Dubai is still holding strong as the Gulf region’s arbiter of style. After a decade on the international design calendar, the upcoming Dubai Design Week 2025 is expected to be the largest ever. Under the aegis of a “Community” theme, the 11th edition of the event will take place Nov. 4 to 9, with a global roster that will include Italian jeweler Buccellati and industrial designer Tom Dixon.
It will be the first time the British designer and Buccellati have appeared at Dubai Design Week. Both will be featured within the week’s anchor event Downtown Design at the city’s d3 Waterfront Terrace Nov. 5 to Nov. 9. Buccellati will showcase a pop-up collaboration with design studio David/Nicolas. Dixon will headline the Forum, a series of live talks.
The fair will also feature experiential concepts and immersive installations, including the Solaire Lounge by Veuve Clicquot.
Returning European exhibitors like Kartell and Poltrona Frau will be joined for the first time in Dubai by France’s Roche Bobois, Denmark’s Frama, Italy’s Porada, and Desalto. Designer duo Draga & Aurel will present a solo exhibition for Collectional, and French designer Stephanie Coutas will showcase high-end interiors and collectible design pieces. In a showcase curated by Emirati designer Omar Al Gurg, Shanghai-based Stellar Works will display its collaboration with U.S. brand Calico Wallpaper.
David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem of David/Nicolas
Courtesy of Dubai Design Week
The delegation of UAE-based participants is also growing and will include brands like Bottega Living, Caspaiou, Clayark, Dixten Studio, Frontieres, Lal & Ghosh, Studio Obliq and Tanween by Tashkeel. Saudi collective Designed in Saudi’s debut will be a focus, as the country continues to invest in propelling local creativity through the nation’s Arts and Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for the ancient city of Alula.
Another spotlight will be on India, another strong market for design brands amid ongoing economic challenges, with brands like Jaipur Rugs, Jagdish Sutar, Orvi and Hands Carpets, as well as Strata from Pakistan.
As tariffs grip transatlantic relations, and U.S. and Chinese consumers grapple with an uncertain economy, the international design world is interested more than ever in expanding their reach in the Gulf region in terms of both retail and events. This year Downtown Design Dubai, the Middle East‘s leading contemporary design fair since 2012, cut the ribbon on Downtown Design Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s first design trade show. The four-day fair at the JAX District was held in May.
The demand for more immediate interior design solutions is fueling Downtown Design Riyadh and the Design Doha biennial, which debuted in Qatar in 2024. In 2026, Riyadh will host the first Salone del Mobile.Milano in the region.
The Saudi Arabian contract boom is spurring growth across the whole region, thanks to the proliferation of giga projects and development of vacation islands like Shura and Sindalah and an uptick in branded homes and upscale villas and apartments.
Mette Degn-Christensen, founder of fair organizer Downtown Design, told WWD earlier this year that the whole region is in the throes a transformational chapter.
“We’re all witnessing the pace of development that the dynamic market of Saudi Arabia has experienced in recent years. Driven by some of the KSA’s [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] most ambitious projects and growing real estate developments across retail, hospitality and luxury residential properties, there is strong demand particularly in the interior design industry — and at the same time, there is a surge in great creative talent here,” she said, adding that there’s a new focus on modern aesthetics and materiality, innovation, quality and identity.
