Hermès ‘Wanderland’ Announces Dubai as its Middle East Debut during Dubai Shopping Festival’s 21st Edition

• French luxury house’s unique exhibition to open to the public on 21^st Jan on Dubai Fountains
• DSF 2016 introduces new themed events and activities to visitors from across the globe

Organisers of the Dubai Shopping Festival today (22 December) announced details of some of the biggest attractions that are set to offer exceptional experiences to residents and visitors at the festival’s 21^st edition, which runs from 1 January to 1 February.  Working closely with partners DSF also introduced its four retail themes – Beauty, Gold & Jewellery, Apparel & Fashion and Perfume– that are aimed at encouraging innovative activations from malls and stores across the Emirate during DSF.

At a media gathering at Fortnum & Mason Café – The Dubai Mall, Saeed Mohammed Mesam Al Falasi, Director, Strategic Alliances Division of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), presented the themed line-up of events and activities for DSF 2016 that falls under the four themes for this year’s festival and what attractions shoppers can expect over the 21^st edition of DSF.

The highlight of the event was a surprise announcement by Hermès, the French luxury house, as they revealed that they will be bringing ‘Wanderland’, a unique exhibition that has one part fashion installation and one part a show of artistic creativity, to the Middle East for the first time ever. The exhibition has been showcased in both London and Paris this year, with Dubai being the third stop for ‘Wanderland’.

DSF 2016 themed events fall under four umbrellas:

Beauty Theme:  1 – 7 January

Dubai Shopping Festival 2016 kicks off with the Beauty Theme dedicated to the beauty segment of Dubai’s retail sector.

Beauty District

2- 8 January, The Fashion Catwalk, The Dubai Mall

This is a purpose designed location that will satisfy all the shopaholics visiting Dubai. Retailers will be doing their own activations during the week in keeping with the beauty theme, with launches of products and lots of tutorials on how to get the most out of your makeup.

Gold and Jewellery Theme: 8 -14 January

The focus on Gold and Jewellery will see lots of international and regional celebrity visits and showcasing of international luxury jewellery brands. Retailers will carry out various activities to increase the visibility of the mega promotion that is being run by Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group during DSF with the participation of several gold and jewellery retailers.

Apparel & Fashion Theme: 15 – 25 January

Fashion Central

15 – 17 January, Mall of the Emirates

‘New to Dubai’ fashion brands and collections will be showcased at Fashion Central. One of the attractions of Fashion Central is Fashiontainment, which will bring a fusion of Fashion and Entertainment together to create a fashion show with musical performances by an international celebrity, and held in collaboration with a luxury retail brand.

Fashion Express

15- 16 January: Dubai Festival City Mall

22- 23 January: Ibn Battuta Mall

‘Fashion Express’ is a new in-mall concept that combines the very popular ‘flashmob’ with a ‘pop up’ concept to create an exclusive in-store event that not only entertains customers in the traditional common mall spaces but also drives footfall inside the stores.

Fashion On Ice

17 January, The Dubai Mall Ice Rink

The first ever interactive & dramatic fashion show projection on ice using  professional model/figure skaters – a first for the industry - showcasing avant-garde collections via a skating fashion show at The Dubai Mall Ice Rink.

Street Runways

Burj Plaza: 23 January

Meena Bazaar: 25 January

Al Fahidi: 18 January

This event will create a fashion scene that features landmarks as a canvas to showcase high-street fashion across three main districts in Dubai. This event creates 3 main runways using three key locations as the backdrop/stage, including: Burj Khalifa, Meena Bazaar and Al Fahidi District. Each fashion show will complement the area with the designs and fashion that the models will be wearing.

Perfume Theme:  26 January – 1 February

The flagship venue of the Perfume Theme is City Centre Mirdif’s “Central Galleria”, and most of the activities related to this theme will take place at MAF malls (City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Measem).

The Biggest Perfume Sampling

26 January – 1 February, MAF Malls and Dubai Airport (Terminal 1 & 3)

The opening day of DSF’s Perfume Theme on 26 January will witness a world-record breaking attempt - offering AED 1 million worth of perfume sampling. Some 200 personnel will be deployed to spray perfume all at the same time in “The Biggest Perfume Sampling” event.

Perfume Village

26 January – 1 February, City Centre Mirdif

A specially designed Perfume Village will be set up in Mirdif City Centre with lots of activations taking place throughout the week. A Main Stage will host influencers, celebrities and perfume experts, who will be holding an exhibition on perfumes, including how to mix ingredients and test sniff perfumes.

The surprise announcement for DSF Visitors – Hermès Wanderland in Dubai

As a surprise event during the Dubai Shopping Festival 2016 calendar of events , luxury French house Hermès will be bringing its unique exhibition, ‘Wanderland’ to the Middle East for the first time with Dubai being the third city in the world to host the astounding fashion and art installation, after London and Paris. ‘Wanderland’ is a Parisian revelry within the unexpected. A 'Flânerie' - the act of strolling that evokes Hermès' 2015 theme of the year.

Dubai Shopping Festival has worked in partnership with Hermès to bring this exhibition to life in a very unique location – The Dubai Mall’s Dubai Fountain - a fitting placement indeed for such an extraordinary event in the vicinity of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

The ‘Wanderland’ exhibition will be afloat across a 1000 square metre area, at the Dubai Fountain, The Dubai Mall next to Souk Al Bahar from 21st January till 6^th February.  Entry to the exhibition is free and it will be open to the public throughout its presence in Dubai.