Erika Martino, Sales Director at HMA Living by Al Shamsi, approaches design through structure, strategy, and precision. With a sharp understanding of market dynamics and client expectations, she anchors each project in reality, ensuring that creative vision is matched with execution, timing, and adaptability. Her role extends beyond sales into building a broader ecosystem, where multiple brands, disciplines, and sensibilities come together to form cohesive, livable environments. Alongside her, Luca Mazza, Design Director and Head of the Lighting Division, brings a more conceptual and atmospheric perspective. His work is rooted in storytelling, where space is not simply designed but experienced. For Mazza, light is not a functional layer but a language in itself, shaping how interiors are perceived, felt, and remembered. His approach moves fluidly between architecture, emotion, and technology, positioning lighting as a central force in defining spatial identity.
Together, their collaboration operates as a balance between vision and structure. Mazza builds the narrative, imagining spaces as sequences that unfold over time, while Martino ensures that these ideas translate into tangible realities. This duality defines their approach at HMA Living, where Italian design is not exported as a fixed style, but reinterpreted through context, culture, and the rhythms of Dubai. What emerges is a shared philosophy: design as an extension of identity. Not imposed, but revealed. Not static, but responsive. In this exchange, Martino and Mazza reflect on how Italian sensibility evolves when placed within a city as dynamic as Dubai, where cultural diversity, scale, and lifestyle continuously reshape the way spaces are imagined and lived.
When you speak about Made in Italy today, what does it really mean beyond craftsmanship and heritage?
Made in Italy today is not just about craftsmanship or heritage. It is about attitude. It is taste, elegance, and a certain joie de vivre that translates into spaces. It is the courage to avoid fixed styles and instead shape environments that reflect the personality of those who live in them. A well-designed space becomes an extension of identity, a living expression of lifestyle.
How do you preserve authenticity while working in a context as different as Dubai?
If authenticity is truly part of your DNA, it does not disappear. It travels with you. Dubai can sometimes feel highly polished, almost artificial. But when you move beyond the surface, you discover a place built on strong and authentic foundations. The role of design is to connect with that deeper layer and respond to it with honesty.
Do you see Italian design as something to export, or something that must evolve depending on where it lands?
Italian design must preserve its DNA. Otherwise, it risks losing the reason it is valued globally. What needs to evolve is not the identity of the product, but the approach. In a fast-paced and competitive environment like Dubai, flexibility and the ability to listen are essential. Adapting to the market does not mean compromising design integrity. It means understanding how to make it relevant.
How has Dubai challenged or reshaped your approach to design?
Coming from a background rooted in avant-garde design, experimentation, and cutting-edge finishes, Dubai initially presents a paradox. It is a city full of energy and technological advancement, yet interiors often lean toward a more neutral and understated aesthetic. At the same time, it is a melting pot of cultures. This diversity introduces constant dialogue, pushing designers to expand their language while remaining coherent.
What are the biggest differences between designing for Italy and designing for the Middle East?
In Italy, design is often shaped by history, layers, and strong stylistic identity. In the Middle East, particularly in Dubai, the approach is more fluid and contextual. There is greater emphasis on personalization, balance, and cultural sensitivity. The shift is from expressing a design vision to interpreting and translating the identity of the client.
Do clients in Dubai approach design emotionally, culturally, or more as a statement of lifestyle?
In Dubai, all these dimensions coexist. The city brings together different cultures, each with its own relationship to space. In some cases, the home is deeply private, while social life unfolds in dedicated areas. This contrast highlights that there is no single approach. Designing here requires flexibility and the ability to adapt to each client’s cultural and personal perspective.
How do you see lighting evolving from a functional element to an emotional one?
Light begins as something functional. It allows us to see and orient ourselves within a space. But it evolves into something experiential. It shapes perception, influences how we feel, and interacts with the body. With technological advancement and artificial intelligence, light becomes dynamic. It adapts, responds, and shifts over time. It is no longer something you switch on. It is something you enter into a relationship with.
In your work, what role does light play in shaping the identity of a space?
Light is not an additional element. It is what allows everything else to exist. It operates beyond the visual, creating rhythm, hierarchy, and emotion. It connects elements, shapes perception, and defines how a space is experienced on a deeper level. The same architecture can generate completely different experiences depending on how light is used.
