Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition (Heya), Qatar’s leading platform for contemporary Arabian fashion creations, has opened its doors to the public. The exhibition that began on October 27 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), ends on Tuesday.

Heya showcases authentic Arabian fashion designs of abayas, kaftans, veils, jalabiyas, shaylas, and evening gowns with over 220 booths from high level designers. Playing an increasingly important role in supporting Qatari businesswomen and entrepreneurs, Heya has attracted its largest number of home grown talents to participate in this year’s edition including Al Motahajiba, Debaj, Al Dukan and Ckali.

The opening of the exhibition follows a series of tours by the organising team including going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait for the very first Heya fashion forum outside of Qatar. This has resulted in an increased number of regional designers taking part. Visitors have the opportunity to see the latest collections from M2me by Maali Alsaleh, Naseem Alandaos, Butterfly Abaya and Ghudfah, amongst many more.

Heya is now attracting increasing international attention with brands such as Asiyam Australia from Australia, Fazzali from Egypt, French Oriental from France, Indian brands Nirraamyaa and Paridhi, Doris Dorothea from Indonesia, Turkish brands Ecem Bocam, Rafine Istanbul and Lale Deuri, as well as Marina Qureshi and Amirab from the United Kingdom.

“The Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition is no doubt the strongest and the biggest fashion exhibition in Qatar, and our vision now is to achieve the title of being the number one fashion platform in the region. It offers a unique fashion platform with many marketing, positioning and branding opportunities available to Qatari and regional designers, both new and established. Heya also provides a wonderful opportunity for international designers to test the market in the GCC. We are proud to say that visitors can expect a complete Arabian fashion experience from Heya. Our long term objective is to help play a key role in Qatar’s journey to becoming a global hub for international conferences and exhibitions,” said Jawaher al-Kuwari, Head of Advisory Committee for organizers Design Creationz.

Besides the presence of fashion enthusiasts, designers, industry experts, and visitors , there will be five forums which focus on the fashion industry and the ways in which female entrepreneurs can develop their business. Additionally, there are workshops and forums with brands participating from regional countries including Debaj from Qatar, My Boutique by Sahar Al Hamoud from Kuwait and Naseem Alandalos from Bahrain.

In line with Qatar’s cultural traditions, Heya is a female only event and visitors should be aged 13 and over. The exhibition is free for visitors throughout.