In a remarkable fusion of architecture, culture, and fashion, Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has presented groundbreaking cross-cultural designs at Hong Kong’s Belt & Road Fashion Gala. The showcase, part of the Chinese Culture Festival, featured innovative garments developed through a collaboration with international artist Charlie Koolhaas and her ongoing Foto-Couture project.
The collection transformed elements of Dubai’s built environment into wearable archives, with two distinctive outfits serving as the creative centerpiece. The first design, ‘Reflected Futures — The Sheikh Zayed Line,’ reimagines the traditional abaya as a modern symbol of cultural identity. Printed with Koolhaas’s photograph of Dubai’s iconic Al Attar Tower, the garment transforms architecture into an embodied repository of memory, representing the merging of global modernism with regional expression.
The second creation, ‘The Irrigated Desert,’ draws inspiration from the Chinese qipao while incorporating imagery of Dubai’s irrigated desert plants. Printed on silk satin, the design serves as a metaphor for hybridity, connecting desert cultivation techniques with the qipao’s history of cultural reinvention. The pattern reflects water’s crucial role in shaping life in the UAE, from ancient falaj irrigation systems to contemporary technological networks.
Artist Charlie Koolhaas emphasized the project’s interdisciplinary nature, noting how the collaboration created space for dialogue across creative disciplines. ‘This collaboration offered me the opportunity to cross-pollinate my practice in photography, architecture, and fashion within a design-focused academic context,’ she stated.
Dean Massimo Imparato highlighted the global perspective behind the initiative, explaining that ‘The dialogue between UAE national and international participants enriched the project with a spectrum of cultural insight and creative intelligence.’ The project involved participants from over 30 countries and regions, reflecting CUD’s position as a global hub for innovative design education.
Arash Behforooz, creative designer at CUD, assisted in translating Koolhaas’s concepts into clear visual directions using AI-enabled workflows. ‘This project shows how design, technology, and cultural storytelling can come together to shape new creative possibilities,’ he concluded.
The exhibition demonstrates how academic institutions can serve as cross-disciplinary platforms where heritage becomes an active driver of innovation, positioning traditional garments as contemporary expressions of cultural identity and global connectivity.