THE SHOE’S ON THE OTHER FOOT: HOW DUBAI WORKWEAR IS NOW DICTATED BY ITS PEOPLE AFTER ‘HIPSTER’ REVOLUTION TRANSFORMED STAFF ATTIRE

The Dubai designer behind many of the city’s most iconic uniforms has revealed how hipster-led trends have revolutionised UAE workwear, rewriting the rules of professional attire.

David Sprakes, design and production manager at Dubai-based hospitality uniform manufacturers A. Ronai, has spent the last 23-years at the forefront of modern workwear, dreaming-up award-winning ensembles for the region’s leading airlines, and a catalogue of its most popular hotels and restaurants.

Pictured: David Sprakes, Design and Production Manager, A. Ronai

Across his tenure as one of Dubai’s most respected industry designers, he has observed and helped drive many significant culture shifts in the style, shape and shading of work outfits adorned by thousands of the city’s people every day.

However, he believes that the transformation uniforms have gone through in the last year alone has forever revolutionised the city’s approach to workwear – and now leaves staff with almost a full closet of work attire.

Speaking ahead of presenting A. Ronai’s latest line of stand-out outfits at ‘The Runway’ feature at next week’s The Hotel Show Dubai, Sprakes said: “I have noticed many changes over the last ten years. There has been a real move away from the traditional Dubai look and feel, as the Emirate embraces trends from the rest of the world.

“The hipster trend, imported from the likes of Brooklyn and Camden, hit the UAE last year. With that, we’re now seeing a shift away from very formal uniform designs. What’s in fashion and heavily requested across Dubai at the moment is more denim, braces, checked shirts, waistcoats, even fedora hats. The hipster style is making a big impact.”

Sprakes relishes that ‘the hipster effect’ has signaled an end to the days of brash and stuffy workwear, ushering in an era of uniforms experts consider to be on the verge of haute couture.

He continued: “International hotels and restaurants opening across the city are like those you might find in London, Chicago, or Spain, and the looks are becoming just as intercontinental.

“Rather than staff looking very similar to one another, venues are being more relaxed with uniforms and employing staff with a more individual look and working with that.

“This year we’ve been delighted to work with Roda Al Murooj Downtown Dubai on the new look for the British-themed ‘Double Decker’ bar. The staff there are able to wear their own jeans, whilst the attire we designed is customized to each individual person, certainly with a hipster influence to it including a canvas blazer for management and checked shirts for service staff.”

Pictured: The new Double Decker uniform at Roda Al Murooj Downtown Dubai designed by A. Ronai is an example of the ‘hipster’ trend

The movement towards uniforms that reflect employee personality has gone hand-in-hand with the Emirates’ growing hospitality and commercial diversity, which will also be explored at The Hotel Show.

Sprakes added: “We are launching our new catalogue at The Hotel Show Dubai. ‘The Runway’ is a static fashion show that will showcase more than twenty of the latest looks from front of house service staff to back of house including chefs and housekeepers. We will also have a full range of our latest available materials with brand new styles, textures and colours.”

At The Hotel Show Dubai (18-20^th September 2017) other trends to be covered reflect the latest developments in the fast-growing and diversifying hospitality industry including: ‘Market Positioning’, ‘Design & Layout’, ‘Technology’, ‘Women in Leadership’ and ‘Predictions for the Ongoing Development of Dubai’s Hospitality & Tourism Sector’ at ‘The Middle East Hospitality Leadership Forum’.

The conference, alongside ‘The Runway’ and ‘The Middle East Housekeepers League of Champions’ will take place across the three days of the annual hospitality exhibition.

This year, the 18^th edition of The Hotel Show will take place as part of Dubai International Hospitality Week (DIHW). The Dubai Tourism endorsed event, organised by dmg events and the DWTC, is expected to attract more than 50,000 visitors.

The three-day event, taking place at the DWTC, encompasses six hospitality and foodservice trade shows under one roof: The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show (owned and organised by dmg events); GulfHost, The Speciality Food Festival, and SEAFEX Middle East (owned and organised by DWTC); and yummex ME (jointly organised by DWTC and Kölnmesse).

To find out more and register to attend the events for free, visit: www.thehotelshow.com

THE HOTEL SHOW DUBAI ANNOUNCES NEW FEATURES FOR 2017

The Hotel Show Dubai, the largest, longest-standing and most comprehensive hospitality trade show in the Middle East and Africa, is announcing a host of new features for its 18th edition in September 2017.

Each year the event offers the ultimate showcase of everything needed to build, develop and maintain a hotel or restaurant in the region. Sectors at the show range from décor and finishings to in-room technologies.

For the first time in 2017, the annual exhibition will form a core part of a brand-new industry mega-event ‘Dubai International Hospitality Week’ organised by dmg events and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Bringing together dmg’s The Hotel Show with the launch of DWTC’s GulfHost (alongside an extended programme of live events), the Dubai Tourism endorsed event is anticipated to attract more than 50,000 visitors to the DWTC when it launches in September.

The Hotel Show portfolio has unveiled an all-new brand identity this year in consultation with the global hospitality industry at a time of international growth. New editions of the event are launching in hospitality development hotspots Africa (June) and the Philippines (August), while its existing event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia turned five in May. Each event is taking the format of the successful Dubai show, adding elements of local flavor.

Also expanding in 2017 is the feature line-up of the flagship Dubai edition. With an aim to cater to every element of the guest experience like never before, new installations are set to focus on some its most important elements: housekeeping, staff uniforms, F&B, technology and much more.

The Middle East Hospitality Leadership Forum will be a central new feature of this year’s show. GMs and owners from all types of hospitality operators will sit alongside major developers, asset managers, online travel sites and other influential players in the industry to debate the key strategic opportunities and challenges shaping the regional sector at what is a period of accelerated expansion and change. Speakers from major hotel brands including Marriott, Fairmont, Jumeirah, Four Seasons, Nikki Beach, and Waldorf Astoria will discuss a range of topics, including: ‘Building Genuine Brand Identity’, ‘Market Positioning’, ‘Online Influencers’ and ‘Women in Leadership’.

Alongside a range of educational seminars and workshops run by leading industry experts, new features have been announced: ‘The Middle East Housekeepers League of Champions’, and ‘The Runway’, set to entertain and offer valuable hospitality insight.

In consultation with the UAE Professional Housekeepers Group, The Middle East Housekeepers League of Champions, sponsored by Restonic, is a live competition where two typical hotel rooms will be set-up back to back and turned upside down. Two teams of housekeepers (part of a wider league) will compete head-to-head to put the room back to its original state in the fastest time.

Lakmall Mawella, ‎Executive Housekeeper at The Address Boulevard Dubai commented: “The hotel industry keeps changing yet many people think housekeeping is stagnant, which it’s not. It has moved a lot in the last decade in terms of technology and efficiency and how to clean a hotel room. In the past, it was all about just cleaning, but now it’s about engagement with guests and the efficiency of doing things. A few years back it took one hour to clean one room and now it takes about 20 minutes. Based on this, at The Hotel Show I may meet a supplier that provides a machine which can scrub a floor in less than a minute compared to longer in previous years, so its gives us more insight how we can do things more efficiently and increase productivity which may help the hotel, revenues or ROI which is the important part.”

Meanwhile The Runway, in association with bespoke uniform designers A. Ronai LLC, will showcase trends in the latest uniform ranges for the likes of security, front of house, spa and pool personnel.

Further, exciting details of the new seminars and features will be announced by The Hotel Show organisers in the lead-up to the event. Ray Tinston, Portfolio Director of the dmg events hospitality portfolio, commented:  “As the industry changes and grows, so must we, and we have. The Hotel Show is showcasing an all-new brand identity, creating a sleek platform on which to network in the most efficient way possible.”

“Through our new features that directly reflect the industry, the hoteliers and all departments within a hotel, we are confident that our rebrand allows us to reposition our place within the region’s outstanding hospitality industry, and provides a stage that its people deserve and are proud to do business on. We are a community, and The Hotel Show is our annual get-together.”

More than 600 exhibitors, 7 show sectors and multiple installations placed throughout 8 exhibition halls, will welcome 1000s of hospitality industry professionals across 3 days. To find out more information on The Hotel Show 2017, access: www.thehotelshow.com