With its largest showcase to date, featuring 330 brands and designers from 40 countries around the world, as well as the inaugural Editions fair, it’s a wrap for Downtown Design 2024.
The anchor event of Dubai Design Week, Downtown Design returned to the d3 Waterfront Terrace with a showcase of the latest collections, innovative products and design solutions by contemporary design brands and high-quality manufacturers, makers and designers from across the globe, complemented by a line-up of creative pop-up concepts, installations and networking events.
Alongside a new highlight - Editions - the Middle East’s first dedicated fair for limited-edition art and contemporary design, visitors were met with a wide array of iconic as well as uncovered exhibitors and showcases, including the UAE Designer Exhibition 5.0 and the Tanween Design Programme, with its mission to elevate emerging UAE-based talents. Another regional highlight was Designed in Saudi, an initiative by the Saudi Ministry of Culture's Design and Architecture Commission.
Mette Degn-Christensen, Director of Downtown Design, said: “We are delighted to see how the fair has grown into a cornerstone cultural event, both creatively and commercially, while offering an engaging stage for the most exciting established and emerging talents working in the Middle East and far beyond. The quality and strength of the fair is reflected in the consistent growth of the region’s interiors and furniture market over the last 10+ years of contemporary design through the lens of Downtown Design. The fair continues to foster new connections and serves as a launchpad for design brands, collaborations and concepts, as well as thought-leading discourse that is key to the region's flourishing design landscape and the UAE’s ever-expanding design community.”
Presenting a stellar programme of talks, keynotes and masterclasses, The Forum welcomed spectators beyond capacity, with visitors gathering for engaging talks and masterclasses led by industry titans including names such as India Mahdavi, Karim Rashid, Kelly Hoppen, Lina Ghotmeh, Eames Demetrios, Nika Zupanc, Rabah Saeid, Pallavi Dean and Ross Lovegrove.
The Conran Shop made its debut in the UAE, and as did de Gournay, who showcased their iconic hand-painted and embroidered wallpapers in an exquisite lounge concept, while Veuve Clicquot hosted its new Sun Club Lounge, designed by Studio Marcel Poulain and themed around La Dolce Vita.
Country specific presentations included; the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) returned to Downtown Design with a pavilion showcasing brands and makers, alongside a collateral programme reinforcing Italy’s legacy of innovation and craftsmanship; Interiors from Spain showcased 10 companies in a dynamic exhibit curated and designed by Dubai-based B8 Architecture & Design Studio; the Dutch Collective, spearheaded by Margriet Vollenberg and launched at Downtown Design last year.
The striking floral entrance installation by Dutch artist Linda Nieuwstad will be displayed at Delano Dubai, allowing guests to enjoy it throughout November.
In a new phase of expansion, and as Art Dubai Group’s first international event, Downtown Design will host the inaugural Downtown Design Riyadh from 27-29 May 2025, further fostering the growth of the regional creative network within the global creative industries.
Find out more about how to apply to exhibit in Riyadh here.
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