As luxury offices in Europe and the US ease into year-end wind-down mode, teams focused on the Middle East are operating on a very different timeline. Ramadan 2026 is expected to begin 10 days earlier this year, around February 18 or 19, depending on moon sighting, with Eid al-Fitr falling in the third week of March. The early timing, coming just weeks after the holidays and almost colliding with both Valentine’s Day (February 14) and Lunar New Year (February 17), is creating what Fahed Ghanim, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle, describes as a “genuine compression of the retail calendar”.
Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle operates stores for brands including Italian label Eleventy, menswear brand Corneliani and activewear favorite Lululemon, as well as That Concept Store. “We move straight from the peak intensity of Q4 into one of the region’s biggest cultural and commercial moments with very little breathing room,” Ghanim explains. For luxury brands, this means Ramadan planning must now be locked in as soon as the year begins.
No breathing room
As the Gulf’s importance to the global luxury industry grows, Ramadan can no longer be treated as a regional afterthought. As Miral Youssef, president of Kering Middle East and Africa, notes that “Ramadan still represents a sizable share of business across the Middle East and Africa, and continues to hold strong strategic significance, particularly when they are approached with intention and cultural relevance.”
Shopping typically accelerates four to six weeks before the start of the holy month. “The pre-Ramadan period has become as commercially important as retail peak trading moments such as Black Friday and Singles’ Day,” says Ghanim. One early signal of this shift is “Ataya”, the exhibition organized by humanitarian organization Emirates Red Crescent under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan. While not a luxury-focused event, it spotlights independent and artisanal brands from the region and beyond. Its January 12 to 17 run is a clear indicator of how the retail and brand calendar is shifting earlier in the year. As Ghanim puts it, “The winners will be those who plan ahead, not adjust at the last minute.”
At Kering, Ramadan planning is already embedded across the group, with strategies tailored to the DNA of each house. “Across the houses, this translates into carefully timed launches and curated offerings,” Youssef explains. “Boucheron will pre-launch select pieces globally, with the Middle East receiving the exclusive debut, reflecting the region’s growing influence in the luxury calendar. Balenciaga and Saint Laurent continue to experiment with signature designs through curated colorways and in-store activations, while McQueen adjusts its eveningwear to align with the social rhythms of Ramadan. Gucci’s annual majlis [Islamic term for gatherings such as meetings or assemblies] offers small groups the chance to explore Ramadan-inspired themes in settings that merge cultural reflection with the brand’s creative identity.”
The importance of transitional dressing
The early timing of Ramadan also lands awkwardly between the end of fall/winter deliveries and the arrival of the spring/summer collections, creating a complex merchandising challenge for retailers. “Customers are looking for modesty, elegance, lighter fabrics and elevated occasionwear, not leftover winter products or early-summer pieces that feel out of step with the season,” Ghanim explains.
Occasionwear does become a focus as suhoor, the meal taken before sunrise, tends to be a time of social gatherings. Within that, there is a shift driven by seasonality, particularly for Arab women seeking more transitional pieces. At That Concept Store, the merchandising team has identified opportunities across fall and spring assortments, placing emphasis on layering items with modest silhouettes and an elevated sensibility suited to Ramadan’s social rhythm. The team has worked closely with both regional and international designers, including Dima Ayad and Christopher Esber, to shape Ramadan capsules with intention.
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Yasmin Al Mulla, the multidisciplinary Emirati artist known for her Ramadan collaborations with Dior, Cartier, Boucheron and Christofle, recommends “leaning into strong seasonality. The focus shifts to timeless, transitional pieces that feel relevant across both cycles.”
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Presence is not the same as relevance
As suhoors multiply and Ramadan capsules begin to blur into one another, consumers are becoming sharper, more selective and less forgiving of brands that confuse presence with relevance. Sofiane Si Merabet, artist and founder of The Confused Arab platform and marketing agency Karta, who has worked with Cartier and Tiffany on culturally led events, agrees. “There is fatigue around the social calendar. The events, the launches, all the activations,” he says.
When it comes to suhoors, Si Merabet believes they still have a role to play for luxury brands, but only if they are approached with cultural intelligence and care. “Ramadan is not a day, it’s a month, and not just in duration, but in meaning,” he continues. “It has different phases, different energies and brands need to understand that rhythm rather than treating it like a single campaign moment.”
He adds: “Brands forget that the last 10 days of Ramadan are the most important religiously, and the first few days are deeply family-oriented. That really leaves a specific window. And within that, the open-door approach matters. Not one stressful night, but two or three days where people can come when it works for them.”
The implication is clear. Brands need to invest in moments that last longer than a single night. For Christofle last year, Al Mulla translated Emirati heritage into objects created for Ramadan, blending traditional motifs with modern design in a way that felt thoughtful rather than ornamental. It was a capsule that fitted naturally into the rituals of suhoors and into the gifting culture of the holy month. “A Ramadan project feels meaningful when it’s rooted in genuine understanding rather than surface symbolism,” Al Mulla says.
She believes Arab consumers still look forward to seeing what luxury brands offer around Ramadan, as long as there is “sincerity over spectacle, products that feel considered, content that reflects real values, and storytelling that shows understanding rather than interpretation from a distance”. What matters most is that Ramadan forms a seamless part of a luxury brand’s calendar in the Middle East, rather than feeling like a one-off.
“Ramadan is a test for authenticity,” Si Merabet explains. “If you’ve never engaged with local culture, never collaborated with local designers or artists, and suddenly you’re only talking during Ramadan, people see it immediately. We see when it’s just about ticking a box.” With Ramadan now arriving at the start of the year, it can offer a meaningful kick-off for a stream of activations that create a real connections with consumers.
