Moscow’s Interior & Design Week draws UAE buyers hunting for one-of-a-kind pieces

Emirates 247 - From statement lighting and ceramics to living-room furniture, Emirati visitors are adding “the world’s most beautiful” winter design fair in Moscow to their sourcing map

Moscow in December is usually associated with snowfalls, festive lights, iconic architecture and a deep-winter social calendar. This year, it is also drawing attention from the UAE’s design and interiors community, as the 7th Moscow Interior and Design Week which took place on 11–14 December 2025, an international fair that blends a large-scale trade showcase with a public-facing, shop-and-discover experience.

Organisers say the latest edition has brought together more than 1,200 manufacturers from 15 countries, alongside a packed business programme and themed installations. 
Growing UAE presence at the fair is among the key headlines.

“Businesspeople know that Moscow is becoming a world-class capital of interior design, but it was precisely the fact that Moscow Interior and Design Week is already being held for the seventh time that convinced them of the need to visit it as a major business mission. Guests from the UAE say that their clients are increasingly expressing a desire to find truly unique solutions for their interiors. And the fact that buyers from the UAE strive to get to our exhibition and quickly close deals proves that manufacturers from Moscow can easily compete with the world’s leading studios,” Semen Ivanov, founder of Burg&Glass, an interior design firm, told Emirates247.com.

Exhibitors say Emirati visitors have been especially drawn to pieces that travel well across residential and commercial settings: living-room furniture, ceramics and floor lamps. The appeal, they note, is in the sense of distinct identity: decorative elements that feel less like catalogue staples and more like “finds”, the kind of conversation pieces that can anchor a private home, a boutique office, or a hospitality space.

As UAE-based buyers say, clients increasingly ask for interiors that are personalised, story-led and materially distinctive, particularly in a market where high design is not a niche but an expectation.
Alongside the exhibition floor, the week’s international track includes “structured buyer meetings” intended to connect overseas importers with manufacturers across categories such as designer furniture, decorative objects, glass and mirrors, finishes and sleep-related products. The model is straightforward: accelerate introductions, reduce friction in negotiations, and encourage longer-term cooperation rather than one-off orders.

For UAE-based companies, such sessions can be especially relevant. The Emirates’ interiors sector is anchored by a steady pipeline of hospitality, workplace and high-end residential projects, all of which reward suppliers who can combine quality, reliability and a point of difference.

This winter fair also places an Emirati perspective directly on the main stage. Her Excellency Reem Bin Karam, Director General of the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, spoke at the event among the event’s headline participants, alongside Aisha Al Harmoudi, Head of Marketing and Events at Irthi. Their appearance continues a thread of UAE engagement with the Moscow platform that has been building over successive years.

Irthi’s work has previously been positioned around the idea of bringing craft heritage into contemporary product design, and expanding market access for artisan communities, a theme that resonates strongly across global design weeks, including those closer to home in the UAE.

The UAE already hosts a robust design calendar, with Dubai positioned as a regional hub for industry gatherings, exhibitions and collectible design. Against that backdrop, what makes a Moscow winter fair interesting for Emirati buyers is not simply novelty: it is the combination of scale, new supplier discovery, and an offer that mixes design storytelling with commerce.
If exhibitors are right about the current momentum, Moscow’s interior showcase may increasingly become a strategic stop for UAE-based buyers looking to diversify sourcing — particularly for décor, lighting and decorative craft categories where differentiation matters as much as specification.