Over the past decade, the UAE’s design landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation. 

What was once a niche creative community has flourished to become an international hub, attracting homegrown talent, global brands, and pioneering collaborations. With platforms like Dubai Design Week and Downtown Design elevating the region’s creative voice, the world is now taking notice of the UAE’s exciting potential.

Among the country’s celebrated success stories is Emirati furniture designer Khalid Shafar. Since launching his brand and design house in Dubai in 2010, he has gained international acclaim for his distinctive aesthetic, one deeply rooted in his heritage yet universally appealing. 

“I always love to integrate and inject culture into my work, but I tend to represent it in a contemporary style that will cater to a wider audience,” Khalid tells Villa 88 Man. “I am firstly targeting an audience in the UAE, which is hugely cosmopolitan, and then throughout the region and the world. So, I need a style that can appeal to many different nationalities and backgrounds.” 

“But, at the same time, I need to inject those stories of my culture because I believe that, even as creatives, we are ambassadors for our regions and countries,” he adds. 

For Khalid, storytelling is key. “Whether it’s people, crafts or moments, if we put them on a piece of art or design, people will continue to talk about these stories long after they have vanished,” he reflects.

This approach has led him to collaborate with international brands, the most recent being a partnership with Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre. Tasked with designing an installation that interprets the Maison’s celestial movements through Ramadan’s lunar cycle, Khalid created Crescent to Crescent – a dynamic visual representation of the moon’s phases throughout the Holy Month. “I’m very happy with this collaboration,” he says. “We wanted to highlight the importance of the moon sighting during Ramadan, but also have that connection to time and watchmaking.” 

The resulting installation captures the whole month of Ramadan through stages of the moon. “The moon sighting is very crucial to Ramadan, so I felt this was an interesting topic for me to focus on, but in a different way,” he explains. “Every part of this installation represents a full day and, therefore, a full stage of our life.”

While more collaborations are on the horizon, Khalid is discerning when it comes to the projects he takes on. “I assess who I am collaborating with and choose brands with common values,” he says. His decision to partner with Jaeger-LeCoultre, however, was easy. “For them as a watchmaker and me as a designer, we are both really precise about how we do things and the precious details of the pieces we create.”

“Quality is important, as is having timeless designs,” he adds. “We’re both planning a legacy we want to leave behind, so I think that is a very solid foundation for us to be good partners.” 

That sense of legacy is very important to Khalid, and his desire to represent his country on an international level is clear. “Having a local voice is crucial for the UAE, and it also gives me a great opportunity to seduce other creatives to move into the sphere and become a creative force representing the UAE and Dubai itself,” he notes. Having witnessed the country’s design industry evolve since he opened his studio, Khalid is optimistic about its trajectory. 

“There’s no doubt it has flourished a lot, and the contributions to its growth have been across the board – from organisations, private companies, government, media, and even the creative forces themselves. They started to become courageous in showing their work, taking on challenges, and moving forward. The growth has been fantastic,” he says, adding that this journey is far from over. 

“I’d say we aren’t yet mature enough as an industry – this is still the beginning. For the creative field to grow, it takes time. We must be patient,” he explains. 

He concludes by urging the industry to approach design with depth and dedication. “There is a lot of support, but what I would say is we need to be careful not to treat design as a trend. Designers need to have knowledge, patience and seriousness in their work,” he says. “If you are not equipped with all of these, there won’t be lasting success. I hope and believe this will not be the case for many designers.” 

Visit khalidshafar.com and follow @khalid_shafar on Instagram