Not Just A Label teams up with Dubai Design District

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 to support emerging designers in UAE

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