Look! Latest international fashion hub?

The Dubai Shopping Festival is a month where Dubai is always seen at its best and that is especially true in the apparel and fashion sector that benefits from the massive number of visitors to the festival and Dubai's growing reputation as an international centre of fashion.

It also gives a huge boost to the sector with fashion and apparel stores seeing major sales increases as both local residents and visitors flock to malls looking for the most fashionable way to start the New Year.

The importance of the sector to DSF and to fashion retailers has been reinforced for the 21st edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival by the creation of a focused apparel and fashion theme that will run from January 15 to 25 and feature a number of special fashion focused events.

As a city that today offers a bigger choice of brands to the shopper than any city in the world other than London, the options that await those looking to buy clothes during the Dubai Shopping Festival are simply amazing.

Whatever the taste of the individual - from haute couture to high street casual or weekend leisurewear - there is something for every culture and budget available all over Dubai for the 32 days of DSF.

Apparel and Fashion is a segment of the retail sector in Dubai that has been growing fast, especially during DSF and will again play a major role in boosting retail sales at the forthcoming festival.

DSF has always been a unique platform offering home-grown, regional and international brands the opportunity to introduce new products and collections during the festival. In addition to the traditional unbeatable deals and promotions, DSF has now evolved into a month where retailers are able to use this period to introduce new concepts and activities.

Dubai is one of the most fashionable cities in the world and the growth of fashion events and the presence of an ever growing range of fashion brands is bound to make DSF 2016 one of the most successful festivals for fashion houses and retailers.

Simon Cooper, Head of Centrepoint, said: "Centrepoint runs its Winter Sale during the Dubai Shopping Festival every year. During this time customers can enjoy discounts of up to 60% off from their favorite brands, including - Babyshop, Splash, Shoemart and Lifestyle. Over the course of DSF's 21st edition we expect to see an increase in our sales and footfall across all our stores, as compared to last year's numbers."

Ruban Shanmugarajah, General Manager, Babyshop said: "DSF is a key event for us, as a large number of tourists visit UAE with a dual objective of holidaying and shopping. The month-long festival is an extremely busy period in terms of footfall and sales. This year, our presence at the Dubai Shopping Festival is larger than ever before; customers can enjoy exceptional discounts of up to 60% across the range of our products. We are positively looking forward to a 10% surge in sales, over last year, during the upcoming one month period."

Shivam Goyal, COO, SportsOne said: "DSF has been a key growth driver for SportsOne and we expect the event to help us start 2016 on a strong note. To meet the evolving needs of consumers' active lifestyles, SportsOne will showcase an unmatched range of sporting goods, which will be offered with several exciting consumer promotions and value-added offers."

The retail sector of Dubai estimates that between 25 - 30 per cent of its annual sales take place during the Dubai Shopping Festival period, with the apparel and fashion sector making an important contribution to this figure.

This year's festival sees an array of new fashion themed events that include Fashion Central to be held at the Mall of the Emirates between 15-17 January based around launching "New To Dubai" fashion brands and collections; Fashion Express a flashmob style pop-up store event held in Dubai Festival City Mall and Ibn Battuta Mall on 15-16 January and 22-23 January respectively, and a spectacular Fashion on Ice event at the Dubai Mall Ice Rink on 17th January.

In addition there will be fashion street runways events at Burj Plaza, Meena Plaza and Al Fahidi during January, the Cover Pop-up Shop "DSF Edition" featuring the collections of locally based and regional designers, from 18 -20th January at the Fashion Lounge, The Dubai Mall and Hermes "Wanderland", a unique exhibition by Luxury French house Hermès which opens on 21 January at The Dubai Fountains of The Dubai Mall.

DSF 2016, which is organized by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), runs until 1 February under the tagline 'Unwrap The Exceptional'.