Event Description: Fashion Revolution Week UAE 2023: Championing Sustainability and Ethical Practices in the Fashion Industry

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement unites to promote transparency, sustainability, and ethical practices in the global fashion industry.

Fashion Revolution Week 2023 will focus on these three key manifesto points:

1. Fashion respects culture and heritage, fostering skills and craftsmanship, and never appropriates without giving due credit or permission.


2. Fashion stands for solidarity, inclusiveness, and democracy, championing diversity as crucial for success.


3. Fashion is mindful of waste, repairing, reusing, recycling, and upcycling to prevent overflowing wardrobes and landfills.

Date: April 24th to April 29th

Throughout the week, Fashion Revolution UAE will host various events, panel discussions, workshops, and even a catwalk.

April 24: Online Panel (5:30 PM) – “Fashion for all by all. Can fashion become a force for good?” Araceli Gallego, Fashion Revolution UAE Country Coordinator and founder of Goshopia will moderate a panel with Ameni Esseibi- a plus-size model, Jen Sault from Thrift for Good, and Theresa Tsui from Skills3.



April 25: Online Panel Discussion (5:30 PM) – “What goes around comes around: Circularity in fashion” where Armelle Montmayeur will open the floor to discover the many possibilities with Sylvia Calvo, Angana Maheshwari from Veganologie, Albane Anderson from MyJoliBump, and Salima Alaoui from Upsclusive.



April 26: Online Panel Discussion (5:30 PM) – “Cultural Appreciation vs Cultural Appropriation” with Araceli Gallego, Dr Reem El Mutwalli from The Zay Zay: (Arabic: costume, Pl. azyaā’), a set of clothes in a style typical of a particular country or historical period. Initiative, Inocenta Sanchez- Ewart -Anthropologist & Cultural Awareness Consultant,  Reiting Lee, and Yasmin Barakat from The Oriental Oriental: (Latin and Late Middle English Adjective: orientalis – From Orient; from Latin (noun): oriri – to rise; and oriors – East), anything of an Eastern origin in relationship to Europe – Asia. The word was first used in the context of territorialization between the late 3rd and early 4th Century CE.  Hybrid.



April 27: Online Masterclass (5:30 PM) – “Caring for your clothes“. Learn how to care for your clothes and make them last longer with Armelle Montmayeur, Marie Sulebi from Tidynest, Olivia Bou Antoun from Because we care, and Asmaa Lahlou from Authentik Spoon.



April 28: Online Brainstorming (5:30 PM) – “Building the agenda on the road to COP28“. Let’s have a collective brainstorm to express what the community and civil society expect and want for the coming COP28, what problems concern us, and what solutions we need to be implemented. Do you want to share something? Join us. It is open to everyone. Let’s drive change together!



Meet our speakers!

✅ Dr Reem El Mutwalli, founder of thezayinitiative, is a published author with over 40 years of experience in art and cultural heritage. She has invested in a collection of historic dress over the course of the past decades. The Zay Zay: (Arabic: costume, Pl. azyaā’), a set of clothes in a style typical of a particular country or historical period. Initiative aims to promote an understanding of the evolution of regional culture, building up public awareness and appreciation of this unique heritage, and reaching out to like-minded individuals and institutions nationally, regionally, and globally.

✅ Reiting Lee @reitinglee , founder of theorientalhybrid , is a Taiwanese intercultural marketing & media consultant who has studied, worked and lived in 13 countries across 6 continents. Her expertise includes transdisciplinary design, trend forecasting, multicultural marketing strategy, and multilingual communication. With a degree in Environmental Design and training in people-to-people diplomacy, she has been working in the sustainable fashion scene since 2016 - currently focusing on bridging the Chinese and Arabic speaking regions

✅ Yasmin Barakat curlseverywhere is an intercultural communication and a strategic foresight expert from the UAE. Born in Japan, raised in the UAE, with Egyptian heritage and now living in Germany. It was only natural with this colourful background that she sparks an interest in communication across cultures. She has worked in international advertising agencies (such as TBWA, and Dentsu), Abu Dhabi Ministry of Interior, and New York University Abu Dhabi followed by completing an MA in Sustainability in Fashion & Creative Industries from AMD Akademie Mode & Design in Berlin.

View the recorded session of April 26, Online Panel Discussion: "Cultural Appreciation vs Cultural Appropriation", here