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Delivering a killer show – and killer one-liners – at the recent three-day Fashion Forward event was one of Dubai’s best-loved designers, Essa Bhagoorwala. In this exclusive interview, the exuberant couturier, who was born and raised in the UAE, talks candidly about the local fashion scene, bloggers and Kanye West.

What are your thoughts on Season 3 of Fashion Forward?

Incredible. The theme is perfection. Everyone’s in the game. Every single person has participated and the city has really shown support and love. Now, nobody’s perfect – not me, not Fashion Forward or any fashion week. But the attempt is brilliant and there’s a seed of success that has been sowed here. I think it will grow into a very fruitful tree.

How is business for you?

Phenomenal. I have an audience that I’ve never had before.

Showing at a fashion week is not cheap. Do you see a return on your investment?

(Image: cheap formal dresses)

Yes – and more. Because you might not necessarily sell all the runway pieces, but your brand is advertised and positioned so well that you get an audience. It’s advertising. You familiarise yourself with people. So, for me, it has been a big change. We’re still a small company and we’re treading carefully, but when it comes to events like this we don’t hold back.

Did you manage to catch any of the other shows?

I caught all of the shows after mine, I didn’t miss a single one. It’s all about support. I love the other designers. I don’t compete with them, I complement them.

And all this rubbish about, “I want to sit in the front row because I’m important” is just pathetic. I’ve sat in row four for some of the shows and it’s a better view.

I feel the designer and their work should be the highlight, not the audience. Most of the people in row one are not spending money on my clothes and most of the journalists there are just doing a very mediocre job. They don’t know how to review correctly, they don’t have pens and papers, they are just Instagraming pictures for blogs. Bloggers are so 2010, they are so over. And really, unless you are someone like Kanye West, maybe only then can you demand row one.

So what do you make of Kanye West and his fashion ambitions?

I think he’s brilliant. Why? Because he’s aggressive, forthcoming and a breath of fresh air compared to all the “kissy, kissy darling” nonsense everywhere. Sometimes he can be obnoxious, but I like a bit of obnoxious sometimes. I don’t think a lot of people agree with me, but I like Kanye and I think good for him and Kim. They seem happy and that’s the most important thing in the world.

What are your thoughts on another pop star-turned-designer, Victoria Beckham?

I think she totally deserves the acclaim. She started out with Roland (Mouret) and yes, I can see his influence in her work, but I believe she’s taken it to another level. She has surpassed her master.

So formal training isn’t a must to make it in your book?

Of course not. Look at Nicolas Ghesquière, he was at Balenciaga for 15 years and is now (creative director for womenswear) at the biggest house of fashion outside of Chanel (Louis Vuitton). He wasn’t exactly sitting there throwing pink chiffon in the air.

Do you think Louis Vuitton is in safe hands with Ghesquière?

Vuitton is a disaster, period. For me, it’s not a clothes house, it’s a label house for bags. I saw his (Ghesquière) first collection because I wanted to see if he has the Marc (Jacobs) magic.

Read More: http://www.kissydressinau.com/formal-dresses-melbourne