as accessories including handbags. This is an innovative approach that provides us with the ideal opportunity to showcase our collection of shoes and accessories and gives customers a great shopping experience.”

The Fashion Catwalk shows are being held for consecutive weekends throughout the Festival@The Dubai Mall (May 14 to 15 and May 22 to 23) from 5pm to 9pm at the Fashion Avenue, located on the ground floor of The Dubai Mall.

Dubai’s First Dedicated In-Mall Fashion Catwalk Is A Technological Marvel

Dubai’s first dedicated in-mall Fashion Catwalk that opened at The Dubai Mall recently leverages the latest advances in engineering and multimedia technologies to assure a spectacular audio-visual experience. The ring-system steel work of the catwalk is the first-of-its-kind in the world.

A five-section raising and lowering steel structure, the 20-metre long hydraulic Fashion Catwalk has a fan-shaped triple deck unit with internal stairs, a square deck and three rectangular decks.

All of these are fitted to lift units that work on vertical chain technology. The top and audience sides of all sections are covered with 25 mm full-colour LED panels that have been custom-made to fit the design of the structure.

Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The Fashion Catwalk has been envisaged to complement the Fashion Avenue, a 440,000 sq ft dedicated precinct for haute couture. As the first of its kind in-mall fashion ramp, it has been designed and developed to host world-class fashion events.”

More than 20 highly qualified engineers, riggers and technicians were involved in building the ring system in the mall. The total load of the system is over 183 tonnes and spans an overall area of 156 sq m.

The top-surface of the units are covered in triple ply tempered and laminated glass with anti-skid coating, and all gaps between the moving sections are less than 6 mm to prevent possible tripping of stiletto heels worn by fashion models.

The catwalk can be used for fashion shows or for product displays, with the operator having the option of elevating the decks to facilitate the launch of even automobiles in a revolving setting. The decks can also be used to create a stair or podium like arrangement.

The entire proceedings can be controlled from a central multimedia control room. For larger promotions, additional systems can be integrated with the permanent light and sound system.

As part of the Festival@The Dubai Mall, the Fashion Catwalk is hosting shows over the weekends (May 14 to 15 and May 22 to 23) from 5pm to 9pm. Fashion Avenue at The Dubai Mall can be accessed from the overpass bridge off Sheikh Zayed Road and from P3, from Burj Dubai Boulevard.

Dubai’s Haute Couture Hotspot, The Fashion Avenue Opens At The Dubai Mall

Adding colour, verve and haute couture appeal to its ongoing shopping and entertainment festival, The Dubai Mall has opened its dedicated Fashion Avenue, a 440,000 sq ft area dedicated to high-fashion. Fashion Avenue will be a centrepoint of activities during the Festival@The Dubai Mall, currently being organised until May 29, 2009.As the high-fashion hot-spot of Dubai, Fashion Avenue will eventually house over 70 signature or flagship stores, several of which are debuting in the Middle East region. Among the outlets already open at Fashion Avenue are: Jimmy Choo, Missoni, Zadig & Voltaire, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gautier, Burberry, Loewe Emilio Pucci, Chloe, Stella McCartney, Escada, Brioni, Alexander McQueen, Temperley, Roberto Cavalli and Valentino.The Dubai Mall will also launch a 20-meter long hydraulic Fashion Catwalk, which will be an anchor point for fashion retailers to showcase their collection and the world’s leading designers to display their latest in designs. Latest fashions from the world’s top designers including Missoni, Hugo Boss, Mulberry and Temperley and will be on display.The fashion shows will include elaborate displays of high-street fashion and brands including Top Shop, Guess Jeans, Diesel and Reiss as well as children’s brands including Gap, Jacardi Paris, and Tommy Hilfiger to name a few. The Fashion Catwalk shows will be held for three consecutive weekends (May 7 to 9; 14 to 15; and 22 to 23) from 5pm to 9pm at the Fashion Avenue, located on the ground floor.A VIP entrance, with a dedicated drop off area and valet parking service, leads visitors into the most prestigious area – the Fashion Avenue atrium – which will feature some of the world’s most exclusive and coveted designer brands including Chanel, Gucci, Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hermes, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Lanvin and Fendi. The signature stores vary in size from 5,100 to over 9,000 sq ft marking the largest regional outlets for some of these brands.  Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said: “Fashion Avenue is an innovative approach by The Dubai Mall to elevate the overall shopping experience. Nowhere else in the Middle East will you be able to find such a collection of the world’s top brands under one roof. Fashion Avenue is indeed a one stop destination for industry trend setters and fashion enthusiasts.”He added: “By hosting the largest collection of signature and flagship stores all available in a dedicated precinct we are ensuring that high end fashion aficiondas can source their favourite and coveted brands at the mall. If a unique or limited edition piece is available in Dubai, The Dubai Mall will be the place to find it.”Fashion Avenue at The Dubai Mall can be accessed from the overpass bridge off Sheikh Zayed Road and from P3, from Burj Dubai Boulevard.KidZania®, an 80,000 sq ft innovative children’s ‘edu-tainment’ concept; SEGA Republic, a 76,000 sq ft high adrenaline indoor theme park; and a 22-screen Cineplex REEL Cinema, the largest in Dubai are also set to open within The Dubai Mall this year. More than 900 retail stores including 160 F&B outlets are already open, of which several are flagship stores or Middle East debuts of global brands. The mall will also feature two anchor department stores – Galeries Lafayette and Bloomingdale’s.