How Dubai's Restaurants Are Turning Uniforms Into Runway Moments

At the start of this year I was heading to work in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue, where I teach spin classes, when I was stopped in my tracks by a group of guys wearing jumpsuits in a soul-lifting shade of lilac, paired with precisely Pantone-matched adidas Gazelle trainers. Obvs, I stopped for a selfie. Turns out they were part of the team at the new fast-casual dining concept Nala, the latest food and beverage brand from Tasha's Group, which also owns Flamingo Room, Avli, and, of course, Tasha's. While the group's restaurants have built a reputation of incredible hospitality, moreish food and breathtaking interiors, I'd never paid attention to what their staff wore. Until I saw those jumpsuits. And wondered where I could get one.

Fast-forward a few months and I ventured out to Sexy Fish in DIFC for the first time. I was expecting to be blown away by the interiors (there isn't a more photographed bathroom in Dubai), that mermaid sculpture and the immersive, tentacle-laden servings of sushi. What I wasn't expecting was a roll call of receptionists, waiters, and bar staff looking like they'd walked off the runway at one of Milan Fashion Week's more exuberant shows.

When, I wondered, did restaurants become as much about the fashion as the food?

“Our guests are style-conscious, design-literate, and culturally engaged,” says Daniel Smith, managing director at Sexy Fish Global and Sekushi,“they walk in wearing designer outfits - why wouldn't our team match that energy?” He makes a good point.“Let's be honest: the average hospitality uniform hasn't changed much in decades,” Smith explains,“black shirts, white aprons - it's all very expected. But Sexy Fish was never created to be 'expected'.” It helps that Sexy Fish owner Richard Caring, chairman of Caprice Holdings, began his career in fashion, supplying most of British high street throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. It's not as simple as swapping white aprons for a zhushy two-piece, though. Each Sexy Fish design aligns with the role it has been created for, considering the physical demands across the spectrum of restaurant staff, to ensure that comfort isn't sacrificed for style. That means up to 60 individual styles, designed and orchestrated by in-house atelier teams in London and Dubai. Each piece is tailored to its wearer, dry-cleaned every 24 hours, and sent to be recycled at the end of a six-month lifespan of daily wear.

Operating in a different market, but viewing the future of hospitality through the same fashion-focused lens, Nala's rejection of the standard polyester branded polo top that most casual dining concepts employ, makes it so much more than most contemporary cafés.“In an industry where uniforms are usually an afterthought, we treated them as part of the brand's storytelling,” Nicky Greig, culinary director of Tasha's Group, tells me,“like the restaurant equivalent of breaking into song when everyone else is just talking.” Greig reckons we are the start of a fully-fledged convergence of fashion and food.“The future of F&B belongs to brands that understand modern diners aren't just purchasing food. It's about not compromising on any element that shapes the guest experience, even when conventional industry wisdom suggests you should,” she says. So, while Sexy Fish's in-house design team, atelier and dry-cleaning bill would strike fear into the heart of many a restaurant operator, it could well become the norm.

“Fashion hasn't just crashed the party - it's moved in, made a playlist, and is setting the vibe. We're witnessing the early stages of a full-blown convergence where restaurants aren't just feeding you, they're styling you,” Greig confirms,“Five years from now, we'll look back and wonder what took it so long for these worlds to collide.”

And it's not just clothes, managers at Sexy Fish are adorned with bespoke jewellery, and the London branch collaborated with sparkling accessory brand Judith Leiber to bedazzle the DJ booth and create custom crystal brooches and belts for staff. Like the Nala jumpsuits, Sexy Fish's jewellery is not (yet) for sale, but I'd love to know how many of its iconic chopstick holders have been smuggled out in diners' Bottega Andiamo clutches (gold, natch).“The message on the back - 'stolen from Sexy Fish' - wasn't an accident,” says Smith wryly, adding that Sexy Fish style won't be for sale.“Our uniforms are like haute couture - made for the wearer and the moment,” says Smith.“They're designed to be exclusive, and that's part of their magic. They belong to our team, to our story, and to our brand. So no, you won't find them for sale.”

I might have more luck over at Nala where, Greig estimates, at least once a day someone asks to buy a jumpsuit.“We've been bombarded with requests. There's literally a whiteboard in our office that says,“NALA MERCH???” in increasingly frantic handwriting,” she laughs, adding,“there's real potential here: hospitality brands today are more than restaurants – they're lifestyles. Merch extends the brand universe beyond the plate. The pros? It's a new revenue stream with strong margins and even stronger brand loyalty. The cons? It can pull focus from the main game, the food, and, if done carelessly, veer into cringe territory.”

Two very different culinary concepts, one equally clear belief that,“it's no longer just interiors carrying the aesthetic weight. Now, uniforms are getting just as much attention”, confirms Greig.“We're not just serving food,” Smith echoes,“we're creating luxury moments you can live in.”

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