Two Dubai-based founders are redefining modern wellness through movement, intentional design, and the power of community

Wellness today is no longer confined to fitness studios or clean routines. It has evolved into something far more emotional and experiential, shaped by design, connection, movement, and the communities people build around them. In Dubai, two emerging brands are helping define that new language of wellness in distinctly different yet naturally aligned ways.

On one side is Sãe Active, the premium athleisure label founded by Elise Dornuki, where movement meets thoughtful design through female-focused activewear rooted in confidence, comfort, and inclusivity.

On the other is RAIR, the wellness design studio founded by Daniel Faber and Montel Goodrick Maiava, whose multidisciplinary approach combines wellness, sensory experiences, and community-building into immersive lifestyle experiences. Together, they represent a growing shift in the UAE wellness space, one that prioritises intentional living over aesthetics alone.

For Elise Dornuki, the creation of Sãe Active came from a deeply personal turning point. After years of sitting on entrepreneurial ideas and waiting for certainty, the unexpected passing of her father shortly after discussing the concept with him became the catalyst that changed everything. “His loss made me acutely aware of how short life is, and I stopped postponing myself,” she shares. What followed was the creation of a brand shaped equally by her background in sport, architecture, and fine art.

“I wanted to build more than activewear,” Elise explains. “I wanted to create a brand where women feel considered, supported, and confident.” That philosophy is embedded throughout the brand, from the technical design of the garments to the emotional experience surrounding them. Her understanding of movement, paired with her architectural approach to design, has shaped a brand that prioritises intentionality at every touchpoint.

“Premium, to me, is about thoughtfulness at every touchpoint,” she says. “I want women to wear Sãe and immediately feel that it was designed by someone who understands the realities of living in a woman’s body.”

That same sense of intentionality appears within RAIR, though through a completely different lens. Founded by Daniel Faber and Montel, the studio approaches wellness as a multidimensional experience that blends movement, sensory activation, community, and design. Their worldview has been shaped through years spent living across countries including South Africa, Bermuda, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Los Angeles, and Denmark, experiences that now inform RAIR’s identity.

“We take that accumulated experience and put it into RAIR,” they explain. “Everything you see us put out and do is a result of our in-house efforts.” With backgrounds spanning music, law, fashion, retail, logistics, and film, the founders approach wellness not as a trend, but as a lifestyle ecosystem rooted in creativity and emotional experience.

“A reluctance to being ordinary and a mission to bring wellness to people in a way that rebels against compromise and monotony is what drives us most,” they share. “We call the UAE home and have a deep belief in this country’s potential.”

That alignment in values naturally led to the recent collaboration between Sãe Active and RAIR. Hosted at Aura Sky Pool, the Movement in the Sky experience brought together female guests for a sunrise programme combining movement, aromatherapy, wellness, and community against the Dubai skyline. But for both founders, the partnership represented something far deeper than a branded event.

“The partnership with RAIR felt incredibly organic because we share a very similar philosophy around movement and connection,” Elise says. “It was less about hosting an event, and more about creating a moment where women could move, connect, and experience the brand in a real and tangible way.”

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For RAIR, the collaboration reflected their broader philosophy of intentional wellness and meaningful partnerships. “We like to collaborate with brands that share our values,” the founders explain. “Our ‘Movement in the Sky’ collaboration demonstrated those values through movement, aromatherapy, and togetherness in a beautiful setting.”

Together, both brands reflect a new direction for wellness in the UAE, one where movement becomes emotional, community becomes essential, and wellness itself is approached not as perfection, but as a more intentional way of living.