Why XBD Collective is in the Design 100

XBD Collective’s presence in Dubai reflects an interior design scene that has matured considerably over the past decade, moving from validating imported names toward developing its own recognisable voices. As the city’s community of designers, showrooms and collaborators has thickened, studios like this one have had room to build a distinct practice rather than simply meeting demand.

Founded in 2015 by Ellen Søhoel, XBD Collective grew from a two-person team into a multidisciplinary practice with offices in Dubai, London and Kochi, working across residential and hospitality briefs for developers including Emaar and DAMAC. That trajectory — a decade spent scaling a genuinely Dubai-born studio into an international one — is itself part of what this index is tracking: not just striking rooms, but the infrastructure of a design culture taking shape in real time.