QTA chairman Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi opening the exhibition by turning a handcrafted
sand-timer filled with precious stones. PICTURES: Jayan Orma

The seventh edition of the Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition, Qatar’s leading women’s fashion event organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) in co-operation with Design Creationz, is on at the Doha Exhibition Centre until Monday.
QTA chairman Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi inaugurated the event on Wednesday. Entry today is restricted to women and spouses. On other days, entry is only for women between 1pm and 10pm.
The opening, attended by a number of officials, dignitaries and designers from across the region, was marked by the symbolic turning of a handcrafted sand-timer filled with precious stones, specially designed for the occasion and in line with the Arabian Desert theme dominating this year’s Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition.
The 7,500sqm hall in the venue has been transformed into an artistic space covered in golden sand-like carpets inspired by Arabian scenes. The boutique stands are drawn up with Mashrabiya designs with a dominant influence of traditional oriental architecture.
The opening ceremony featured an exclusive fashion show by Debaj, a prominent Qatari luxury brand, and Omaymah Azzouz, an up and rising Saudi designer. The designers revealed their latest Ramadan collection of abayas and jalabiyas on a 22m desert themed catwalk.
Set as the region’s largest Arabian fashion exhibition, the seventh edition of Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition is expected to welcome more than 30,000 visitors from Qatar and across the region.
The event is featuring 337 fashion brands, with the largest participation coming from Qatar with 104 designers, in addition to 44 designers coming from the UAE, 35 designers from Saudi Arabia, 56 designers from Bahrain, 53 designers from Kuwait and one designer from Oman.
Heya Exhibition is part of QTA’s plan to increase the number of visitors in Qatar by 20% in the next five years. The meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions sector (MICE) constitutes a crucial part of the growing tourism industry in Qatar and benefits from the full support of QTA.
“The seventh edition of Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition is a quantum leap this year, as a major competition was organised to select a private sector bidder to be an organising partner, a competition that was won by Design Creationz,” said Hamad al-Abdan, director of exhibitions at QTA.
“Through events such as Heya Exhibition, the conference and exhibitions sector has the potential to attract a significant number of tourists and visitors from Qatar, the region and beyond. A thriving MICE sector contributes to the long-term sustainable development of the tourism and hospitality infrastructure”, he added.
In an effort to increase the participation of mid-market and niche brands, the exhibition has introduced different categories of boutique spaces ranking form Silver to Platinum. This year’s edition of Heya includes customised boutiques, among which 51 are Platinum, 103 Gold, 129 Silver and 54 Shell Scheme.
The exhibition will also feature two exclusive fashion shows daily. The themes of the remaining shows are Desert Wind Night, Desert Rose Night, Desert Dune Night and 1001 Nights.