Pomellato and Hande Erçel Spotlight Five Arab Women Designers in Dubai

The Milanese jewellery house brought its signature Iconica collection to Isola Space, alongside a selection of works by five women-led design studios from the region, curated in collaboration with Turkish actress and brand ambassador Hande Erçel.

What do a sculptural gold ring, a handwoven rug and a table made from palm fronds have in common? Quite a lot, according to Pomellato. On 22 October, the Milanese jewellery house brought The Art of Iconic Craftsmanship to Dubai's Isola Space, an evening exploring the relationship between jewellery, contemporary design and the people who make them.

Presented in partnership with Ahmed Seddiqi, the event placed Pomellato's signature Iconica collection alongside works by five women-led design studios, selected in collaboration with Turkish actress and brand ambassador Hande Erçel.

The choice of venue was particularly fitting. Located at The Lana Promenade in Marasi Bay, Isola Space is the Dubai outpost of Milan's Isola Design Group, a platform known for championing independent designers and experimental approaches to making. For Pomellato, which was founded in Milan in 1967, the connection to the city's design community comes naturally. But what made this presentation particularly interesting was its decision to look beyond jewellery and towards the creative practices emerging from the region.

Hande Erçel's Take on Contemporary Craftsmanship

Created in 2017 to celebrate Pomellato's 50th anniversary, Iconica has become one of the house's most recognisable collections. Its appeal lies in the simplicity of its design language: generous volumes, rounded silhouettes and polished gold surfaces that feel almost architectural. There is little unnecessary decoration, with the emphasis placed instead on proportion, material and the skill required to shape it.

For the Dubai presentation, Erçel worked with Pomellato to identify designers whose work shares a similar approach. The actress, who is currently studying carpet weaving at university, has a particular interest in traditional techniques and their place within contemporary design. “What I love about Iconica is its honesty: gold, volume, curves, nothing more. Together with Pomellato, we wanted to bring together creative voices that speak the same language. Different materials, different stories, the same confidence,” she explains.

The resulting selection brings together five studios working across furniture, textiles, ceramics and objects, each approaching craftsmanship from a different perspective.

Five Studios, Five Approaches to Design

Among the featured names is High Sense, the Dubai-based studio founded by Nourhan Rabah, whose work combines digital design, sculptural forms and sustainable technologies. Its Interfered Circles tables feature fluid, 3D-printed bases beneath glass surfaces, creating shapes reminiscent of moving water. The studio also presented Metric Assembly, a coffee table composed of mirrored cubic elements that can be rearranged into different configurations.

The pieces offer an interesting contrast to traditional goldsmithing, showing how contemporary technology can produce objects with a similarly strong emphasis on form and material.

One Third Studio, founded by Duna Ajlan and Dania Ajlan, approaches design through Emirati heritage.

In 2024, the studio became the first Emirati design practice to introduce Khoos marquetry, a technique using locally sourced palm fronds and natural staining. At Isola Space, the studio presented Telad and Al Thara, pieces made by pressing, dyeing and carefully arranging palm fronds by hand.

The results give a familiar material an entirely different presence, translating a traditional craft into contemporary objects without losing the character of the original technique.

Lebanese designer Lamiss Akar, meanwhile, draws inspiration from nature and the forms that often go unnoticed within it. Her Unseen Murmurs collection takes its cues from miniature ecosystems, enlarging their shapes into fluid, sculptural objects with luminous surfaces and vibrant colours.

The connection to Iconica is visible in the curves and the way light interacts with each surface, although Akar's work has a more organic, almost otherworldly quality.

Then there's Doodle and the Gang, founded in 2022 by sisters Mentalla and Asmaa Said. Working across handcrafted rugs, furniture and ceramics, the studio explores nostalgia, regional identity and the emotional connections people develop with everyday objects.

Their designs have a playful quality, combining familiar references with unexpected forms and proportions. It's the kind of work that encourages you to look twice, particularly when a recognisable material or object takes on an entirely new personality.

Completing the selection is Studio Paola Sakr, based between Beirut and Dubai. Known for experimenting with materials and their potential uses, the studio presented silverware from Earth to Paola, its tableware and hosting label.

Made from silver-plated brass, the pieces combine polished and matte finishes and are designed to be mixed, layered and used rather than reserved for special occasions. It's an approach that feels particularly relevant to Pomellato's own philosophy, where fine jewellery is intended to be worn freely, stacked and incorporated into everyday life.

Alongside the five studios, Pomellato presented pieces from its High Jewellery collections, including Iconica High Jewellery, where the collection's familiar gold forms are elevated through diamond pavé and meticulous hand-finishing. Produced by the master goldsmiths at Casa Pomellato in Milan, the pieces demonstrate the technical precision behind designs that appear deceptively simple.

The juxtaposition with the regional designers' work also reveals something interesting about contemporary craftsmanship.

A 3D-printed table, a palm-frond surface and a hand-polished gold bracelet may have little in common aesthetically, but each reflects a considered relationship between the maker, the material and the finished object. And while heritage techniques remain central to many of the featured studios, their work is firmly contemporary, shaped by experimentation and an interest in finding new applications for familiar materials.

The event also offered a welcome opportunity to place women designers from the region alongside an established international luxury house, giving their work a platform that extends beyond the conventional boundaries of furniture and product design.

For Pomellato, the evening marked another expression of its longstanding relationship with women and creative independence.

For the designers involved, it was an opportunity to show how varied the region's contemporary design scene has become, from the revival of Emirati palm-weaving traditions to digitally fabricated furniture and experimental objects. And for those of us who appreciate beautiful things, it offered a compelling reason to look beyond the jewellery box.

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