"Elegant Dubai" has a nice ring to it, and now that the emirate has been included in a list of cities considered the world's most elegant, it can stand proud knowing its thriving fashion and tourism scene is being recognised globally.
The emirate is in good company, with cities like New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Paris, London and Cape Town also making the list, which was compiled by German-based online fashion company Zalando.
Each city was assessed by more than 5,000 influential fashion and architecture experts, and rated based on its fashion scene, culturally and historically significant architecture, high tourism desirability, and affordable access.
"Elegance is not just about appearance, but also manner,” says Kasia Luczak, trendscouting manager at Zalando. “It evokes a sort of simplicity as well as restrained beauty. Probably the most famous Parisian, Coco Chanel once said that ‘elegance is refusal’. This is also where style differs from fashion – in the conscious choice between abundance and modesty.”
Dubai ranked No 41 on the list of 80 cities, which were whittled down from 400. Paris took the number one spot overall, awarded maximum points by fashion and architecture experts, followed by London, thanks to factors including its fashion schools and desirability.
Florence, Milan and Rome were well represented, too, all placing in the top 10. Each city was given a score out of five for categories including desirability by visitors, cleanliness, architecture, fashion schools and fashion capital.
Dubai, which is perhaps best known for being home to the tallest tower in the world, the largest indoor ski field and the world's largest shopping mall, ranked highest in tourism desirability with a score of 4.81.
London topped that category with a perfect score, while Singapore (4.94) and Paris (4.87) followed close behind.
A score of 3.99 in the fashion capital category went a long way to proving that Dubai's style scene is resonating internationally, thanks to its ever-growing retail arena and events like Fashion Forward.
As expected, Paris scored full points in this regard, with New York (4.94) beating London (4.87) to claim the second spot.
Meanwhile, in the architecture stakes, Dubai scored a notable 3.48 out of 5, just behind the likes of Paris (5), Florence (4.94) and Venice (4.87).
While some may argue that "grace and style" is perhaps not the first thing people think of when it comes to Dubai, the world begs to differ.
Top 10 Most Elegant Cities
1. Paris, France
2. London, UK
3. Vienna, Austria
4. Venice, Italy
5. Florence, Italy
6. Barcelona, Spain
7. New York, USA
8. Bordeaux, France
9. Milan, Italy
10. Rome, Italy
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