Eastwave Concept: pop-up e-store dedicated to supporting Mena designers returns

Eastwave Concept, the regional virtual fashion pop-up, is coming back for a second season.

On September 18, the e-store returns and this time it's called Hit Refresh, showcasing men and women's clothing, accessories and jewellery from designers from the Mena region.

Eastwave Concept was founded by Dubai resident Judy Daghestani, who also established Curated Today, alongside Dana Mortada, the brains behind the Los Angeles company Fashion Collective LA.

The pair have combined their industry knowledge to create an e-commerce site to, as they explain, “support and cultivate a family of unique yet like-minded talents, who share passion for their Eastern designs”.

Promoting designers that are proud to come from the Arab world, the pair use marketing expertise to help engage a global audience, leaning on e-commerce strategies to introduce brands to new markets.

The site will showcase the work of 15 emerging and established names, including Aleil handbags from Egyptian Leila Abo Tira, and the Lebanese ready-to-wear brand Blue For Burgundy, and Pearls And Rubies, which crafts slick women’s tailoring in jewel colours.

Jewellery is offered via Fyne, which uses lab-grown diamonds with 18K gold, and Laien, a brand that creates adaptable and changeable pieces.

FforFarah, meanwhile, transforms materials such as eggshells into limited-edition earrings in a rainbow of colours.

The first virtual pop-up by Eastwave Concept was hosted in August 2020, supporting the work of 16 Mena designers.

For the second round, it supports a new tranche of talent. However, there are also some that will appear twice. One is Jeux de Mains, from Lebanon, which creates boisterous ready-to-wear around the idea that “living without colour is like loving without love”, and the UAE talent Zaid by Zaid Farouki, who hand paints each one of his dresses.