Luxury street fashion brand launches in Dubai

The designer launched Extremedy in Dubai. (Extremedy)
Updated 13 March 2019
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Luxury street fashion brand launches in Dubai

  • The designs aim to empower their wearers
  • The designer hopes to open boutiques in several international locations

DUBAI: Ripped, embroidered and embellished — these are the trademarks of a brand new street-wear brand by Moroccan-born designer Madi Abaida, which recently launched in Dubai.

The label, named Extremedy, can be described as edgy street wear and aims to foster “indulgent self-expression,” according to the website.

Abaida said she wants people to feel powerful when they wear her clothes.

“I want to push women, especially Arab women, to be number one. If a woman has something to say, she should say it,” she said.

The inspiration behind the current collection is the designer’s own strong personality.

“I like being independent, making my own money, (I’m) self-made you can say,” Abaida said.

The brand’s name, Extremedy, is derived from her own extreme personality, she added.

She started drawing when she was five-years-old and her interest in the art of fashion grew over time.

Before starting her own brand in Italy, Abaida worked as a professional model in Europe for 10 years. This background developed her taste in fashion and allowed her to learn more about the industry.

“I don’t believe in luck, I believe you can reach (your goals) if you work hard,” Abaida noted, referring to her go-getter spirit and work ethic.

Starting a new brand takes times and requires resources, so Abaida had to wait until she had enough of both to launch Extremedy.

In the future, she plans to open boutiques in several international hubs and she isn’t keeping her dreams small.

“Since (the brand) is Italian, the first (boutique) should be in Milan, then Dubai, New York and London,” Abaida said.

The Autumn/Winter 2019-20 collection features a number of pieces, with the brand’s signature “1980” motif and bold inscriptions.

The designer hopes that one day she will be able to dress Rihanna and Cardi B.


Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

Updated 27 January 2026
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Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

  • Rihanna and Brigitte Macron among attendees at show
  • Design part of new director Jonathan Anderson’s vision

DUBAI/ PARIS: Model Mona Tougaard reportedly turned heads in a bridal-inspired look on the Christian Dior runway during the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.

The runway star, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, wore a sculptural white gown with a one-shoulder silhouette and layered petal-like appliques cascading from the bodice to the full skirt.

The asymmetrical bodice featured draped detailing across the torso, while the skirt flared into a voluminous, floor-length shape.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

The look was finished with oversized floral statement earrings that echoed the dress’s petal motif.

The floral elements echoed the wider vision of Dior’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson, who drew inspiration from nature and his love of ceramics for his first Haute Couture collection since being appointed to the role.

The 41-year-old faces the rare challenge of overseeing all three fashion lines at the house — women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture — becoming the first designer to do so since Christian Dior himself.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Just days after presenting his latest men’s collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the Northern Irish designer returned with his first couture offering.

The collection featured floral motifs on fabrics or as accessories, while sculptural bulbous dresses were inspired by the work of Kenya-born ceramicist Magdelene Odundo.

“When you copy nature, you always learn something,” Anderson declared in his show notes, which compared Haute Couture to a living ecosystem that is “evolving, adapting, enduring.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Other noteworthy pieces included dresses with spherical birdcage-inspired silhouettes, while other models wore vest tops with their dresses gathered around their waists.

The front row at the Rodin Museum reflected the scale of anticipation surrounding Anderson’s couture debut. France’s first lady Brigitte Macron arrived early, while Lauren Sanchez Bezos swept in shortly after.

Actor Parker Posey twirled briefly in a trench-style dress, playing to the room before settling in.

Then the space fell into a collective pause as celebrities and editors alike waited for Rihanna. When the pop star finally took her seat, the lights dropped and the show began.

Before the show, Anderson admitted in an interview with the Business of Fashion website that he previously thought couture was “irrelevant,” adding that he never really “understood the glamour behind it.”

“Now, I feel like I’m doing a Ph.D. in couture,” he explained.