Like all the best ideas, the thinking behind the recently launched Fashtory app – created by Saudi national Alanoud Al Mubarak – is incredibly simple.
A keen traveller, Al Mubarak enjoyed sourcing new designers wherever she went, but became frustrated with endless scrolling through the internet for ideas and suggestions. Conversations with friends confirmed she was not the only one struggling to find emerging designers. It then occurred to her that others might be trying to get in touch with start-up designers in her home country, too.
The result? A single, coherent platform to connect fashion and accessory designers the world over to would-be customers. "I created Fashtory out of a genuine desire to help fashion lovers across the world connect with local designers when travelling," Al Mubarak explains. "I wanted to make the process of sourcing and connecting with designers abroad as easy as possible for busy women like me, and the app does exactly that."
Free to download and join, the Fashtory app is an online directory of fashion, accessories, shoe and jewellery designers, with locations and contact details, plus an online gallery or portfolio to browse through. Interested shoppers, stylists, buyers and stockists can search the app by category and country, and then make direct contact. Designed to act purely as a directory, the site is non-transactional, meaning it does not handle sales, so there are none of the pressures to spend so often found on third-party sites.
Travellers can access new labels in cities even before they board a plane. Crucially, the app offers start-up brands access to a global audience. As Al Mubarak explains: “It gives designers access to a huge network of interested buyers, and in markets they might not have been able to reach before.” With direct-to-designer contact, customers can be kept up to date about sales and new arrivals, all of which can be shared easily with friends.
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Despite having only been up and running for such a short time, Fashtory already operates across 26 countries from Azerbaijan and Brazil, to Canada, China, South Korea, Sweden and the United States, providing a unique way to connect with new talent around the world. There are three shoe labels and 67 fashion brands to browse through, including an impressive 52 brands from this region (with 17 from the UAE alone), which is enough to keep even the most demanding fashion follower busy.
With market researchers Forrester Analytics predicting that, in the US alone, consumers are expected to spend Dh433 billion via smartphone purchases in 2018; and with China already purchasing 50 per cent of its clothes online, it seems Al Mubarak’s timing is immaculate.
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Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
HEADLINE HERE
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Najem Al Rwasi, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
The five pillars of Islam
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