CRYSTALLIZED™ – glamour in the city travels to The Dubai Mall

Cutting-edge couture with a metropolitan flavour sparkles in fashion avenue as part of DSF 2010 celebrations

CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements is staging a glittering exhibition of gorgeous haute couture gowns from 4th -13th February 2010 at Fashion Avenue, The Dubai Mall, Dubai. Specially created by leading designers and branding partners from UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the CRYSTALLIZED™ – Glamour in the City collection draws inspiration from the contemporary fashion scene in some of the world’s most famous cities. This major creative collaboration, destined to spark the imagination of designers and visitors alike, beautifully illustrates the poetry and magnetism of crystal-embellished pieces.

CRYSTALLIZED™ – Glamour in the City, one of the main highlights of the 15th Edition of Dubai Shopping Festival this year, is conceived as a celebration of international fashion-forward couture, with ten opulent gowns inspired by vibrant metropolitan cultures around the globe reaching as far as Dubai, Miami, Paris, Rio De Janeiro and six other throbbing urban heartlands that capture the essence of these places.

Continuing its long-held tradition of working with the greatest fashion talents around the world, CRYSTALLIZED™ invited ten renowned branding partners and designers from the Middle East region to conjure the glamorous, one-off creations for the initiative. The resulting show pieces, from Ahmed Al Reyaysa by Dar Sara Fashion, Sohad Acouri, Ezra, Fatima Abid, Awatif Al Hai, Arushi Design Team, Walid Attalah, Ziad Antoun, Amato by Furne One and Michael Cinco, marry unique interpretations of haute couture with the brilliance of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements. On the opening day on Feb 4, media and guests had the opportunity to meet the designers themselves, as well as to explore their elegantly lavish work.

About CRYSTALLIZEDâ„¢ – Swarovski Elements

In 1895, Daniel Swarovski I, a Bohemian inventor and visionary, moved to the village of Wattens, Tyrol in Austria, with his newly-invented machine for cutting and polishing crystal jewellery stones. From an auspicious beginning that revolutionised the fashion world, Swarovski has grown to be the world’s leading producer of precision-cut crystal for fashion, jewellery and more recently lighting, architecture and interiors. Today, the company, still based in Wattens, family-owned and run by fourth and fifth generation family members, has a global reach, with some 26,000 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a turnover in 2008 of 2.52 billion Euros. Swarovski comprises two major businesses, one producing and selling loose elements to the industry and the other creating design-driven finished products. Swarovski crystal components, known by their product brand name CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements for fashion, and incorporating STRASS® Swarovski® Crystal for architecture and light, have become an essential creative ingredient in international design. Since 1965 the company has also catered to the fine jewellery industry with precision-cut genuine and created gemstones, and in April 2008 it strengthened this relationship by revitalising and renaming the product brand ENLIGHTENEDTM – Swarovski Elements. Reflecting the creativity that lies at the heart of the company, Swarovski’s own-brand lines of accessories, jewellery and home décor are sold through more than 1,600 retail outlets in all major fashion capitals. The exclusive Daniel Swarovski accessories collection has meanwhile become the company’s couture signature. The Swarovski Crystal Society has close to 350.000 members worldwide, keen collectors of the company’s celebrated crystal figurines. In 1995, Swarovski opened its multimedia crystal museum Swarovski Kristallwelten in Wattens to celebrate its ceaseless dedication to innovation and inspiration. The Swarovski corporation also includes Tyrolit®, which manufactures grinding tools, Swareflex, which makes road safety reflectors, and Swarovski Optik, producer of precision optical instruments.