It has spawned top names such as Stella McCartney, John Galliano and Jimmy Choo and is known around the world.

Mention you’ve studied there and those nearby will immediately start straightening their collars, checking their designer bag is on show or ask for your style advice. And now the prestigious London College of Fashion is coming to Dubai.

From May 22 to 26 the century-old establishment will be offering courses for budding fashionistas here. And, you’ll be glad to hear, that’s a mark of how trendy we are. “It’s obviously a great show of confidence for the city, the UAE and the Middle East as a whole.

We have never initiated such a scheme before, that takes our short courses to a different city,” says Linda Roberts, the college’s Senior Business Manager.

“It’s definitely a mark of how we think the fashion industry in the region is progressing; it’s a vibrant, thriving sector of the economy - people have a real passion for the industry and we think our courses will be very popular here.”

Linda says she’s very excited about finding new talent in the UAE and says rather than imitating Western style, budding creators here will be urged to seek influence from traditional Arabic style.

“I don’t think we necessarily have to encourage it as it is already very much in evidence- which is a very good thing.

Middle Eastern designers generally fuse their culture and their traditional workmanship and taste into their garments. It’s interesting to see the mixture of influences here,” she explains.

“A delegation from London College of Fashion came to Dubai last year and found the talent was here already; it just needs to be nurtured. That is why we are bringing our courses we were so impressed by the enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge about the industry that we decided to bring our tutors out to Dubai to offer these courses.”

Walk through any mall and you’ll be blinded by bling.

Diamondclad shades and phones covered in gem stones - it’s a surprise some women can even lift their bags with the amount of jewels and chains hanging off them - yes, Dubai does love its sparkly stuff.

But nevertheless, Linda believes the bling we’ll bring to the table will be well received in the fashion world.

“Taste is so subjective- if the population likes embellishment, embroidery and sequins then why not?

The catwalks are also full of these trends. There is nothing wrong with liking a certain style; you just have to be comfortable with your own taste.

“Anyone who has been to IF on Umm Al Sheif Street will know that there is a huge market for minimalist, constructed clothing in muted colours too; their shelves are full of Margiela, Commes des Garcons, Watanabe.

There are a wide variety of tastes in Dubai; like any city in the world.”

From an introduction to fashion journalism to the principles of personal fashion styling to starting your own label, you don’t have to be a budding Alexander McQueen (also a London College of Fashion graduate) to sign up for a course.

Linda adds: “Most of these courses can be taken by people who are interested in the fashion world; they are aimed at beginners or those in the industry who need to brush up on skills in a specific sector (for example visual merchandising) that they might not be trained in.

“It is of course up to the individual to see whether they will take these skills into the workplace or just keep them as an added value for themselves.”

Nine different fashion courses will run from May 22 to 26.
For details visit www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/courses /shortcourses.htm. 

If you sign up for a course before Tuesday you receive a 25 per cent discount on the regular course fees.