Dubai developer sets out to form Middle East's fashion capital Dubai's Emaar Properties intends to launch a $100m fund to encourage Arab entrepreneurship, with a focus on fashion and retail, as the developer seeks to position the emirate as the Middle East's fashion capital. As the fashion world descended on Dubai for a series of glitzy fashion events this week, Mohammed Alabbar, Emaar's chairman, said the fund would help emerging Middle Eastern designers as he builds on the status of his landmark shopping centre, Dubai Mall, as the region's luxury retail hub. "We need to fund the talent," Mr Alabbar told the Financial Times. Every young man and woman here is so keen on fashion and style. The fashion element of the fund - which will also have a broader remit to develop small Arab businesses in other sectors - will be run in conjunction with Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. Emaar, in partnership with the fashion magazine, launched the inaugural "Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience" on Thursday. In another sign of the indebted emirate's recovery, celebrities such as Naomi Campbell and Donatella Versace were flown in for catwalk presentations by eight up-and-coming designers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles spun records at the opening of a new area of Emaar's Dubai Mall devoted to shoe shops. Dubai's economic recovery, driven by tourism and retail, is now triggering another property boom, with prices up by a third in the past six months alone. Emaar, the Middle East's biggest developer, partnered with Armani to launch a hotel in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, in 2010. At the tower's base, the Dubai Mall is forecast to attract more than 70m visitors this year - almost twice as many as Birmingham's Bull Ring 40m footfall. When the mall's fashion avenue is expanded to include 100 extra stores by 2015, visitor numbers are forecast to reach 100m. Mr Alabbar said demand for extra retail space has been driven by luxury retailers, with sales up 15 per cent in August and expectations of $4bn of sales revenue by the end of 2013. Increasing numbers of Chinese visitors, reflected by appointment of Mandarin-speaking sales assistants, have been followed by a spike in high-spending African shoppers. The mall's Victoria's Secret store is the second biggest-selling worldwide; Chanel, Cartier and LVMH run flagship stores with their third-largest sales revenue in the world. Some Dubai-based designers complain about the cost of renting Emaar retail space, questioning the company's pledge to support emerging talent. But Mr Alabbar said the Emaar-backed fund would help to foster entrepreneurial spirit among young people in the Middle East, where half the population is under 21. Gulf states seek to exploit local interest in fashion and lifestyle by offering much-needed employment opportunities for the region's youth. Dubai Design District, a government run initiative to form a fashion cluster in semi-completed buildings, is another attempt by the government to diversify the trade and services-oriented economy into a new sector. Fashion Forward, a series of catwalk shows and debates, takes place next week in Dubai aiming to drive the region's fashion industry. Neighbouring Qatar has also launched an initiative to encourage young designers to make their mark via a domestic fashion brand, named QELA.