Adding to the list of designer stores at The Dubai Mall, Alexander McQueen has now found a home at the mall’s Fashion Avenue extension. This launch of the store follows the opening of the experiential space at the brand’s flagship store in London. Standing out from the other Alexander McQueen stores, but fitting right into Dubai’s growing reputation as a fashion hub, the new store is only the second of its kind in the world to showcase the reinvented design concept by architect Smiljan Radic in collaboration with Alexander McQueen’s creative director, Sarah Burton.
The 2,600 sqft, high-ceilinged store offers something more than just clothes: an immersive experience. Stepping into the store is like entering the designer’s world and while you have to exit the store at some point, its ambiance will make it hard to leave. Unlike the London flagship store, the Dubai store houses a VIP changing area, but everything else remains unchanged.
Time fleets away as you journey through the store, surrounded by oak and walnut wooden interiors that alternate with shades of light and dark and with 18 mannequins dotted around the store, you are bound to feel like you are part of an Alexander McQueen runway show. In the midst of it all are the collections, referenced to as “the protagonist, seen from all sides and up close” in a statement.
Glass cylinders make up the dressing rooms along with tapestries that will change as nods to the current collection. The intricate fabrics will be handwoven and embroidered at the Alexander McQueen studio under the direction of Sarah Burton and her team. Inside the dressing room at this moment is an upholstery that took over 3 months to create.
Meanwhile, the top floor extension of the London store on Bond Street serves to inspire fashion students. The exhibitions and talks held in the space will provide them with the chance to get an insight into the designer’s techniques, tailoring, research narratives, couture, and textiles. Called “Unlocking Stories”, the first program will give open access to the behind-the-scenes work process, stories, and teamwork that will go into putting the Spring 2019 collection together.
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