Canadian University Dubai Showcases Cross Cultural Designs at Hong Kong Fashion Gala

The School of Architecture and Interior Design at Canadian University Dubai has taken centre stage at the Chinese Culture Festival, presenting design innovation from Dubai City Walk to the international fashion scene. As a member of the Silk Road Universities Network and at the invitation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University joined participants to explore themes reflecting diverse cultural contexts through fashion design.

The initiative brought together creative institutions and cultural communities from more than 30 countries and regions, positioning Canadian University Dubai within a global dialogue on design, identity, and cultural exchange.

Collaboration Transforms Architecture into Wearable Archives

In collaboration with international artist Charlie Koolhaas, faculty from Canadian University Dubai developed a series of garments that build upon Koolhaas’ ongoing Foto Couture project. The designs transformed elements of the built environment into wearable archives, with two outfits selected as the creative medium for the Belt and Road Fashion Gala held in Hong Kong.

Bridging memory, heritage, and visual storytelling, the designs reflect the University’s ethos as a global hub for innovative and interdisciplinary design education.

Cross cultural fashion designs by CUD at Belt and Road Fashion Gala — The designs transformed elements of the built environment into wearable archives, with two outfits serving as the creative medium for the Belt & Road Fashion Gala

Reflected Futures Explores Cultural Identity Through the Abaya

The first design, titled Reflected Futures The Sheikh Zayed Line, reimagines the modern abaya, a defining symbol of cultural identity. The design pays tribute to the garment’s enduring significance, representing dignity, continuity, and heritage, while acknowledging its aesthetic evolution across generations.

Printed with Charlie Koolhaas’ photograph of Dubai’s Al Attar Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road, the garment transforms architecture into an embodied repository of memory. The tower, emblematic of early 2000s postmodern Dubai, marks a moment when global modernism began to merge with regional expression. Its mirrored façade and golden cylindrical forms reflect the city’s ambition while softening imported geometries through local sensibility.

The Irrigated Desert Blends Chinese and Emirati Traditions

The second design, The Irrigated Desert, draws inspiration from the Chinese qipao, a garment rooted in refinement and cultural tradition. The outfit features Koolhaas’ photograph of irrigated desert plants in Dubai, depicted as geometric fields of green sustained by drip feed systems.

The imagery reflects water’s central role in shaping life in the UAE, from ancient falaj irrigation to contemporary technological networks. Transferred onto silk satin, the photograph becomes a metaphor for hybridity, linking desert cultivation with the qipao’s history of cultural reinvention. References to Chinese silk traditions and medicinal knowledge merge with Emirati ingenuity in arid survival.

Academic and creative dialogue across disciplines

Reflecting on the interdisciplinary nature of the collaboration, artist Charlie Koolhaas said, “This collaboration offered me the opportunity to cross-pollinate my practice in photography, architecture, and fashion within a design-focused academic context, where Dubai’s built environment and wearable forms converge to position heritage as an active driver of innovation.”

Dean Massimo Imparato highlighted the broader impact of the initiative, stating,

“The Belt & Road Fashion Gala exemplified the global perspective that defines our School. The dialogue between UAE national and international participants enriched the project with a spectrum of cultural insight and creative intelligence. Engaging in initiatives of this scale is essential to shaping globally minded designers and strengthening our identity as a cross-disciplinary platform where academia and industry converge to drive the future of design innovation.”

CUD architecture and fashion collaboration in Hong Kong — Canadian University Dubai designs showcased at Hong Kong Fashion Gala

Design, Technology, and Storytelling in Practice

Arash Behforooz, Creative Designer in the Marketing and Communications Department, supported the team throughout the design process, translating Charlie Koolhaas’ concepts into clear visual directions during selection and project development.

“My background in architecture and interior design helped me interpret complex ideas quickly, with AI-enabled workflows. This project shows how design, technology, and cultural storytelling can come together to shape new creative possibilities,” he concluded.

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