Abu Dhabi: Emirati fashion designer Maitha Alansaari has won the ADMAF x Dolce&Gabbana Design Award 2025. The prize includes a six-month internship at Dolce&Gabbana in Milan, starting in January 2027.
The award is run by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) in partnership with the Italian fashion house.
This year’s brief asked emerging designers to reinterpret the Emirati abaya through flowers, lace, patchwork, hand-painting and embroidery.
A cape built from fragments
Alansaari’s winning piece is a cape called “A Journey Woven in Fragments.” It combines patchwork motifs from Emirati heritage with Italian design traditions.
According to ADMAF, it was made with digital printing and finished with hand-applied embroidery.
Alansaari describes the work as a statement about identity.
“This award is more than a personal achievement, it is a reminder of the power of design to build bridges between cultures,” she said.
She said the piece shows a meeting between Emirati heritage and Italian craftsmanship, “creating a dialogue between two cultures through craftsmanship, storytelling, and innovation.”
What the internship involves
From January, Alansaari will spend six months in Milan, working in the fashion house’s ateliers alongside its artisans. She says she hopes to improve her craft there.
“The opportunity to intern in Milan will allow me to refine my craft while learning from one of fashion’s most iconic brands,” she said.
Alansaari was part of the first group of students to graduate from the University of Sharjah with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion and Textile Design, the first such degree offered in the UAE. She is also a co-founder of House of 45, described as Sharjah’s first concept store, which supports emerging designers.
Two runners-up
Fakhra Almansoori and Mohamed Alowais were named runners-up. Almansoori presented “Lace Mirage,” a reworking of the black abaya inspired by the dunes of Liwa.
Alowais presented “Ethereal Being,” a modern take on the Emirati mukhawar that combines lace, beadwork and archival motifs.
All three designs were produced by Dolce&Gabbana and will be shown for six months at the brand’s boutique at The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.
New round open
The organisers have opened applications for the third edition. Emirati designers aged 18 to 35 can submit concepts until 16 November 2026.
The winner was chosen by a jury chaired by ADMAF founder Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo. It included representatives of Dolce&Gabbana Alta Moda, the media executive Asma Al Fahim, the artist and designer Azza Al Qubaisi, and Marie Genevieve Cyr of Istituto Marangoni Dubai.