Step Aside European Designers: Middle East Fashion Houses Join the Branded Residences’ Market
For those who don’t know what fashion-branded residences are, they are expensive properties that are built by real estate developers in partnership with fashion designer brands to echo their well-known touches of glamour and aesthetics through the interiors.
In 2019 and 2022, respectively, Lebanese fashion designers Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad announced their first real estate deals with major global developers. Their branded apartments, villas, and duplexes have spread rapidly with accents that glamor buyers would expect from the Arab world’s top-tier haute couturiers.
They are not the only fashion brands to enter the luxury real estate market with Versace, Giorgio Armani, and Fendi owning properties as well. But what motivated them to tap into real estate like their European counterparts?
This concept of combining fashion with luxury home living first emerged in New York City during the 1920s, when the Sherry-Netherland Hotel marked the beginning of branded residences.
Then came along the Italian fashion house, Giorgio Armani’s collaboration with Dubai developer, Emaar Properties. This led to the construction of the Armani Hotel in 2005, as well as Armani Residences within Burj Khalifa a few years later.
However, the Armani and Emaar journey did not end in Dubai. They expanded to the designer’s birth city of Milan to create the Armani Hotel in 2011. Again in 2023, the two partners snagged a deal with Diriyah Gate Development Authority to construct another Armani hotel in Diriyah, Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia.
In 2015, London experienced a pivotal phase in its real estate history when it was crowned with its very first fashion-branded residential complex. Versace partnered with DAMAC International Limited to construct properties located along the Thames River.
That same year, the luxury fashion house also revealed its Palazzo Versace in Dubai which is a hotel and apartment complex with ultraluxe amenities. Next to discuss is Fendi.
The Italian fashion brand seems to have the highest market share out of the European fashion houses given that Fendi’s branded residences span furthest and widest. That includes Miami, Switzerland, Marbella, Dubai, Arizona, and even Uruguay. Now, off to the Arab World.
In April 2019, Emaar and Lebanese couturier, Elie Saab announced their very first deal to embark on their construction of ELIE SAAB at Emaar Beachfront Tower in Dubai right on the shores of the Arabian Sea. But Elie Saab’s ambitious projects with Emaar did not end there with a waterfront apartment complex, housing boutiques, galleries, a gym, and more.
In November 2021, the dual partnership publicized their deal on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic as they tapped into the Egyptian real estate market. Named the Elie Saab Signature Villas situated in the Cairo Gate community, they were set to offer panoramic views of surrounding lily ponds and luscious green valleys.
Such a milestone for the country’s economy was not taken lightly. They celebrated at Cairo’s monumental Abdeen Palace where the Arab World’s biggest press, singers, actors, and actresses were invited to meet with Elie Saab.
But the same quarter of that year saw another real estate achievement by Saab. This time, he joined forces with UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments bank to modernize a Victorian-era edifice into the so-called Elie Saab Residences, located in Hyde Park. From that year on, Elie Saab Maison has prolifically expanded its global branded residential presence.
Stretching as wide as Bucharest, from Riyadh and Sao Paolo to Beirut, the real motivation behind such rapid developments in fashion-branded residences was beyond financial gains.
Elie Saab and his competitors sought to cultivate stronger relationships with their clients in ways that surpassed transactions in buying expensive clothing, handbags, shoes, and more.
Last, but most recent, came Zuhair Murad.
In November 2022, DAMAC Properties, which previously partnered with Versace and other fashion brands, debuted its newest contract with the Lebanese fashion designer, Zuhair Murad, in building the residential Elegance Tower in Downtown Dubai standing at twenty-five stories high.
Aside from the expected ultraluxe amenities such as the kids’ play area, gym, and pool, the apartments will house white and gold interiors to resemble Zuhair Murad’s glam aesthetic. The units will also have secret doors that take its residents from the living room to the master bedroom.
And what inspired this contract? Not only monetary rewards but the influx of new clients towards the respective fashion brands. There were also influxes of returning clients who knew they could trust that partnership between the fashion designer and the global real estate developer.