Dubai steps back onto the runway
Also this week: French-Japanese dining, Kenyan sculpture and a Cairo bookseller’s memoir
Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai. Dubai Fashion Week leads this week’s edition, bringing designers from the Gulf and beyond to the runway against a backdrop of continued regional uncertainty. Elsewhere, we step inside Yannick Alleno’s new French-Japanese restaurant on Palm Jumeirah, explore exhibitions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and pick up Nadia Wassef’s memoir of life as a Cairo bookseller. If you want to receive this newsletter or our other new weekly City Pulse newsletters — for Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh — sign up here. Happy reading, Rebecca P.S. Have feedback or tips on Dubai's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com. |
1. Leading the week: Dubai Fashion Week |
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Lili Blanc Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 show at Dubai Fashion Week in Feb. 2026 (Photo courtesy of Dubai Fashion Week) For fashion lovers in the Gulf, Dubai Fashion Week (DFW) will return next week for its Spring/Summer 2027 (SS27) edition. This season’s program brings together homegrown, regional and international designers, including Kuwaiti designer Yousef AlJasmi, Indian couturier Tarun Tahiliani and France’s Weinsanto. Co-founded by Dubai Design District (d3), part of TECOM Group, and the Arab Fashion Council, DFW will also expand its buyers’ program and collaborations with retailers. “The SS27 edition reflects Dubai’s position as a global creative hub and one of the world’s fashion capitals, fostering meaningful connections across the industry and creating opportunities for designers and talent from around the world to thrive,” said Khadija Al Bastaki, senior vice president of Dubai Design District, in the event’s press release. Beyond the runway, events across the city will include panel discussions and networking sessions for international buyers and industry leaders. DFW will also collaborate with Harvey Nichols on an exclusive, monthlong in-store pop-up (Oct. 1-31), featuring a curated selection of emerging and established regional fashion brands. Date: Oct. 22-26 Location: Dubai Design District (d3) Find more information here. |
2. Word on the street: L’Abysse |
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An exterior view of L’Abysse at One&Only The Palm. (Photo courtesy of One&Only The Palm) Multi-Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alleno expanded his Middle Eastern footprint last week with the opening of L'Abysse at the luxury resort One&Only The Palm. The Dubai restaurant is the fourth location for the acclaimed concept, following successful outposts in Paris, Monaco and Osaka. With 34 seats and an intimate sushi counter accommodating 10 guests, it combines contemporary French gastronomy with Japanese omakase craftsmanship, guided by Alleno’s signature “Cuisine of Time” philosophy. Led by master sushi chef Ken Ishihata, the counter offers a meticulously crafted 13-sequence menu that brings together traditional Japanese Edomae techniques and Alleno’s signature French methods of extraction and fermentation. Location: One&Only The Palm, The Palm Jumeirah Find more information here. |
3. Dubai diary |
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A view of “Sojourner: The Difference is the Same,” by Maggie Otieno, Efie Gallery, Dubai. (Photo courtesy of the artist and Efie Gallery)
Kenyan artist Maggie Otieno is presenting her first solo exhibition at Dubai’s Efie Gallery. Over nearly three decades, Otieno has explored the transformation of reclaimed and weathered materials. She is known for her large-scale public installations across Nairobi and for abstracted figures that explore layered narratives of history, memory, connection and environmental survival through wood, metal and mixed media. Dates: until Nov. 13 Location: Efie Gallery, Alserkal Avenue Find more information here.
Emirati artist Eman Al Hashemi is presenting her debut solo exhibition at Iris Projects in Abu Dhabi, titled “The Horizon We Inherit.” As the first ceramist to join the gallery’s artist roster, Al Hashemi explores the UAE’s shifting urban landscape, with a particular focus on humankind’s relationship with the sun. Working with clay, she gives physical form to these concerns by combining the exhibition’s central motifs — the sun, streetlights, buildings and roundabouts — into hybrid structures. These sculptures create a striking tension, appearing simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. Dates: until Nov. 26 Location: Iris Projects, MiZA, Abu Dhabi Find more information here.
Titled “Al Nayed,” this retrospective traces the artistic journey of renowned Emirati painter Abdulqader Al Rais over five decades. The Arabic title evokes movement and growth, themes that resonate throughout his career. The exhibition charts Al Rais’ evolution from early impressionistic paintings of local landscapes and traditional architecture to the geometric abstraction and Arabic calligraphy that define his signature style. Dates: until Oct. 25 Location: Opera Gallery, DIFC Find more information here. |
4. Book of the week: ‘Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller’ |
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Nadia Wassef’s “Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller” is a vibrant, witty memoir recounting the co-founding of Diwan, Egypt’s first modern independent bookstore chain. Rather than romanticizing the realities of running a bookshop, Wassef delivers an honest, raw and sharp-tongued account of entrepreneurship and women’s resilience. The book also serves as a love letter to a city in flux, offering insights into modern Egyptian society and the enduring power of literature under pressure. Through her writing, Wassef captures Cairo’s evolving cultural landscape, chronicling her team’s struggle against bureaucratic red tape, conservative censorship and deep-seated patriarchy. |
5. View from Dubai |
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A yacht sails off the Dubai Marina district skyline on Oct. 19, 2026. (FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images) |
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