SHOPPING IN ABU DHABI

From a barbershop café to Emirati gems, home-grown brands offer a fresh counterpoint to the UAE capital's glitzy malls and designer labels. 

- Hafsa Lodi.

MODERN MARKETPLACE

In an unexpectedly urban-edged, concretefloored corner of Yas Mall, Ether by Cloud Spaces offers a riff on the traditional marketplace, replacing stalls with individually rentable terrazzo and metal cubes, and gold-and-white rails featuring designs by young regional creatives. Standouts include satin separates by Dubai label Von Kober; Abu Dhabi-based Sara Tamimi's Victorianinspired dresses, modernised with cotton poplin fabrics, pleats, and drapes; and Dumyé's handmade, sustainable cloth dolls etherbycs.com

HAIRCUTS AND HANGOUTS

A café, barber, and streetwear store rolled into one, Local combines the social aspect of barbershop culture with speciality brews and clothing by hype labels such as Stüssy  Gramicci, and Aries. Between the remote workers, friends catching up, and clients getting their beards shaped at the brand's new concrete-clad premises in AI Zeina, there's a tangible sense of community reinforced through tie-ups with fellow UAE start-ups Seven Fortunes Coffee Roasters and local bakery Miche. Sneakerheads come for limited-edition drops, as well as a dedicated shoe laundry service. localco.ae

ARCHITECTURAL OBJECTS

Fount is a self-dubbed "design shrine" at Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic Family House, where a meticulously assembled selection of puzzles, stationery, stools, and ceramic sculptures sits beside wooden dolls and books such as A Poor Collector's Guide to Buying Great Art by Erling Kagge. At the Louvre Abu Dhabi, it's well worth stopping at the eclectically curated Museum Boutique a sleek all-white space stocking Dadaist goods such as wooden bow ties and vases made from waterproof paper, plus frameable postcards of works by famous painters and local names including Maitha Hazza fountconcept.ae; louvreabudhabi.ae

ARTISANAL HOMEWARE