Paul McGregorSo I recently got invited out to Dubai to speak on a panel at Fashion Forward.
As always it was a truly amazing experience (one I’m very grateful for) and I wanted to create a quick video to document what I’d packed for the trip.
As it was Fashion Forward (Dubai’s fashion week) and I was speaking on stage I wanted to make an impression so opted for more formal attire but with casual elements.
I also teamed up with Topman for the outfits I wore across the two days and all can be found (with imagery) below.
Here’s a few images from the trip.
I spoke on a panel discussing Online Retail alongside some truly inspirational people.
The biggest lesson I took away from the panel was ‘speed’. The quicker we can deliver the better results we’ll achieve.
Think about it…
If it took you 10 minutes to order something online and then two weeks to arrive… would you buy it?
With everyone being ‘time poor’ right now the more time we can give them the better.
Key Pieces I Packed
As mentioned most of what I wore was chosen from Topman and here’s a breakdown of each outfit and where you can buy it.
Day 1
The sneakers from this outfit are from Donhall & Bell, a really exciting up and coming brand based in London.
Day 2
Video Transcription
Can’t watch the video?
Here’s a transcription of what’s said.
I wanted to shoot this really quick, off the cuff video about what I packed for a short trip to Dubai.
Now I’ve just arrived in the room (at the W Hotel Dubai) and I wanted to grab the camera and record this video and show you the clothes I’ve packed and why I’ve packed them.
At the same time there’s a reason why I’m out here.
The reason why I’m out here is because I am speaking at Fashion Forward Dubai. I’m on a panel talking about the future of online retail and how fashion business is neat to be used in e-commerce. Especially in the middle eastern market where it isn’t as popular as it is back in the UK and the US.
My talks are on Friday, today is Wednesday. I’m thoroughly looking forward to that. So I just arrived in the room and I don’t know if you can see a lot but it’s cute a funky room. The bath is literally there. You’ve got this TV on the wall and then you’ve got quite a nice views. The bed’s there.
The reason why I’m creating this video isn’t a tour of the room. It’s to show you what I packed for this trip away.
The old me used to pack very very heavily. I used to pack too much stuff. Now I like to pack little, but I like to pack the right things.
Now obviously this is fashion week so I’ve gone for more of a smarter outfit than I probably would have done if I was just coming here for a holiday. I’m going to walk you through the shoes and all the T-Shirts and stuff like that. You can see I packed very light. I’m not going to be showing you my underwear guys. So if you’ve got a fetish on that you might want to cancel off. I got this pocket square and this jacket. This jacket is from Arthur Shirtley, which I will be doing a post on very very soon. Then I have got this bomber jacket.
Topman were kind enough to kit me out for fashion week in Dubai. This is a really nice suede bomber. As you can see it’s kind of a little bit of luxury. I’ll probably be wearing that on one of the days.
Then you’ve got this jacket here. Very very lightweight. Great for the kind of climate out here as well. Very lightweight jacket and really like the colour. That would probably be worn with one of these shirts. Again, both of these shirts are both button down shirts so I don’t have to wear a tie with it which is great. This is perfect for Dubai. I’ve only got two shirts here. Then I’ve got some navy formal trousers. As you can see, these are again from Topman and they’re stretch skinny trousers.
You can’t really see on camera but they’ve kind of got a bit of detailing to them as well. They’re the balance between smart and casual. Which is why I like them. I’ve actually got one more shirt, it’s more of an Hawaiian print shirt. It doesn’t sound as good as it is but hopefully I’ll be wearing that on of the events and I will show you that. I’ll probably put it on Instagram so make sure you follow me on Instagram.
Then we just got some T-Shirts. Some basic tees, this grey striped tee is from Topman alongside the white tee, and the Breton Striped t-shirt is from J Crew. That’s as basic as it gets guys. There’s causal elements here too so when I’m not at the event I can dress down.
Another important thing is what I wore to the airport. You want to wear something that’s going to take up room when packing but it’s something that’s versatile and can be worn with various outfits.
I kind of like to wear stuff that I can utilise more. I’ve got my Harrington jacket, you’ve probably seen this before. My polo and then these beige cotton chinos that again can be worn with any of the clothes I’ve packed.
I just want to show you shoes and then we’ll wrap up the video. We have got these tasselled loafers from Topman, these are perfect for the climate out here. Then these luxury Pony Hair sneakers, I haven’t worn these yet and these are from Donhall & Bell. These are going to look awesome because they’re going to create a bit of a statement, but they’re also going to be very comfy and casual to wear.
Then your classic double monk strap shoes which are from Hammond & Co. They need a polish, but again, but these can be worn with the more formal outfits.
Then you can probably see here I’ve just got some swimming shorts if I manage to get some time, then my gym stuff (Nike).
Obviously there’s more to it but that is the basics of everything that I’ve got for this trip to Dubai.
Guys, what do you do when you pack to go away?
Do you like to pack light?
Do you pack too much stuff?
Hopefully this video’s given you a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of food for thought and that is what I’m going to be wearing at Fashion Week Dubai.