What women are wearing in Abu Dhabi
In the United Arab Emirates, a relatively new constitution allows women to work, serve in the military and law enforcement, and pursue higher education. The idea of the new Arab woman has been gaining traction for decades, but it remains mostly confined to urban centers like Abu Dhabi—one of the richest cities in the world—and Dubai—the so-called “Vegas of the Middle East.” Do clothes make the woman? As new styles emerge in the Emirates, its women are faced with a fashion dilemma: Contemporary? Conservative? Or both?
Photographs by Nicole Hill
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Abu Dhabi police officers during target practice.
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At right, fashion designer Anood Aziz Abdulrahman poses with a model wearing one of her designs.
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Since the discovery of oil in the 1950s, this region has been transformed into a hub of consumption and excess.
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Twelfth-grader Mona Ahmed al Qamzi holds up the dress she designed for her school’s annual fashion show.
What women are wearing in Abu Dhabi
In the United Arab Emirates, a relatively new constitution allows women to work, serve in the military and law enforcement, and pursue higher education. The idea of the new Arab woman has been gaining traction for decades, but it remains mostly confined to urban centers like Abu Dhabi—one of the richest cities in the world—and Dubai—the so-called “Vegas of the Middle East.” Do clothes make the woman? As new styles emerge in the Emirates, its women are faced with a fashion dilemma: Contemporary? Conservative? Or both?
Photographs by Nicole Hill
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Latifa al Nuaimi, sixteen, displays a sketch of a dress design made out of electrical wiring and light bulbs.
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