By Melanie Nayer www.gadling.com
Armani helped design his namesake hotel in the Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Diane Von Furstenberg has her own designed suites at Claridge’s in London. Missoni opened two hotels – Edinburgh and Kuwait – to help promote the line’s home decor. The Verscace legend lives in on at his mansion, now the Villa by Barton G, in Miami Beach.
So it was only a matter of time before fashion took over the hospitality industry (or at least took over one hotel).
News from the Middle East is that global satellite network Fashion TV signed a deal with Al Habtoor Group to open the world’s first Fashion Hotel in Dubai. Al Habtoor will own and operate the 5-star, 200-room hotel, which will feature a 100-m (328-foot) LED screen on the exterior of the 30-story building broadcasting the latest Fashion TV highlights from around the globe.
Inside the hotel, all 30 of the Fashion TV network’s channels will be broadcast in guestrooms, and guests will also have access to a library of 50,000 DVDs related to the history of fashion. There are plans to open restaurants, bars, lounges, nightclubs, spas and cinemas inside the hotel, although details haven’t been leaked on what the concepts will be.
What we do know: This won’t be the only Fashion Hotel. Al Habtoor Group and Fashion TV said in an interview that plans are to open other Fashion Hotels in high-style locations around the world. We have our bets on Paris, Shanghai, New York, and Milan.
Fashion TV Hotel, Dubai, UAE
F Hotels and Residences
Fashion TV (or FTV) is one of the world’s best-distributed TV channels, broadcast 24 hours a day, reaching more than 350million households across the globe. FTV is the number one fashion media brand in the world.
World-class architecture and interior design firm dwp was invited to transform the glamour, fun and creativity of the F brand into sensational architecture and interior spaces. This led to the birth of the F Hotel concept, which includes a 60-storey tower and a resort, inspired by the FTV brand, comprising retail shopping, a nightclub, spa, gym, photo studio, sky lounge/skybar, all-day dining outlet, a theme restaurant and four different types of fabulous guestrooms – silver, gold, platinum and diamond.
The high-rise tower takes the form of a rotated, extruded diamond, with hotel rooms around the edge and all public areas in the central atrium space. The façade is modular, prefabricated, and animated with video projections. Arriving at the diamond entrance, immediately walk onto the catwalk-style runway, and feel like a supermodel from the start! Checking in at the sky lobby, champagne is toasted in the fabulous gold rooms. Take in lunch at the themed restaurant ‘Cathedral of Shoes’, inspired by gothic elements of fashion, then relax at the light and sound therapy bar, before having your hair done at the backstage parlour. Strike a pose on the runway, and take part in your own studio photoshoot. Dinner on the rooftop restaurant, inspired by white haute couture, is a must, followed by a drink beside the pink diamond pool. Later still, partying all night at the F club is the order of the evening.
The FTV hotel is where guests meet unique experiences in fashion and stellar design concepts, for an extravagantly stylish stay.
Location: Dubai, UAE
Completion: 2014 (estimated)
