Sole DXB is an annual footwear, music, art, and lifestyle festival that takes place in the

Dubai Design District Dubai Design District (d3) is a planned community in Dubai dedicated to the design, fashion, and culture community, including startups, entrepreneurs, and international design, luxury, and fashion brands. It was established in 2013. It is a TEC ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. The festival was inaugurated in 2011, and its most recent iteration took place from December 7 to 9, 2017. Brands like

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

, Puma,

Reebok Reebok International Limited ( ) is an American footwear and clothing brand that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company which had bee ...

, and others have exhibited at the festival. Speakers and performers have also included

Hiroshi Fujiwara (born 1964) is a Japanese musician, producer, and fashion designer. Biography Fujiwara was born in Ise, Mie. He moved to Tokyo at eighteen and became a standout in the Harajuku street fashion scene. During a trip to New York City in the early ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

, Hamdan Al Abri, and numerous others.

History

Sole DXB was founded in 2010 by Hussain Moloobhoy, Joshua Cox, Kris Balerite, and Rajat Malhotra. The first Sole DXB event was marketed as a "sneaker summit" and took place on February 24, 2011 at thejamjar, a warehouse art gallery in Dubai's

Al Quoz Al Quoz () or El Goze in Emirati Arabic is a district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al Quoz is located in western Dubai. It is bordered to the north by Al Wasl, Business Bay, and MBR City, to the south by Al Barsha and Dubai Hills, to ...

neighborhood. Nike, Adidas, Puma,

Vans Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and ...

, and DC (among others) exhibited at the event. It also featured a screening of the short film, ''The Mystery of the Flying Kicks'', and performances by a variety of local musicians and DJs. Around 1,000 people are estimated to have attended. The second Sole DXB event took place on April 27, 2012 at 8 different galleries and 2 warehouses on Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz. Performers included Hamdan Al Abri, Malikah, Shef Codes, and Beat Antenna. Sneaker designer, Nash Money, also created a custom shoe for the event. Around 4,000 people attended. The third Sole DXB festival occurred on November 14 and 15, 2014 and was the first event of any kind to be held in the Dubai Design District. Brands like Reebok, Puma, House of Hackney,

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

Ray-Ban Ray-Ban is a brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is best known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica ...

, and others were represented at the festival. An art gallery displayed works by a variety of artists, including

Remi Rough Remi Rough is an artist from England. Rough first started as a street artist in the 1980s, moving to gallery art later. His compositions are abstract with coloured shapes and straight edges. His work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, London (U ...

, and the festival also hosted a basketball tournament. The next edition of the festival was held on November 20 and 21, 2015. The headlining act that year was

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo,

Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), also commonly known by his stage name DMC (or D.M.C.), is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of the Hip-hop, hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers ...

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

also made an appearance. In 2016, the event was held on November 18 and 19 and featured performances from Skepta,

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...

BJ the Chicago Kid Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top ...

, and others. Brands that exhibited that year included

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), doing business as New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Su ...

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

Carhartt Carhartt, Inc. is an American clothing company founded in 1889, known for heavy-duty work wear such as jackets, coats, overalls, coveralls, vests, shirts, jeans, dungarees, fire-resistant clothing and hunting apparel. Carhartt remains a family-owne ...

K-Swiss K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Glendale, California, founded in 1966. History K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after emigrating to th ...

, Timberland, and numerous others.

Hassan Hajjaj Hassan Hajjaj (born 1961), is a Moroccan contemporary artist and photographer who lives and works between London, United Kingdom, and Marrakech, Morocco. He is known for his portrait photographs. Early life Hajjaj was born in Larache, Morocco i ...

also relaunched the R.A.P. London streetwear brand at the festival. The most recent edition of the festival took place between December 7 and 9, 2017. It featured speakers and performers such as Pusha T, Hiroshi Fujiwara,

GoldLink D'Anthony William Carlos (born May 17, 1993), better known by his stage name GoldLink, is an American rapper and singer from Washington, D.C. He gained recognition following the release of his debut mixtape ''The God Complex'' (2014), which was ...

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her" and standing for "Having Everything Revealed") is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. She has won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Child ...

Knxwledge Glen Earl Boothe (born March 8, 1988), professionally known as Knxwledge (pronounced "knowledge"), is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter from New Jersey, currently based in Los Angeles, California. Since 2009, he has had over 200 ...

, and others. The festival's focus was contemporary Japanese design. Brands that appeared at the festival for the first time included

Visvim Visvim is a Japanese menswear brand founded by Hiroki Nakamura in 2000. The brand is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and has stores in Japan and the US, and is sold internationally at luxury department stores and boutiques including Bergdorf Good ...

, Neighborhood, Wacko Maria, Undercover, and others.

The Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent co ...

displayed its final exhibition of "Letters to Andy Warhol."

References

{{reflist

External links

Event website
Recurring events established in 2011 2011 establishments in the United Arab Emirates

History

See also

References

External links