DUBAI: Dubai-based designer Alina Anwar, founder of Alina Anwar Couture, this week appeared on a digital billboard in Times Square, New York.
Well known for dressing celebrities in Hollywood and Bollywood, including Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kareena Kapoor and Idina Menzel, Anwar has expanded her reach internationally with her gowns and suits.
The billboard featured Anwar, who is famous for her structured silhouettes and feminine designs, wearing a red sequined skirt from her own collection, accompanied by her brand’s statement: “My aim is to empower women through powerful dressing and to set them on a path of personal freedom and possibilities.”
In a statement she said: “I created this brand to empower women, to make them feel confident, unstoppable and seen. To have that vision now broadcast in Times Square is surreal, but it’s also just the beginning.”
Anwar’s brand is a luxury eveningwear label that creates gowns and tea-length dresses using contemporary couture techniques and French finishing. The brand’s pieces feature fine fabrics and detailed tailoring, and are made in the UAE.
In 2019, her work gained global attention when US singer Mariah Carey wore one of her designs in a remake of the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” music video, released to mark the song’s 25th anniversary. Carey wore a pine green, fully sequined, long-sleeved cocktail dress with a scooped neckline, designed by Anwar.
“I hope to see more and more Hollywood stars wear my brand and as a Dubai-based fashion label, I am so overwhelmed by the trust that they are giving me. I am here to advocate UAE-made products (that) are world-class,” Anwar said at the time.
Anwar is not the only regional figure to appear on a Times Square billboard.
Several Arab artists have featured in recent years.
Egyptian singer Amr Diab became the first Arab musical artist to appear on a Spotify billboard in Times Square in 2019.
Since then, others have followed, including Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, who was featured in December as part of Spotify Arabia’s “EQUAL” campaign spotlighting female artists from the region.
