Luxury labels

Shopping enthusiasts have ample opportunity to flex their credit cards in the nation’s capital. Not only is the destination a tax-free haven, it also offers a wide choice of traditional souks and modern shopping malls where endless hours can be spent discovering hidden treasures.
Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi Mall, Al Wahda Mall and Khalidiya Mall all offer an array of internationally recognised brands, both high street and high end.
All four malls are one-stop leisure and shopping destinations with a wealth of stores offering almost every conceivable brand name from fashion to footwear items, and jewellery to luxury lifestyle products.
Marina Mall is situated on the Breakwater and has a leisurely shopping atmosphere complete with entertainment and dining offerings for all the family, including an ice skating rink, bowling village and cinema. It is the main choice for designer fashion, stocking boutiques for Armani, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton, to name a few. Visitors will find everything from jewellery and accessories to electronics, sporting goods, cosmetics and household items.
With more than 200 retail outlets spread over four floors, Abu Dhabi Mall has something for everyone. Family fun is guaranteed with a nine-screen Cineplex, a huge food court and casual cafés dotted around the mall, as well as a popular children’s play area.
Al Wahda Mall has a variety of well-known brands including Club Monaco, Beyond the Beach and Next. Meanwhile Khalidiya Mall offers a good mix of high-street outlets as well as a children’s fun centre and cinema. For high-end perfumes and accessories, visit Paris Gallery which also has a Serenity Spa.
Other shopping malls that have stood the test of time are the Fotouh Al Khair centre, Hamdan Centre and Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre (home to the city’s gold souk), while Mushrif Mall on Airport Road opened recently.

Madinat Zayed Gold Centre

Souk search
While there are several sophisticated shopping malls to choose from, traditional markets – souks – play an equally important role and should feature prominently on every visitor’s agenda.
The souk consists of numerous small stores or stalls which sell a wide range of goods,  both the necessities and the luxuries. The open-air souks have much to offer, with oriental spices, vibrantly coloured fabrics, prized Persian rugs, traditional designs in jewellery and more. Combining old-world charm with modern-day sophistication, the souks are a reflection of Abu Dhabi’s past, when bargaining was the order of the day.
Historically, they were considered important meeting places as much as they were trading centres. The early markets were rambling sandy alleys crammed with stalls and tea or coffee houses where people gathered to discuss the day’s events over shisha (hubbly bubbly), a cup of sweetened tea or gahwa, the famed Arabic coffee.
Some still have small coffee or tea-shops located on or off the main thoroughfares and visitors can expect to be offered a complimentary cup or two from friendly stallholders as a precursor to some intense bargaining.
In days gone by, it may well have been possible to buy just about anything from a bag of salt or a camel, to incense for the home or gold for a wedding. However, the newer souks often specialise in different products, thus creating individual markets such as the fish souk, fruit and vegetable souk, carpet souk and gold souk.
There are also modern attractions, such as the new Central Market Souk or the Arabian-themed Souk at Qaryat Al Beri where visitors will find traditional goods and souvenirs, jewellery, coffee shops and restaurants.
The colourful, open-air Iranian Souk in the Al Mina area features goods imported by dhow from Iran, including exotic bedspreads, carpets and hand-painted pottery, while the carpet souk is a great place to look for oriental carpets and rugs.
Great buys at Abu Dhabi’s souks include traditional silver and brass coffee pots, carpets from Iran, India or Pakistan, incense and oudh, the local perfume essence.
Prices are generally competitive. The trick to shopping wisely is to bargain forcefully, starting with the lowest possible price you are willing to offer – and unlikely to pay – but working up to a point where you feel that you have made a real bargain.
In most souks, bargaining is expected and part of the charming sales process. Gold, electronic goods, textiles and carpets are usually the best value for money, while other great bargains are traditional handicrafts in the form of handwoven baskets, mats, camel blankets, crafted metal artifacts and jewellery.

Bawadi Mall

Al Ain
Al Ain Mall is the retail centrepiece of the Garden City and features anchor stores such as Home Centre, Grand Stores and Paris Gallery. The family entertainment area includes a 12-lane bowling alley and a multi-screen cinema, as well as an indoor ice-skating rink.
The popular Al Jimi Mall stocks premium brand fashion, cosmetics, jewellery, perfumeries and attractive terrace cafés and restaurants.
Al Ain’s largest shopping area, Ba- wadi Mall, has almost 400 shops, a 10,000-square-metre family entertainment centre, eight-screen cinema and a 16-lane bowling alley. There’s also a souk with 55 traditional-style retailers and an adjacent camel market which is worth a visit.
The Al Ain Souk with its authentic ambience sells a mixture of household goods, as well as fruit and vegetables, and is a great place to explore.

By far the biggest and most popular is the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). Running for 32 days from January 20th to February 20th, the 16th edition of DSF offers one of the best opportunities to snap up luxury brands at cut prices. Head to The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, BurJuman, Mercato, Dubai Marina Mall, Deira City Centre and any other major shopping centre in the city and see store after store packed with tempting sales.

But in the ever-changing world of high-end fashion, what cuts, patterns, fabrics and colours can we expect to find in-store this DSF? And how should we wear them?

According to Ivana Mazic, a Dubai-based personal shopper and fashion stylist, it’s all about tailoring.

“Ladies should look out for high-waist trousers, pencil skirts and dresses that fit perfectly,” she says, “while cobalt blue, a runway favourite, gold, which is the ‘it’ metallic, and purple are the hot colours. There will be lots of classic camel too, which along with sheer black, emerald green and bright reds, is ideal for ladylike chic. Classic grey, white and black are also popular this winter.”

Wardrobe makeover

Animal prints, a key feature of spring/summer 2010, continue to reign supreme this season, with leopard and zebra particularly popular. Tartan, checks and floral patterns are also on trend and will be gracing many a shelf throughout DSF.

“Shake up your wardrobe with a fun leopard-print bag from Dolce&Gabbana, toughen your feminine skirt or dress with this season’s lace-up boots, or for something much more casual, add a set of Chanel pearls to jeans and a T-shirt,” suggests Mazic.

This winter, jeans are as popular as ever and dark, solid shades of blue will be in-store. As well as denim, black lace, tweed and velvet are key elements. “So too is suede, particularly on bags and skirts,” says Mazic.

Dipesh Depala, a luxury consultant at high-end image consultancy Image Nation, agrees.

“This season’s fashion is about luxurious textures and leather is huge at the moment,” he says. “A leather top is a must and fitted shearling is hot too.

“Identify the key looks of autumn/winter 2010 and then focus on picking up those pieces. This will save time and you will end up with a carefully edited wardrobe. Make sure the looks are versatile and can be paired with various items and worn in different ways. For example, a shearling jacket can be worn with jeans and a T-shirt and then slung over a cocktail dress for an edgy modern look,” Depala adds.

Mazic also recommends buying a pair of tapered trousers from Ralph Lauren or a leather skirt from Alaia, the Tunisian-born couturier and shoe designer who is stocked in Boutique 1 on The Walk and in the Fashion Dome in Mall of the Emirates.

Alternatively, for instant glamour, buy a lace dress from Dolce&Gabbana and a chic leopard-print cardigan or tube leopard-print dress. These pieces are expected to be on sale throughout DSF and will instantly update any wardrobe.

Men’s fashion

While women may be able to pick up great deals on animal prints, lace and leather items, what about men? What masculine trends will be in store this DSF?

“Leather trenches and slim, flat-fronted trousers are hot this season,” says Depala. “Warm auburn tones and greys are big as are luxe fabrics such as fur and cashmere.”

Male fashion has shifted back to the 1960s with subtle, upside-down funnel-shaped silhouettes and pastels vibrantly amplified. Look out for dual collars on jackets, narrow trousers, short-waist cardigans and gilets in warm prints and colors.

Louis Vuitton has long been a purveyor of the classic man: metropolitan, sophisticated and bang on trend. The AW10 menswear collection features dark colours, traditional materials perhaps spiked with a few subtle touches– such as a knitted lapel on a sports coat or leather jacket.

Mazic recommends a trip to Ralph Lauren to pick up the key menswear item this season, the aviator jacket. “Alternatively, the camel suede jacket from Gucci with its fabulous fabric and cut is worth checking. The short-waist, cashmere cardigan from Prada or the gray, narrow tweed trousers from Louis Vuitton are also must-have designer pieces,” she says.

“To save men time, I suggest narrowing the selection of stores to visit. The Dubai Mall is the ideal place – just visit Bloomingdale’s for all you need.”

Time is precious

From distinguished Swiss masterpieces to the ultimate fashion statement, you are sure to find a watch during DSF that makes you tick. Many of the finest brands have their own boutiques and can also be found in distributor outlets such as Rivoli, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and Istana.

Rivoli stocks high-end timepieces, including IWC, Blancpain, Carl F. Bucherer, Glashütte, Girard-Perregaux and Jaeger Le Coultre and has Rivoli Prestige stores in Deira City Centre, Dubai Festival City and Mall of the Emirates, as well as the Burj Al Arab and select five-star hotels.

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons also has an impressive portfolio with brands such as A Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Chopard, Franck Muller, Harry Winston, Hublot, IWC, MBF, Patek Philippe, Piaget and Rolex. Stores are located in the finer malls and in many five-star hotels.

Istana, meanwhile, distributes pieces from Bovet, Icelink, Meccaniche Veloci and Vogard and has stores in BurJuman, Dubai Festival City and The Dubai Mall.

Over in Lamcy Plaza in Oud Metha is Juma Al Majid. Operating for 25 years, this local distributor represents brands such as Brocot and the world’s largest watchmaker Citizen, which has launched a limited-edition concept watch, the Eco-Drive Dome. Powered by any source of light, the timepiece absorbs light through a multi-layered transparent dial and features radio-controlled timekeeping in the US, Germany, China and Japan.

Jewels of the desert

Lovers of gold, diamonds and fabulous jewellery are also spoilt for choice with plenty of jewellers across the emirate.

Damas is an international jewellery and watch retailer with more than 450 stores in 18 countries. There are three tiers of Damas stores, with Les Exclusives featuring some of the world’s finest luxury brands.

Then there is Italian fine jewellery brand Aliel, which opened its Middle East flagship store earlier this year in Gate Village in Dubai International Financial Centre. With a reputation for quality and craftsmanship, Aliel creates jewellery for connoisseurs.

Samra, meanwhile, has grown from a family business into a Dubai jewellery corporation with three high-end factories and nine retail outlets. Priding itself on a wide selection of designs, Samra creates and sells fashionable jewellery.

Mahallati Jewellery produces elegant and opulent designs using diamonds and precious stones down to stylish designs for everyday wear.

Finally, with keywords of passion and perfection, Khalil Al Sayegh offers fine diamond and precious stone pieces to an exclusive customer base that includes royalty and heads of state.

Words by Kathryn Roberts