The Karl Lagerfeld Villas in Dubai are inspired by the facade of the fashion house's headquarters in Paris. Photo: Taraf
The Karl Lagerfeld Villas in Dubai are inspired by the facade of the fashion house's headquarters in Paris. Photo: Taraf
The Karl Lagerfeld Villas in Dubai are inspired by the facade of the fashion house's headquarters in Paris. Photo: Taraf
The Karl Lagerfeld Villas in Dubai are inspired by the facade of the fashion house's headquarters in Paris. Photo: Taraf

First look at Karl Lagerfeld villas in Dubai, where 18th-century Paris meets high fashion


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The first images of a branded luxury villa development in Dubai which will carry the name of late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld have been revealed.

Showcasing a blend of traditional and modern architecture, combined with the late German designer’s instantly recognisable design aesthetic, the Karl Lagerfield villas are inspired by 18th century Paris.

Announced in October last year, the plan to build 51 luxury homes is a partnership between the luxury fashion house and Dubai developer Taraf.

Located within a gated community in the Meydan area, the entire community will be Karl Lagerfeld-branded, with the centre strip designed to represent a runway to link a community club with landscaped gardens and a lagoon.

The project will be Karl Lagerfeld's third branded residential property development in the world and the first in the Middle East. The fashion house launched luxury residences in Marbella, Spain, in 2021, and last year announced a hotel tower with branded residences in Malaysia.

The Dubai villas are set to be completed in the second quarter of 2027.

“I’m happy to open the next chapter of Karl’s future legacy,” Pierpaolo Righi, chief executive of Karl Lagerfeld, told The National. “It’s an exciting moment for us because Dubai held a very special place in Karl’s heart for one very simple reason: he was very much driven by the mantra of 'embrace the present and invent the future'.

“And I think there is no better visualisation of what that means than what Dubai has done over the last few decades. We are taking Karl’s legacy into the future, and I think there is no better place than Dubai to do so.”

A rendering of the interior of a Karl Lagerfeld-branded villa in Dubai. Photo: Taraf
A rendering of the interior of a Karl Lagerfeld-branded villa in Dubai. Photo: Taraf

Inspired by Lagerfeld’s fascination with 18th-century Parisian architecture, the project mirrors the elegance and demure of this period. The design of the five, six and seven-bedroom villas takes inspiration from the facade of the Karl Lagerfeld headquarters in Paris, one of the late designer's favourite buildings.

The 51 properties will range from 721 square metres to 1,790 square metres in size, and owners will have the opportunity to personalise their homes by choosing between two design options for the facade: Soft Modern or Urban Modern.

Each property features a grand entrance reminiscent of the building's 18th-century charm, guiding residents towards the showpiece of the house: a spiralling staircase, which in itself is a grand piece of architecture. Each villa comes equipped with a pool and garden area, as well as a study, majlis, show kitchen, dining area and multiple bathrooms.

Residents will benefit from exclusive access to the Parisian-style community clubhouse, which features meeting rooms, a library, swimming pool, sauna, gym and luscious green gardens.

It was well known that the late designer and creative director of Chanel and Fendi had a strong fascination with architecture. His love for creativity and design spanned much further than just fashion, and it is this that the brand promises to focus on with these residences.

“It’s an invitation to become part of Karl Lagerfeld’s world, which meant so much more than just fashion.” added Righi. “It was about people, places, history, architecture, literature, music.”

More information is available at www.tarafholding.com

Understand What Black Is

The Last Poets

(Studio Rockers)

RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm

Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

England World Cup squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

The biog

Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician

Hometown: Ghazala, Syria

Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978

Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter

Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi

Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.

Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo

Favourite food: fresh fish

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

SUE%20GRAY'S%20FINDINGS
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)

Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD

How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

AIDA%20RETURNS
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Updated: March 05, 2024, 3:01 PM