DUBAI: Designer Roksanda Ilincic visited the Gulf recently with pitstops in Dubai and Riyadh to show off her latest collection and mark her collaboration with the UAE’s Jumeirah Marsa Al-Arab, where she created towering floral arrangements as the hotel’s first artist-in-residence.
Having dressed the likes of Catherine Middleton, Michelle Obama, Blake Lively, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway, the designer’s creations have also been flaunted in the Middle East with Saudi-born Jordanian royal Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein showing off a canary yellow look by Roksanda in 2023.
“(I) have to consider that those women are really under (a) magnifying glass … everything needs to be not just perfect, but also needs to last,” she said of dressing high-profile women.
The London-based, Serbian-born designer also spoke to Arab News about her Spring/Summer 2026 collection, which marks her eponymous label’s 20th anniversary.
The collection was partly inspired by British artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, who is known for her modernist work and her method of piercing the block. According to Pace Gallery, she created her first pierced sculpture in 1932, “introducing emptied space as an element in her compositions.”
To mirror that, Ilincic introduces organic holes into her upcoming collection, appearing on lapels and bodices across the line.
“At a time when female voices were not necessarily heard, she created an incredible body of work that is still very modern, very relevant today,” Ilincic said of the artist, who died in 1975.
“I started with her cutouts and dresses that were inspired by nature,” Ilincic said, adding that Hepworth’s distinct use of metal rods was reflected in her fashion collection through fringe detailing.
It will probably be a hit in the Gulf, where the designer says “women … love to experiment with fashion. I think they’re very, very passionate about fashion
“They love to show off their personalities, but at the same time they appreciate the art and craft behind it,” she said of her customers in the region.
When it comes to sharing advice for up-and-coming designers in Saudi Arabia, Ilincic stressed the importance of staying true to one’s creative vision.
“I think it’s very important to find their own voice … having that authenticity, uniqueness, very particular point of view, I think that’s probably the starting point.
“People may not immediately respond to it, but I think it’s important for them to (stick) to their original vision and something that is very true to them, not (try) to follow something that is already out there.”
