Abu Dhabi Fashion Week was created by Maven Corporate Ltd as part of the initiatives underway to develop in the United Arab Emirates a new centre for the fashion industry in the region. In this process, Maven has formed an alliance with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (the organizers of Milan Fashion Week) to develop the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week into a glamorous, business driven international event.

In a unique step for the region, the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week will form part of the international fashion calendar alongside the fashion weeks in New York, London, Milano and Paris.

It takes someone from the fashion industry to put a country on the map of international fashion. In the UAE, that mantle has fallen on the shoulders of Dr Alice Teeuwen, partner in Maven Corporate Ltd and the founder of Abu Dhabi Fashion Week.

Originally from Germany, Alice Teeuwen has been associated with the fashion industry for 17 years. She has worked across the entire value chain of fashion industry, in such fashion centres as UK, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles. About four years back she came here, a place where she likes to say, "You may hang your heart on."

About three and half years back, Maven Corporate was founded, a company with offices in the UAE, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Brussels. Maven specialises in the fashion, apparel, textiles industry, and its services focus on design, branding, marketing, retailing, sourcing and investment. Maven works extensively with international and regional brands and retailers to assist them in expanding their operations into new markets and in creating the new structures, alliances and processes which allow them to do this in an optimal fashion.

Abu Dhabi Fashion Week was created to serve the Arab World.

The Launch of the Abu Dhabi Fashion Week brought bring together regional and international businessmen along with top international designers, models and VIP's, for a week long extravaganza of fashion.

Commenting on this event Maven announced: "The fashion industry in the Arab World and the surrounding markets represents an enormously exciting market: fresh, innovative, diverse and demanding! The Abu Dhabi Fashion Week will help to create a forum to release this creativity and potential. We think this event will mark the beginning of a new era in the fashion industry in the region".

Audiences for the event included Buyers, Brand Representatives, Distributors, Retailers, Celebrities and Royalty alongside international TV and media and other dedicated followers of fashion.

Announced sponsors for the event include Emirates Palace Hotel and ALDAR Properties.