Rethinking fashion in Doha
Also this week: waterfront coffee at Jasper's and live experimental art performances at GubGub Studios
Welcome to AL-MONITOR Doha.
The city is hitting that sweet spot where you actually want to be outside again, and this week gives you a good reason to do that. Whether it’s coffee by the water at the Pearl, prints and photography at Katara or a night of live art at GubGub Studios, there’s enough happening to fill the week without trying too hard.
If you want to receive this newsletter or our other new City Pulse editions — including Dubai, Istanbul and Riyadh — sign up here.
Thanks for reading,
Reve
P.S. Have feedback or tips on Doha's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.
1. Leading the week: ‘Sustainable Futures’
Sustainable Futures Event, Doha Festival City. ( Courtesy of Doha Festival City)
Doha Festival City and Harper’s Bazaar Qatar are going beyond the usual panel discussion and photo opportunity. Sustainable Futures runs across two days at Centre Court and brings together fashion, beauty and lifestyle under a question that has been gaining traction locally: What does it actually mean to build and consume responsibly?
At the center of it is a sustainability exhibition featuring brands from within the mall alongside Qatar-based initiatives from Scale7 and M7, a pre-loved pop-up from PrePorter Qatar and editorial imagery curated by Harper’s Bazaar Qatar. This year also marks the first time Emerging Voices will incorporate artwork, with pieces from Intajat, a platform founded by Sheikh Khalifa Al Thani dedicated to championing Qatari and Qatar-based artists. Nasser Al Kubaisi, Yuliya Drazdovich, Sheetal Dandekar, Lina Al Ali and Amira Al-Namla are all featured, giving the whole thing a cultural dimension that lifts it past a standard brand activation.
The programming is genuinely well put together, covering a conversation on sustainable design, a Guerlain beauty breakfast, fragrance and skin masterclasses with Jovoy and Lush, a yoga session with Alo and an evening masterclass with Charlotte Tilbury’s Salima Aliani. There’s enough across the two days to easily spend a full afternoon there and not feel like you rushed through it.
Date: April 17
Location: Doha festival city
Find more information here.
2. Word on the street: Jasper Doha
Jasper’s new branch at The Pearl Island (Courtesy of Qatar Explore)
Doha in April has that particular quality where the weather finally cooperates and all you want is somewhere to sit outside with something warm in your hand and water in view. Jasper’s new branch at the Oyster Building, right at the entrance of The Pearl Island, is the kind of spot the city has been quietly needing: a cafe that earns its location rather than just occupying it.
The second branch carries the same identity that made the original worth talking about, built around coffee, cakes and sweets prepared with enough care that the menu doesn’t feel like an afterthought. If you haven’t been to the original and this is your introduction to Jasper’s, you will not be disappointed.
Location: The Pearl Island
Find more information here.
3. Doha diary
The GubGub Studios team in the Industrial Area, Doha, March 2025. (Courtesy of Gubgub Studios)
- MELD: Modus Operandi
MELD is themed around process and experimentation. GubGub Studios, one of Doha’s more intimate creative spaces, is a fitting home for it. Six locally based artists will perform live sound, visual and narrative performances throughout the evening, including rdnd68, Sheb Mansour, Erika Tsuchiya, Mambo Diablo, Reembodiment and Dhow Jones. It’s less about a finished product and more about watching something made in real time.
Date: April 18
Location: GubGub Studios
Find more information here.
- Gemstone and Jewellery Illustration Workshop at MIA
The Museum of Islamic Art is running a five-day illustration workshop led by Maryam Al Majid. Participants explore gemstones and jewellery from the collection before creating their own illustrations rendered in gouache, with a focus on light, shadow and technique. It's a good option if you’ve wanted to try illustration but prefer a real subject to work from.
Date: April 19 to 23
Location: Education Centre, Museum of Islamic Art
Find more information here
- Sense of Paper Fair at Katara Art Center
Editions Art Space is teaming up with Sense of Paper Fair for two days of works on paper, reproductions and fine art prints at Katara Art Center. The photography portion features work from Heya Abdulrahman, Viola Krupova, Khalid Ismail, Abdullatif Al Jaidah, Shather Naqi and Jim Sutherland, while Qaf Editions brings prints from Malak Mattar, Samo Shalaby, Meni Too Many, Huda Jamal and Reem Al Jeally.
Date: April 17 and 18
Location: Katara Art Center
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: ‘Arab Design Now’
Arab Design Now, published by Qatar Museums in 2024 on the occasion of the first Design Doha Biennial, surveys contemporary design from across the Levant, the Gulf and North Africa, spanning architectural installations and material research to furniture, graphic and object design. With more than 250 images and monologues from 11 major designers, it reads more as a visual document than a cover-to-cover book — part of its appeal. It’s the kind of volume you pick up to be reminded that the region is producing work worth paying attention to, and it is available in both English and Arabic.
5. View from Doha
High-rise buildings illuminate the skyline in Doha on April 12, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
6. By the numbers
- Qatar’s fashion retail market was valued at $196 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $353 million by 2033, according to market research firm IMARC Group.
- Clothing and apparel account for the largest share of Qatar’s luxury goods market, at nearly 30%, reflecting what Mordor Intelligence describes as the country’s strong fashion consciousness and cultural emphasis on formal attire.