'Luxury' magazine April cover shoot: inside fashion's brave new world

A vibrant slice of futuristic fashion

In an era defined by digitisation and disruption, it seemed only fitting that the April issue of The National's Luxury magazine should hone in on these topics, looking at the brands, companies and technologies that are shaping the rapidly evolving luxury landscape.

As the metaverse hosted its first fashion week and brands continue to harness augmented reality and other emerging technologies to engage with customers, we decided to move beyond the traditional static fashion shoot and instead present this season's most vibrant looks in video form.

The concept

After a tumultuous two years, the blinding colours of the spring/summer 2022 collections felt like the perfect salve. And to echo the global reach of the digital revolution, we chose two models for our shoot, Meti from Ethiopia and Clinton from Kenya.

Our videographer, Jear Velasquez, a Filipino creative living in the UAE, was well placed to bring the UAE's distinct light and landscape to life for this project. Turkish make-up artist Gulum Erzincan, meanwhile, embellished the models's faces with layers of deégradé glitter to complement the uplifting clothes, shifting from blue into green for Clinton and fading orange into gold for Meti. Against the intense blue of the desert sky, the glitter seemed to shimmer of its own accord, and artfully contributed to the futuristic feel of the shoot.

The clothes

Drama dress, Dh44,350, Balenciaga. All photos: Romeo Perez for The National

Jacket, Dh34,000; jeans, Dh7,850; and trainers, Dh4,550, all from Louis Vuitton

Shirt, Dh3,590; skirt, Dh4,350; bag, Dh5,900; and trainers, Dh3,200, all from Celine

Leather top, price on request; double layer shorts, Dh5,600, both Loewe. Boots, Dh5,250, Valentino

Jacket and skirt, both price on request, Chanel

Bomber jacket, Dh8,500; trousers, Dh4,800; and trainers, Dh3,900, all from Dolce & Gabbana

Dress, price on request, Prada; camo jacket, Dh7,100, Dolce & Gabbana; and trainers, Dh3,850, Louis Vuitton.

Shirt with neck tie, Dh4,300; jacket, Dh9,200; shorts, Dh4,300; and boots, Dh5,250, all from Valentino

Knitted top; skirt; necklace; and long boots, Dh25,697 for the look, Givenchy

The Luxury team headed out into the desert outside Dubai in search of the perfect sand dunes, and to a soundtrack of Snoop Dogg, Velasquez encouraged the models to dance across the sand. They were clad in the brightest, most colourful looks from designers including Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana.

A pale pink satin dress by Prada was offset with a Dolce & Gabbana army jacket, while a Needle's suit, shot through with gold, was given a blast of colour courtesy of a lime green Louis Vuitton bag and a Givenchy water bottle in metallic blue.

Elsewhere, the exaggerated silhouette of a red dress by Balenciaga — fittingly called the Drama — was captured at the top of a dune, while a luminous flouro-yellow look from Virgil Abloh’s final collection for Louis Vuitton added a kinetic blast of energy. Chanel provided a jolt of pink, via a boucle tweed jacket and skirt.

A head-to-toe look by Givenchy, in the precise orange of the setting sun, was chosen to grace the cover of this month's issue of the magazine. A dash of verdant green arrived in the form of a roomy, belted mini dress by Dior. A lone moment of pause came courtesy of the light blue stripes of Celine, a gap in which to draw breath.

That’s what this story was hoping to capture — the act of drawing energy from the sun and soaking up the upbeat optimism of dazzling colour.