The Trend Issue – #12

For the last issue of 2014, we decided to focus on a topic that’s on everyone’s tongue almost every day of every month of every year: trends. We wanted to explore the trends that are taking place in the region and study the reason behind their popularity.

The biggest trend, we believe, in the Gulf is: if there’s a trend bandwagon, jump on it. Previously, the only trend followers we knew were the ones concerned with fashion, today’s trend followers range from food connoisseurs to tech addicts.

The good thing about the recent trend mania, is that it has also spurred people to follow healthy trends, like adopting a healthy regime, becoming fitness experts, embracing a green lifestyle… And best of all it has made people break out of the norm – in the most positive way. Young Khaleejis are now becoming fitness trainers, yoga instructors, chefs, makeup artists, graphic designers, and the list goes on…

Thirty years ago, it would be almost blasphemous for a young member of a family to claim that he or she wanted to pursue a degree in cooking instead of an academic degree. Of course, in the real sense, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to cook for a living, but culture almost prohibited it.

Among the people we interviewed for this issue are Bahrain-based interior designer Ammar Basheir, who grew up in a family of academics but chose the path less traveled on and ventured into interior design; Kuwaiti architect Marzouq Al Mutairi; Lebanese product and interior designer Marc Dibeh; Kuwaiti rising fashion designer Bazza AlZouman; tech entrepreneur and founder of Nabbesh, Loulou Khazen Baz.

We also explore other trend-related subjects like selfies, Video Gaming Culture, Trendsetters Across the Gulf, Food Trends and Travel Trends, among many other things.