Two of Italy's biggest fashion houses, Armani and Versace, are designing homes at two new schemes in Dubai. The Burj Dubai will be home to one of the first Armani Hotels and Armani Residences in the world. Giorgio Armani will design the hotel's 175 guestrooms, restaurant and spa covering more than 40,000 square metres. The 160 apartments designed by the Milan fashion house will be furnished with a specially designed line of products from the Armani Casa home furnishings collection. Armani will design interiors for six more hotels and three resorts around the world.
Still under construction, the 160-storey Burj Dubai is already the tallest building in the world, and it will be even higher when completed next September. But the developer, Emaar Properties, is keeping quiet about exactly how tall it will be, to keep competitors in China and elsewhere guessing.
In contrast to the elegant minimalism of Armani that we can expect to find at the Burj Dubai will be the flamboyant style of Versace at another residential scheme due for completion late next year - Palazzo Versace Dubai.
Versace is doing the interior design for the scheme, its first in the emirate. Developed by Sunland Group and Emirates International Holdings, the 130,000 sq ft residential resort project is on the foreshore of Dubai Creek. Versace will design 169 private residences and 213 hotel suites, all furnished with Versace Home Collection products. This will include furniture, sheets, duvets, cushions, towels and porcelain dining tableware.
The building's opulent interiors will include mosaics and stonework laid by Italian artisans. Panelling and ceilings will be handmade.
The 5.5 hectare development will have a Vanitas fine dining room, a day spa, a ballroom and convention facilities, and a Versace boutique, set in landscaped gardens. It will also have a marina. Apartment prices start at 14.5million dirhams (HK$30.6 million). Construction work is scheduled to start on the 2.8 billion dirham scheme next January.