Manish Malhotra closed Dubai Fashion Week on Friday, with a show conceived as an homage to India.
It was a fitting finale to a week that brought together a broad mix of emerging and established names – including Lili Blanc, Lama Jouni, Kresha Bajaj and Emergency Room, as well as international names John Richmond and Alberta Ferretti – with differing perspectives, approaches and executions.
Held at Dubai Design District, it is the first major fashion week to unveil autumn/winter 2026 collections.
Day six
Manish Malhotra
A surprise attendee at DFW, Manish Malhotra's presence was not announced until the week was under way. The Indian designer's return comes a year on from his closing appearance at the 2025 autumn/winter Dubai Fashion Week.
Called Inaya: The India Story, the show was delivered as a love letter to the history, glamour and savoir-faire of India.
Men's looks were decorated with tone-on-tone patterning, with evening jackets decorated in fil coupe jacquard (meaning cut-threads) and dense beading.
Women's looks were either light as air, in patterned silk cut into loose jackets and flowy trousers, or bridalwear – heavy, cut from golden cloth and smothered in crystals and beading.
Techniques included delicate chikankari embroidery from the village of Mijwan, Kashmir thread work, as well as what Malhotra described as “intricate embroidery shaped by the hands of master artisans across our ateliers in Delhi and Mumbai”. He explained that this collection was “not a single idea, but a living narrative” that showcases skills.
Spanning embroidered abayas, heavy velvet skirts with bejewelled bodices and slim lehengas sparkling with embroidery, the question was how to top it all. His answer? Bollywood star Kriti Sanon, who closed the show dressed in an all-white outfit, strung with pearls.
This was lavish, extravagant and a testimony to the hands that made it all possible. Although the show started late, the sheer beauty of it was worth the wait.
Day five
Nura
Billed as the region’s first eveningwear brand designed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, Nura arrived with plenty of intrigue. Launched late last year, the brand marked its first major test at Dubai Fashion Week: could the audience tell?
The collection – long gowns and Ramadan-friendly kaftans in deep red, gold, teal, emerald and pale pink – was undeniably elegant. Scattered clusters of beading added a classic, decorative touch, though the overall effect felt cautious. Given AI’s potential for experimentation, it will be interesting to see how far Nura chooses to push its next collections.
Kresha Bajaj
Already a familiar name among the Indian diaspora, Mumbai-based designer Kresha Bajaj returned to Dubai Fashion Week with a collection rooted in intricate handwork and embellishment.
Titled Tempered, the collection unfolded in a palette of moody metallics in grey, black and bronze. Long silver paillettes traced the hem of a knitted grey mini dress; a laced obsidian bolero was paired with wide-leg trousers; and a boxy jacket, scattered with reflective sequins, offered a glittering interplay of hard and soft codes.
Day four
Lama Jouni
Guided by a mantra of “redefining essentials”, Dubai-based Lebanese designer Lama Jouni has long focused on building modern wardrobe staples. At Dubai Fashion Week, this translated into an emphasis on menswear tailoring, presented through roomy suits styled with matching shirts, including a grey ensemble topped with a co-ordinating overcoat.
The collection was not exclusively masculine: loose-cut white mini dresses were cinched at the waist with moleskin corsets, softening the tailoring with a more feminine counterpoint.
Dina Melwani
Known for occasion wear, the Dubai-based label delivered a collection steeped in evening glamour. Highlights included a shift dress cross-hatched with sequins and pearls, and a sculpted black velvet gown traced with metallic embroidery and crystals. Added sparkle came courtesy of Damiani, which lent earrings and necklaces for the runway.
Lili Blanc
Titled Chapter 11, this show by Dubai-based label Lili Blanc marked the launch of its new bags and shoes, with oversized suede and leather carryalls tucked under the arm.
Opening with a procession of leather – floor-grazing trench coats, tailored suits, corsets with trousers and a sleek leather dress – the collection was an unapologetic statement of female power, delivered with signature Lili Blanc attitude.
Day three
Absent Findings
A graduate of Florence's Polimoda, Absent Findings founder Shivin Singh works with surplus fabrics and heirloom saris.
His show explored masculine tailoring across genders: roomy pinstripe blazers for women, and workwear shorts for men, cut on the bias and styled with overcoats and Kolhapuri sandals.
Understated and skilfully executed, it marked him out as a designer to watch.
Blssd
Dubai label Blssd leaned into its “cool girl” reputation with a laid-back, luxe streetwear collection. Founded by cancer survivor Lama Riachi, the brand is rooted in social enterprise.
Here, it delivered sharp tailoring: a chocolate blazer half-dipped in sequins and worn with a matching mini skirt, alongside vegan-leather barrel-cut trousers styled with an asymmetric shirt.
Dhara Shah
A recent graduate from Mumbai’s FAD fashion academy, Dhara Shah appeared in Dubai for the first time.
Unfazed, Shah sent out sculptural, intriguing pieces. There was a cream mini dress in ruched raw silk, embellished with clusters of beads and pearls. There was a bodysuit wrapped in a halo of ruffles that coiled around the shoulders and down the legs, like a marine creature.
And there was a fragile-looking mini dress smothered in three-dimensional silk flowers, framing the face like a decadent bouquet.
Emergency Room x Timberland
Lebanese label Emergency Room returned with a new collaboration with Timberland, continuing its commitment to working exclusively with thrifted clothing and surplus or deadstock fabrics.
These are meticulously cut apart and remade into fresh pieces: waterfall-hem skirts fashioned from lace tablecloths, crochet blankets transformed into long-sleeve tops, and vintage buttons tracing patterns across jackets and shirts.
Elsewhere, old curtains became midi-length puffball skirts, while lace sheers reappeared as a men’s translucent T-shirt. Endlessly imaginative and skilfully executed, Emergency Room is a rare talent challenging the reflex to buy new.
Day two
Mrs Keepa
Starting the day was the off-schedule presentation by Dubai's Mrs Keepa, in an event partnered with e & called Ctrl+Block aimed at combating online cybercrime.
The label – the brainchild of French-Egyptian designer Mariam Yehia and her Lebanese husband Bassel Komaty – stayed close to its ethos of powerful womanhood.
This was told via an edgy wrapped bandage dress with each “strip” printed with the Ctrl+Block slogan – an outfit about asserting personal control, and a wide-shouldered T-shirt, worn with barrel-legged jeans and softened with a vintage black lace shawl thrown around the shoulders.
Narma
Back at the d3 show space, Saudi designer Noof Al Rashed delivered the new collection from her label Narma. Built around notions of balance and cultural dialogue, it offered creations so light as to be almost gossamer.
One look was made of translucent, sand-coloured silk, delicately ribbed to stand proud at the arms, with a matching skirt that might adorn an ancient Egyptian goddess.
In another, a tube skirt made of pale beads was teamed with a halter neck of more beads that was long enough to sway at the waist with each step.
John Richmond
Rounding out the night was John Richmond, one of the UK's most famously anti-establishment designers.
He has dressed famous faces such as Madonna, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga and Axl Rose and created George Michael's “Destroy” leather jacket in the 1987 music video for Faith. For the first time, Richmond brought his rebellious thinking to the UAE, with a show that delved into his own history.
This includes a fitted dress emblazoned with a beaded Union Jack, a tightly, intricately embroidered jacket worn with skinny jeans and buckled boots, and a “cocktail” dress featuring a zipped leather corset top and a bubble net skirt. A closer look revealed the top is printed with typical Richmond slogans, such as “Yes, we are the exploited”.
Day one
Alberta Ferretti
Alberta Ferretti creative director Lorenzo Serafini opened the week on Sunday with his singular take on modern womanhood. He has led Ferretti since 2024, when he took over from the founder, Alberta herself, who stepped aside after 47 years.
Since taking over, Serafini has brought a toughness to Ferretti, adding a modern depth to the brand famous for its soft femininity.
Under Serafini, Ferretti now offers slightly punchier alternatives more suited to modern life, yet always tempered with Ferretti's dreamy romance. One charming certainty about this house is that a cascade of ruffles is never too far away.
The show notes spoke of exploring “beauty as presence rather than performance”, told through soft ripples of cloth, such as a plisse look in creamy oatmeal, comprising a top and skirt topped with a cape-let and edged with ruffles around the neck and wrists.
Another look of dusty mustard was a one-shouldered gown, made entirely of delicate, floaty layers of mousseline silk.
The rest of the collection spoke of something less dreamy and more anchored in the everyday. These included a series of side-fastening, waisted jackets, teamed with midi-length full leather skirts, in either black or chocolate brown, with a peep of ruffles falling out of the neck and wrists.
With the sharply defined waist and froth of fabric, it hinted at an updated version of 18th century dress.
Elsewhere, a dove grey, drop-waisted midi dress had a seam of discreet pleats around the waist and hips, while a skinny scarf carelessly tied added cool-girl panache.
In all, the show delivered a slice of Italian style, told via unfinished hems and precise softness.
