DUBAI: With the open call deadline for this year’s Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation x Dolce & Gabbana Design Award approaching on Nov. 17, Arab News spoke to the winner of the first edition about her experience spending six months at Dolce & Gabbana’s headquarters in Italy and why this opportunity is a launchpad for young designers.
As part of the two-year cycle of the 2024 award, Emirati winner Azza Rashed Al-Suwaidi completed an internship at Dolce & Gabbana’s headquarters, where she saw her winning abaya design come to life.
“I faced pressure and unfamiliar norms,” Al-Suwaidi said of the challenges.
“In a new language and work culture, I couldn’t talk my way through everything, so I shadowed closely, watching workflows, reading nonverbal cues, and turning feedback into action without ego. Fashion is a physical language — hands, fabric, pins, fit notes, eye contact — and I learned it by mapping the sequence (measure, drape, mark, adjust), prototyping, and returning for silent critique,” she added, noting that the process “trained me to be more perceptive.”
Al-Suwaidi’s design, called “Flourish,” was inspired by the resilience and vibrancy of the bougainvillea flower, which is commonly found across the Gulf.
“The flower is known for growing within harsh conditions; this was a flower found in Emirati ecosystems but also that of Sicily, a location that had always been integral to Dolce & Gabbana’s DNA and brand heritage,” she explained.
Looking ahead, Al-Suwaidi says she wishes to raise the international profile of Emirati fashion and credits her time at Dolce & Gabbana for giving her the right tools.
“Working with an Italian luxury house, specifically Dolce & Gabbana, was uniquely valuable because it placed me inside a mature craft ecosystem and a disciplined operating model distinct from an Arab label. Equally important, learning inside a different culture sharpened my judgment and range. Being in Milan meant absorbing a distinct design language, workplace cadence, and critique style and translating those norms back into my own practice without losing my identity,” she said.
For the next edition of the award, three finalists will be announced on Dec. 1 before a winner is chosen in April 2026.
The winner will go on to take part in a six-month internship at Dolce & Gabbana in Milan or Legnano, Italy, and will also display their work at the Abu Dhabi Festival and a selected Dolce & Gabbana Boutique in the UAE capital.
As for her advice for the next winner, Al-Suwaidi encouraged them “to cultivate sustained curiosity and a habit of exploration. Remain open to unfamiliar experiences, knowing that each day will present new challenges and unexpected turns.”
