As one more sign of the decline of the West and its dominance in things ultra-chic, Milanese fashion designer Giorgio Armani chose the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai for the setting of his touted debut in the hotel business. New York and Milan just have to wait—albeit they are on the list for forthcoming Armani hotels. Armani could not have chosen a more dramatic venue than this desert city on the Persian Gulf for displaying his “minimalist opulence,” as the Armani literature puts it. For one thing, there is the deep contrast between his and other luxe-level Dubaian caravansaries. These hotels seriously strive for over-the-top-dom marked by panoply and panache. You can get an ocular migraine visiting the self-proclaimed “seven star” Burj Al-Arab Hotel (designed by Tom Wright of WS Atkins in 1999), where 22-karat-gold leaf is the default interior finish.
In relation to the gimme-gilt syndrome, the cerebrally elegant Armani Hotel Dubai, a joint project with Emaar Properties, the Burj’s developer, appears amazingly discreet.
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