Downtown Design (Instagram)—the Middle East’s leading fair for contemporary and high-quality design—has launched its inaugural edition in Saudi Arabia, running until 23 May 2025. Set in Riyadh’s JAX District, a dynamic cultural destination framed by the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Al Turaif, Downtown Design Riyadh brings together the region’s creative momentum and an international roster of design excellence.
Organised in partnership with the Saudi Architecture and Design Commission of the Ministry of Culture, the fair will connect global and regional design communities through a curated showcase of original brands, collectible works, and cutting-edge installations. Exhibitors range from legacy houses like Natuzzi and Iwan Maktabi to rising local studios and internationally acclaimed platforms including Collectional, Cosentino, and Maison Louis Drucker.
Gray Gardens Plant Studio
Gray Gardens Plant Studio, founded by American-Lebanese artist Danya Ahmed in 2021, is a boutique botanical studio that merges craft, design, and artistic expression. With a focus on handcrafted planters, sculptural objects, and bespoke botanical installations, the studio reflects Ahmed’s background in art and her commitment to material authenticity. Through collaborations with architects, designers, and creatives, Gray Gardens has grown from a niche passion project into a rising regional brand. At Downtown Design Riyadh, Gray Gardens makes its debut with a curated collection of raw, handmade planters and vases. Emphasizing tactile qualities, each piece is sculpted with intention—balancing function and form. The presentation is a testament to the studio’s evolving practice, where earth-derived materials and contemporary design sensibilities intersect. With increasing interest from international buyers and design enthusiasts alike, Gray Gardens Plant Studio continues to grow as a symbol of artistic botanical living.
Samovar
Established in the 1920s, Samovar is a heritage carpet brand known for its refined curation of luxury and designer rugs. With expansive, design-forward showrooms in Kuwait, Dubai, and Doha, the brand carries a wide-ranging collection—from exclusive international designs to bespoke commissions and regionally rooted collaborations. Samovar blends tradition with innovation, offering pieces that elevate interiors through quality craftsmanship and timeless aesthetics. As one of the region’s most established names in luxury carpets, the brand continues to foster collaborations with both global icons and local talents, reinforcing its role as a cultural bridge in the world of textile art. Each showroom operates as a dynamic design space, allowing clients to engage with heritage materials through a contemporary lens. With a century of expertise and a strong presence across the Gulf, Samovar remains a destination for collectors, interior designers, and connoisseurs of fine rugs.
KARIM+ELIAS
UAE-based design studio KARIM+ELIAS, founded by Karim Tamerji and Elias El Hage, channels a multidisciplinary approach across sculpture, architecture, fine arts, and interior design. Rooted in material exploration—particularly sand—the duo creates work that draws from the region’s natural terrains and historical landscapes. Following their debut at Downtown Design 2022, KARIM+ELIAS developed a distinct visual language of “modern relics,” sculptural pieces that reinterpret the shifting forms of the desert. At Downtown Design Riyadh, the studio unveils Strata, a monumental installation composed of over 60 modular triangular seats individually crafted from locally sourced desert sands. The geometric design pays tribute to Diriyah’s traditional Furjat motif, merging cultural heritage with contemporary form. Through this poetic gesture, Strata becomes more than functional—it is a spatial narrative of place, memory, and topography. KARIM+ELIAS continue to bridge environment and design, reshaping regional materiality into modern expressions of identity.
Iwan Maktabi
With roots dating back to 1926, Iwan Maktabi stands as one of the Middle East’s most esteemed purveyors of antique carpets and textile art. Founded by Mohamed Maktabi and built on three generations of expertise, the gallery has evolved into a platform for cultural storytelling through woven design. From classic Persian rugs to contemporary collaborations, Iwan Maktabi bridges history and innovation. At Downtown Design Riyadh, the brand presents The Guardian Palm by Sumaya Shelbi—an avant-garde textile artwork created through unprecedented pile height experimentation. The piece combines sculptural form with tactile depth, blurring boundaries between carpet and installation. Also featured is the Libas Collection, a collaboration with Blu Architects inspired by traditional Saudi garments, and SABIL, a functional carpet line designed for large-scale Saudi interiors. These projects reflect Iwan Maktabi’s mission to preserve cultural heritage while pushing textile design into bold, uncharted territory.
NWII.III Interiors
Founded in 2011 by engineer and designer Noura Suleiman, NWII.III Interiors is a Saudi-based design firm known for merging interior architecture with cultural heritage. The studio provides comprehensive design solutions that span residential, hospitality, and commercial sectors. Deeply rooted in Saudi identity, NWII.III’s work harmonizes local design values with global perspectives, thanks to partnerships with renowned furniture and textile houses across the USA, Italy, France, and the Middle East. At Downtown Design Riyadh, Suleiman introduces Mezlaj, a new furniture line that celebrates Arabian craftsmanship through modern forms. The collection is an exploration of material tactility, regional artistry, and spatial refinement. With a growing reputation for delivering emotionally resonant interiors, NWII.III continues to lead a new wave of culturally grounded design practices that speak to both tradition and contemporary living. The studio’s presence in Riyadh affirms its role as a vital player in shaping Saudi Arabia’s modern design identity.
TRAME x Maison Louis Drucker x Aranda\Lasch
Maison Louis Drucker, France’s storied rattan atelier, joins forces with design platform TRAME and New York-based studio Aranda\Lasch in a forward-thinking collaboration debuting at Downtown Design Riyadh. Known for its heritage craftsmanship dating back to 1885, Drucker reinvents its iconic Bistro chair through a digital lens. Visitors can interact with a generative design algorithm—developed by Aranda\Lasch—to create their own unique chair iterations. The installation bridges algorithmic design and artisanal mastery, demonstrating how tradition and technology can coalesce to produce bespoke, emotionally resonant furniture. This collaboration is part of TRAME’s larger mission to connect craftsmanship with digital innovation across continents. The resulting chairs maintain the timeless charm of French café culture while embodying futuristic aesthetics shaped by user interaction. This blend of parametric design and handcrafted excellence opens new possibilities for personalisation in furniture, showcasing a harmonious dialogue between legacy techniques and the creative potential of computational tools.
Richard Yasmine for Scarlet Splendour
Scarlet Splendour, the luxury Indian design brand founded in 2014, brings a distinctive blend of global flair and Indian craftsmanship to Riyadh. Celebrated for its bold aesthetics and international collaborations, the brand partners with Lebanese designer Richard Yasmine to present the Flower Chair—a whimsical yet refined statement piece. Known for his poetic, conceptual design language, Yasmine interprets floral motifs through sculptural form, adding emotional resonance to functional furniture. The piece exemplifies Scarlet Splendour’s ethos: merging artisanal techniques such as resin inlay with surreal, artistic sensibilities. Building on its legacy of innovative partnerships (notably with Matteo Cibic), the brand’s Riyadh showcase underscores its commitment to design as art. With an expanding global presence and a growing collector base, Scarlet Splendour continues to redefine luxury through storytelling, emotion, and craft-driven narratives—offering works that transcend geography and genre.
Natuzzi Italia
Italian furniture icon Natuzzi Italia introduces the Amama collection, a regional debut in collaboration with designer Andrea Steidl. Renowned for its mastery of leather and commitment to Mediterranean-inspired living, Natuzzi reinvents its design vocabulary with Amama, a line that blends contemporary aesthetics with cultural motifs. The collection explores soft, flowing forms inspired by familial warmth and traditional Italian craftsmanship, rendered through sustainable materials and tactile elegance. Known for their “Circle of Harmony” philosophy, which balances design, function, and emotion, Natuzzi’s presentation in Riyadh reflects a thoughtful localization of global design values. Steidl’s collaboration emphasizes narrative-driven pieces that evoke memory and belonging—fitting for the brand’s expansion into Middle Eastern markets. The launch reaffirms Natuzzi Italia’s evolving role as a purveyor of meaningful design that transcends trends, appealing to discerning audiences with a taste for heritage, innovation, and modern comfort.
COLLECTIONAL
COLLECTIONAL returns to Downtown Design Riyadh with a striking curation of collectible design, spotlighting limited-edition works by some of the world’s most acclaimed studios and designers. Among the featured names are Christophe Delcourt, Apparatus Studio, Draga & Aurel, Laurids Gallée, Mario Tsai, Sabine Marcelis, Steven John Clark, and Refractory. Each piece in the COLLECTIONAL booth exemplifies design as functional art—merging fine craftsmanship with conceptual depth. Known for its gallery-like approach, COLLECTIONAL offers clients access to exclusive creations that blur the lines between furniture, sculpture, and object. The platform continues to champion global design excellence, while fostering dialogue with local collectors, architects, and interior designers. From the refined material palettes of Marcelis to the raw expressionism of Clark, the presentation offers a spectrum of aesthetics unified by craftsmanship and innovation. In Riyadh, COLLECTIONAL stands out as a beacon for cutting-edge, collectible design in the Middle East.
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