Hypothesis

Do global fashion trends influence today’s female youth aged between 15-18yrs old, in the
UAE? What impact does fashion have on young females?

Target Demographic
15-18yo females residing in the UAE.

Methodology

It was thought that in order to gather responses an online survey would be most effective. The
reasons being that as it was online it was easy for the selected demographic to access.
Furthermore, it is a simple and easy tool, additionally it can provide both quantitative and
qualitative data, more so it provides anonymity and finally it allows for access to a large number
in a short space of time.

A mix of open ended and closed questions were used to provide further insight into the
thinking of today’s young females.
1. How old are you?
1. What is your home country?
2. How important is it to you that you stay on-trend in terms of fashion?
3. How closely do you follow global fashion trends?
4. Rate your sources of fashion trends (ex. Instagram, magazines, peer groups, celebrity stories,
other)?
5. What are the most popular fashion trends today that you follow?
6. Does fashion affect your body image? Yes/no and how?
7. How does fashion affect your self-confidence?
8. How does fashion affect your social values?

Sample Size
A total of 20 responded to the survey. The following is the response received

The findings
17 of those surveyed said their home country
was the UAE
UAE
5% 5%
5% UAE
UK and Lebanon
5%
Open-Ended Response
Bombay (India)
14% Saudi Arabia

67%
 How important is fashion to you?

8
Field1

4 4 4

Important Very important Not important Average

Field1

With regards to how important fashion is, 8 of those surveyed stated that it was important to
very important.

How often do you follow Global Fashion?

10
Field1

3
2

Not at all Most of the time Regularly A little

Field1

12 of those surveyed don’t really follow global fashion with 8 stating they did so frequently.
 Influence Sources

movies/tv
magazines8% insta
8% insta snap
38% friends
magazines
friends
29% movies/tv

snap
17%

Surprisingly when asked where fashion influences stemmed from the majority of those
surveyed said Instagram and Friends. With Movies/TV and magazines being very low.

Does Fashion affect your body image?

25% 20%
no
yes
other

55%

Of those surveyed the majority said fashion affected their body image. With weight being the
main factor (full answers Appendix A)

Most of those surveyed said that fashion helps boost their confidence and that it does not
affect their cultural values (see appendix A)
Analysis

It would be fair to say that the hypothesis doesn’t stand up with regards to this specific survey.
However, the survey may not be reliable as the majority of those surveyed are Emirati, whereas
the question was with regards to young women living in the UAE and not necessarily Emiratis,
who make up less than a tenth of the population.

It is not surprising that today’s young women are heavily influenced by social media, and less so
by tv and film. Perhaps that accounts for the Global influence being less important to today’s
young women. The UAE is very different in terms of styles, being more glamorous and less
street than other major shopping destinations.

In terms of body image and confidence, it would appear to be a double edged sword with many
stating that fashion makes them body conscious and mentioning weight as a factor in that but
at the same time stating that when they get it right, fashion boosts their confidence.

Fashion has no part to play in terms of influencing culture , according to those surveyed
however it has to be remembered that the majority of those surveyed were Emirati who abide
by a strict dress code.

Going forward it would be worthwhile to take a further survey with a wider demographic which
included more expatriates.
Appendix A