Flurry of fashion!

This week has been a busy one in the Dubai fashion scene!

The Grazia style awards attracted the well heeled in Dubai, at the Address Dubai Marina.
Meanwhile in the vicinity of the other Address, Downtown Burj, the long awaited Armani hotel was opened in the Burj Khalifa.

Unfortunately I was not on the guestlist for the momentous event of a first for the Armani brand, however, the pictures of the hotel that have been published show a very minimalistic, clean, crisp interior....very UnDubai, which i must say is a relief. The Burj Al Arab and the Emirates Palace style of decor are only palatable in small doses.

Armani

The empire astounds. I truly admire the essence of Armani! My first taste of the Armani dream came in the form of the sweetest scent! "Acqua di Gio". The problem with entry level luxury goods is that you never really own them. You spray on your dream and it evaporates, then you spray some more and it evaporates...BUT the beauty about brands is that if you do anything consistently, you'll soon become known for it, so in my teens I sprayed and I sprayed and I sprayed until you could pick out my "Peterhouse Girls' School" jersey from a heap of identical jerseys and know it belonged to me because of my signature scent. Then tastes evolve and the thirst for luxury can't be quenched until you have a wardrobe full of marvelous creations by esteemed designers.

The Armani brand revolves around the man himself. He IS the brand and from him, stems the parent brand Armani and sub brands such as Armani Casa. So now, joy of joys, I live directly across the new home of the first Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa. Also in convenient proximity is the dubai mall which houses a slew of Armani brand stores.

One thing that I find truly fascinating is the designer brands for kids (...in comes Armani Junior) but that's a topic for another day.

I'll be doing some research on the Armani brand strategy...watch this space for my findings

"the most prestigious square kilometer in the world"

The 4th of January 2010 marks the anniversary of the ascension of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as ruler of Dubai. This is also the date that the iconic Burj Tower will be officially opened in a fashion only true to Dubai standards...with a big Bling...I mean Bang.

One more day to go and the buzz and flurry is reaching fever pitch. My building "The Address Hotel" is located directly in front of this imposing structure of modern extravagance. The problem is that every vantage point for the spectacular ceremony tomorrow is fully booked...except perhaps a couple of little spots that I've discovered since moving into the building! So tomorrow at 9:30pm, I'll wander over to my little nook, camera in hand and hope to capture some world firsts!

The fascinating thing about this area that I live in, is my proximity to the world's highest bar (Neos at the Address), the world's largest mall, the world's tallest building with the world's highest observation deck and the world's highest fountain. To add to the superlatives, I believe tomorrow will be a "world first" in fireworks and light show displays, which no doubt should be visible from space, otherwise it just wouldn't be Dubai.

Here are a few pics of the Tower from this time last year and one that I just took about 10 minutes ago from my "spot". Admittedly my camera is not the best so the quality leaves a lot to be desired but I'm sure there'll be other sources that will do it justice.

Aside from being the tallest tower and all the wonderful things that it boasts, my particular interest is in the Armani Hotel, which is the first luxury hotel under the partnership between Emaar and Giorgio Armani S.p.A.

"Armani Hotel Dubai will offer Armani/Events, featuring a 30,000 sq ft of conference and banqueting facilities – the Armani/Ballroom; and the Armani/Pavilion, a spacious outdoor area for up to 350 guests. The hotel also will bring to the Middle East several firsts including the region’s first Armani/Privé - a hip and upmarket night club; the world’s first in-hotel Armani/Spa; the Armani/Dolci, a chocolates and sweets store; an Armani/Fiori, a floral shop; and an Armani/Galleria.

In addition to the Armani Hotel, Burj Dubai features the Armani Residences Dubai – exclusive serviced residences designed personally by Giorgio Armani."

http://www.emaar.com/index.aspx?page=press-release-details&id=901

...The Armani brand expansion/diffusion is certainly one worth exploring!