Dubai: The busy Cosmos Lane of Meena Bazaar was transformed into a large Indian wedding celebration on Monday with models walking down the walkways in extravagant Indian wedding ensembles as part of the 21st Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).
The main artery of Bur Dubai’s shopping district, a favourite destination for South Asian shoppers and famous for garments and textiles, jewellery and tailoring shops, turned into a giant ramp for a glamorous bridal fashion show highlighting traditional Indian wedding rituals.
Hundreds of shoppers gathered to watch the street show in the middle of the busy street full of honking traffic and active shoppers as a wedding band and dancers took to the road followed by models wearing three sets of collections presented by fashion houses.
The sound of the dhol (a double-ended barrel drum) players could be heard from a distance, giving a feel of a typical Indian wedding procession (also called the baraat).
As models walked down the street the crowds couldn’t stop snapping pictures and taking videos.
The procession was complete with dancers performing the bhangra as the dhol players beat their drums and flowers were strewn by the flower bearers on the street. The show-stopper was the bride and groom fully garlanded as per wedding tradition, walking under a canopy of draping marigold festoons.
This was the third and final DSF ‘Street Runway’, which moved high-end fashion into the streets of Dubai. It was organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM),
The whole experience displayed the best of style, as part of the Apparel and Fashion theme of DSF 2016.
DFRE had worked with the fashion houses to create an appealing concept that would showcase the very best of South Asian bridal wear, specifically catering to India and Pakistan, and also serve as a reminder that Meena Bazaar has and will always be the South Asian Fashion couture centre of Dubai. Hence Meena Bazaar was chosen to be one of the picturesque locations for the ‘Street Runways’, besides Al Fahidi and the Burj Plaza, Downtown Dubai.
Despite Dubai’s expansion over the decades, a majority of Indian and Pakistani expatriates still do most of their shopping for wedding trousseaus in Meena Bazaar, which makes it a vibrant and busy area every day of the week.
DSF 2016 runs until February 1 under the tagline ‘Unwrap The Exceptional’, offering residents and visitors the opportunity to experience the best in shopping, winnings and entertainment.
