Budding creative geniuses Nafisa Mohammed (13 years), Farah Manalo (14 years) and Alina Zamra (10 years) were announced first, second and third respectively in Benetton’s Cool Craft Competition hosted in association with Modhesh Friends’ Club.
Surprise gifts from DSS and Benetton gift vouchers worth AED2,000, AED1,250 and AED750 were presented to the winners by Ajai Dayal, General Manager, Retail and Marketing, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group (sole distributor of Benetton in the UAE) and Sohaila Gubash, Customer Service Manager, DSS and DSF. The prize distribution took place on August 15 at Modhesh Fun City’s main stage at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
“This is the first time we’ve launched the Benetton Cool Craft Competition, and it was a huge success with more than 400 completed entries submitted at Modhesh Friends Club and Benetton outlets. The children’s designs showed an abundance of talent, and they really impressed the DSS and Benetton judges,” said Dayal.
“Benetton embraces the use of creativity and colour in all its clothing lines, and many of the young artists in our competition showed a similar flair for colour and imaginative design. I’m glad that Benetton and DSS have allowed youngsters to express their hidden artistic talents.”
The competition prize giving ceremony took place after a fun-filled Benetton kids fashion show, which showcased Benetton’s vibrant range of children’s clothing. United Colors of Benetton managed and choreographed the show, and more than 40 boys and girls between the ages of four and 13 from Modhesh Friends Club strutted their stuff on the catwalk to the sounds of funky Arabic, English and Hindi Music.
All the artworks entered into the Cool Craft competition are on display at Deira City Centre in an exhibition hosted by the Modhesh Fun City organisers.
Kids aged 7-14 were eligible to enter the competition by picking up craft packs from one of the Benetton outlets at City Centre, Lamcy Plaza or Jumeirah Centre. The packs included art materials and an outlined drawing sheet of a girl or boy for whom kids had to design outfits. Children could complete the art sheet in any way, using items like paint, crayons, glitter, cloth or any other craft material. Once completed, entries had to be submitted at any Benetton outlet in Dubai before August 11, 2005.
Members of Modhesh Fun City’s summer camp also took part in Benetton’s Cool Craft Competition through MFC’s art workshops held at Deira City Centre.
Modhesh Friends Club has been set up as part of this year’s Dubai Summer Surprises by the Modhesh Fun City organisers. The club offers a variety of educational activities for youngsters registered on its summer programme, such as art, music, and field trips. The Benetton fashion shows and Cool Craft Competition for children are part of the club’s curriculum aimed at talent and confidence building.
The Benetton Group is present in 120 countries around the world. Its core business is clothing with a strong Italian character. The Group produces over 110 million garments every year, 90 per cent of which are manufactured in Europe. The group’s retail network of 5,000 stores around the world, offering high quality customer services, generates an annual turnover of Euros 1.9 billion.
United Colors of Benetton in the UAE has been part of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group since 1989. The network spans three shops in Dubai: Deira City Centre, Jumeirah Centre, and Lamcy Plaza, one in Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi Mall, and a factory outlet on Zabeel Road in Dubai.
The Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group was founded in 1960 by Chairman HE Easa Saleh Al Gurg. Today, the Group is associated with leading names such as Unilever, Siemens, Dunlop, Benetton, Osram, British American Tobacco, and ICI.
