Words by Allegra Salvadori
At Downtown Design Dubai 2025, Kohler presented not just a booth—but an atmosphere, a living tableau, a journey across the Arabian Desert where design, craft, and emotion converged.
With “Colors of Nature: The Desert Chapter”, the brand transformed a long-standing global campaign into a Dubai-first narrative—one that celebrated the tactile poetry of sand, the romance of nomadic travel, and the expressive power of neutral tones.
Created in collaboration with acclaimed regional designer Marco Maximus, the installation became one of the fair’s most compelling destinations: a place where materials spoke, colors breathed, and design revealed itself as both memory and landscape.
A Desert Reimagined: Where Travel, Craft, and Emotion Converge
Kohler’s relationship with nature’s colors spans more than 150 years. At Downtown Design, this legacy materialized into an intimate expedition through the desert’s palette: flowing textiles that echoed wind-sculpted sand, tent-like drapery suggesting the refuge of nomadic journeys, and a sunlit respite zone shaped as a contemporary desert camp—a place for slowing down, for reconnecting with oneself and the landscape.
Neutral-toned fixtures emerged quietly from within this scenography, as if discovered along a journey: the sculptural Artifacts™ bath with its vintage lines, the refined Purist™ faucet, the hand-carved tactility of the Derring™ sink, and the sleek curves of the San Souci™ toilet. Each piece floated between design and geology—calm, radiant, grounded in the emotional purity of sand, stone, and textile.
These moments of stillness were complemented by the Kohler x Studio McGee collection, where classic details and warm finishes brought an understated luxury that felt perfectly aligned with the region’s evolving design language.
Marco Maximus: Giving the Desert a New Visual Identity
Marco Maximus placed his signature on the project through two bespoke textile patterns, created exclusively for Kohler. One, in deep brown hues, referenced raffia and handwoven Indian fabrics—rich, tactile, and rooted in heritage. The other, lighter and more delicate, abstracted the rhythm of palm tree trunks into a contemporary monogram that served as the visual code of this Desert Chapter.
Through these custom pieces, Maximus wrapped the installation in layers of cultural meaning. His work transformed Kohler’s global vision into a narrative that was unmistakably Middle Eastern, without ever slipping into nostalgia. It was design as storytelling, design as identity.
The Neutrals of a New Generation
The Desert Chapter introduced a nuanced palette of expressive neutrals inspired by the land itself. Shades such as Dune and Bourbon Rutile offered warmth and sculptural presence, while finishes like Vibrant Brushed Bronze and Brushed Graphite brought subtle shadow, depth, and contrast. The result was a language of desert modernism—timeless, tactile, and quietly luxurious.
Sustainable Narratives Rooted in Place
Kohler’s desert story extended into sustainability through collaborations with two forward-thinking brands. EGE’s ReForm A New Wave carpets, crafted from regenerated ECONYL® yarns, introduced sculptural, wave-like textures that echoed both water and dunes. Datecrete Studio & Lab presented a distinctly regional innovation: tiles, pavers, and sculptural pieces made from crushed date seeds—cement-free, resin-free, and deeply embedded in the region’s agricultural heritage.
Together, these materials added depth to the installation’s message: the desert is not empty—it is full of resources, stories, and possibilities for a sustainable future.
Design as Conversation: Kohler at the Heart of the Fair
Throughout Downtown Design week, Kohler positioned itself as a catalyst for ideas. Conversations unfolded across the fair, bringing together global and regional voices to explore how design can be more culturally resonant, more responsible, and more rooted in place. One dialogue took place at the Forum, where designers discussed the rise of localization and the renewed interest in craft as a foundation for contemporary luxury. Here, Marco Maximus, Kohler’s Michael Seum, and leading architects and designers reflected on how the desert, with its raw tactility and cultural weight, continues to inspire a new generation of design. More talks took place throughout the fair.
Rather than isolated events, these conversations created a continuous thread: a shared reflection on how design can honour place while shaping the future.
A Tribute to the Desert—and to Design That Endures
With “Colors of Nature: The Desert Chapter”, Kohler crafted a rare moment of emotional clarity at Downtown Design Dubai 2025. It was a celebration of the desert’s poetry, of the textures that define the region, and of design’s ability to evoke memory and belonging.
Through Marco Maximus’s visionary lens, collaborations with sustainable innovators, and a week rich with dialogue, Kohler reaffirmed that the spaces we inhabit are not just built—they are felt. They are shaped by the land, by culture, by craftsmanship, and by the stories we choose to tell.
