Independent emerging designer platform Not Just A Label (NJAL) is
partnering with Dubai Design District to help “drive innovation in retail
and support creative minds” across the region.
The strategic partnership will see Not Just A Label’s global platform of
designers connecting with Dubai Design District and the region, as well as
allowing the Not Just A Label to reach emerging Middle Eastern designers
who are looking to reach a global audience. In return, Dubai Design
District, the creative, retail and leisure designation known as D3, will be
promoted through Not Just a Label’s editorial, digital and networking
opportunities, both regionally and internationally.
Dubai Design District, chief operating officer, Mohammad Saeed Al
Shehhi, said: “As we continue to develop d3 as a leader in nurturing and
supporting emerging regional talent, it makes perfect strategic sense to
partner with NJAL, a brand similarly renowned for driving and supporting
emerging creativity and designers.
“We are excited by the potential outcome of this partnership with NJAL,
not only in driving the Emirate’s ambition to be a global centre for design
and innovation but also in establishing the d3 brand within the
international design community.”
Not Just A Label founder and chief executive officer, Stefan Siegel,
added: “NJAL’s goal is to unite and champion some of the region’s top
creative talent that up until now, has been largely scattered. Our
partnership with d3 provides a definitive platform to build on this
initiative.”
The brand alignment will see both companies develop an e-commerce
platform to assist the region’s designers in reaching a global audience as
part of Dubai Design District’s ambition to nurture and enable emerging
talent.
The UAE is an established retail hub, which is expected to be valued at
over 53.7 billion dollars in 2016, according to the research firm
Euromonitor. Dubai Design District adds that it has seen an “increasing
demand for innovative, best in class, and unique retail concepts as the
consumer’s spending power grows, along with the region’s population and
local tourist numbers.”
Dubai Design District was designed to engage, inspire and enable
emerging talent, as well as provide a platform to showcase Arab creativity
to a larger, global audience. By 2018, it will feature a one million square
foot Creative Community, which will act as the site’s cultural epicentre,
inspiring emerging designers and artists, and attracting tourists to the
area. By 2019, it also plans to have a waterfront area, a 1.8km esplanade
running alongside the Dubai Creek, with international and design-led
hotels, boutique retail concept stores and an outdoor events space, as well
as a host of hospitality and leisure facilities.
Not Just A Label is the largest global network of contemporary
designers, featuring over 21,000 designers from 120 countries. It operates
both an e-commerce business and a consulting service for leading brands and
institutions.
Image: Not Just A Label