Beirut isn’t a place that falls short when it comes to style, but things are set to heat up another few degrees when the new Louis Vuitton store opens this autumn. Until then, LV fans will have to make do with the giant monogrammed trunk standing in front of the building on Allenby Street. Expect the new shop to house LV’s latest ready-to-wear collections, shoes and accessories, plus the company’s legendary array of bags. www.louisvuitton.com
Elie Saab, Dubai
Having spent much of the past decade dressing some of the world’s most glamorous women, Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab has finally opened up his first flagship store in the Gulf. Nestled amid the high-end luxury of Fashion Avenue in the Dubai Mall, the new store boasts over 250m2 of space for his latest ready- to-wear collections. Keep your eyes peeled; you might catch ES fans such as Halle Berry, Beyoncé and Angelina Jolie checking out the threads. www.eliesaab.com
One Pure claims to be the world’s first Halal luxury beauty company. Its founder, Layla Mandi, is a convert to Islam who scoured the ingredients list of dozens of beauty products to discover that many of them contained forbidden items. Over a two-year period, she worked with a chemist and dermatologist to create a range of products that Muslim women can use. www.onepureonline.com
Power Strap
Thanks to the Power Strap, there’s no longer the need to travel with a million different cables for a million different electrical appliances. Strap it into the wall, then strap it on to your wrist, and it’ll provide power to your MP3 player, portable game console, mobile phone or camera. www.powerstrap.co.uk
Phonak Earphones
These new Audéo earphones by Phonak filter out background noises on planes, meaning you can listen to your MP3 player on your next Jazeera flight without having to crank the volume up to unhealthy levels. www.audeoworld.com
Versace Unique
Many fashion houses have turned their attention towards gadgets, but few have diversified with as such style as this. The Versace Unique is just that: the first luxury-meets-touchscreen smartphone. Hand-assembled in France, the designer handset boasts a face constructed from either pure high-tech ceramic or handmade lacquer, delicately framed with an 18k gold finish or 316L-grade stainless steel inlay. Oh, and its sapphire-crystal screen is “impossible to scratch”. As if you’d let that happen… www.seddiqi.com
Samsonite
Anybody who’s experienced the pain of lugging a rock-heavy suitcase from airport to taxi to hotel to room in the height of a Middle East summer will know that the key to a successful holiday is to pack light. The B-Lite by Samsonite, who are celebrating their centenary this year, is the lightest case of this size on the market, weighing in at very liftable 2.2kg – about a kilogram less than similar bags. www.samsonite.com
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia has come a few magic carpet rides since the original 2D platformer had us leaping over spikes and waving a scimitar about. Most recently, it’s moved onto the silver screen, with the “Persian” faces of Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton as our prince and princess. Despite sharing the same name, this video game isn’t based on the film, so you needn’t worry about any Hollywood stars ruining the fun. Instead it’s all crumbling palaces, booby traps and undead armies looking for a fight. www.ubi.com
Flip Underwater
So, you’re on a diving holiday in Sharm El-Sheikh and you’re under the water, exploring the fantastic marine life of the coastline. Suddenly, you see the most amazing- looking beast swimming through the water – an Egyptian version of the Loch Ness Monster. You swim to shore to tell your friends, but nobody believes you. If only you’d been carrying a Flip – a compact and super-simple to use camcorder – in this newly- available underwater case. Your next diving adventure will be all over YouTube. www.theflip.com
Vuvuzelas
The South African World Cup may be just a memory, but there’s no reason for the noise to die down. Inspirational musical accompaniment or infernal hornet’s nest – depending on your point of view – the vuvuzela was undoubtedly the competition’s biggest star. Unfortunately, sporting events in the Middle East are sadly lacking vuvu fever, so pick up yours now and start practising – we’ve only got four years until the tournament in Brazil. www.vuvuzela.com
Ice lolly maker
The Zoku, a toaster-like gadget that takes full advantage of the latest developments in ice lolly-making technology, has us licking our lips. It makes perfect lollies in precisely seven minutes. All you have to do is pull the Zoku out its home in the freezer, add fruit juice or milk, and pull down the lever. www.firebox.com
Although singer-songwriter Nadine Khouri doesn’t live in her native Lebanon, it’s clear from her music that her homeland is a major influence. Her latest EP “A Song to the City”, recorded in various studios and bedrooms across London, documents her fixations with nostalgia and displacement, held together by intricate finger- picking, experimental loops and Nadine’s brooding voice. www.cdbaby.com
As one of the most celebrated photographers in America, Joel Sternfeld has been round the block a few times. And now he’s been to Dubai, using nothing more than the camera on his i-Phone to capture scenes of everyday life in the emirate. His collection, i-Dubai, is available now. www.steidlville.com
Hello Dubai
Intrigued by tales of manmade islands and cloud-poking skyscrapers, New Zealand writer Joe Bennett travelled to Dubai to try and find the city behind the hyperbole. Hello Dubai is a touching, funny and balanced look at life in the emirate – a perfect companion piece to i-Dubai (see previous page). Those who know the city well won’t learn anything new, but Bennett’s observations and jokes are a delight. Available from amazon.co.uk
The Hakima’s Tale
Dedra Stevenson is an American author who has lived in the UAE for 20 years. Here she tells J Magazine about her recently completed trilogy for young readers
The trilogy follows the life of Phoenix Kassim, an American-born Emirati who slowly learns of her destiny: to defend humankind from the attack of the Blue Jinni and his generals, who wish to take over the world. She is assisted by friendly jinn and humans who know of her cause.
In the first book, The Revenge of the Blue Jinni, Phoenix rediscovers her rich past and heritage. The second book, The Rise of the Warrior, is the story of her training and the adventures she has as she gathers the ancient tools of combat, such as her flying carpet and the enchanted amber of the blue whale. The final book, The Dawn of Redemption, is about the inevitable war for survival and humans reconfirming that they have a right to live.
The story came to me after I moved to the Middle East and realised there were some amazing tales of folklore that could be transformed into modern stories. I hope it helps bridge the gap between children in the East and in the West.
My books are intended as enjoyable reads, but ones with purpose. I want them to communicate that we are, in fact, one big human family. www.thehakimastale.com
America’s most famous department store, founded in 1860 and mentioned in countless movies and TV shows, has opened its first ever international branch in the Dubai Mall. The new shop includes Forty Carrots, a frozen yoghurt store, and Magnolia Bakery, famed for its cupcakes. It also sells fashion brands such as Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Jimmy Choo. www.bloomingdales.com
The Khan
Themed malls may be nothing new in the region, but The Khan in Damascus stands out as something different. Nestled in the middle of Midhat Pasha Souq, in the old part of town, this two-storey hub – the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Sandra Hakim and Amjad Maki – has brought the modern and the classical together. On the top floor, Villa Moda and Khanom cater to every fashion whim, while below, local arts are kept alive with Saboon’s Damescene crafts and Tajalliyat’s contemporary paintings and sculptures. Finally, the modern furnishings on offer at Yabi & Yomo will help fill in the gaps between couture and culture. www.thekhan-sy.com
Throwing Shapes
Gallery One, which has stores in the UAE and Bahrain, has promoted regional art for many years. These prints by Gregg Sedgwick, part of his Arabic Geometry series, have local patterns intertwined and repeated to make fascinating motifs. “Geometric shapes have long been part of Islamic arts and designs,” says Sedgwick. Go online and view the full collection, we say. www.g-1.com
KAGE, the creative brainchild of Dubai designers Arwa Abdelhadi and Basma Abu Ghazaleh, was launched at the end of last year and is already making waves on the Middle East’s fashion scene. The lifelong friends’ debut womanswear collection features vintage-inspired pieces with a touch of glamour, and is available at Boutique 1. www.bykage.com
The Dubai Tiara
We’ve already seen it lovingly recreated out of Lego bricks, matchsticks and chocolates, but finally Dubai’s skyline is being given a treatment more deserving of its multi-million-dollar construction. On the Dubai Tiara, the city’s usual towering suspects have been fashioned out of Swarovski crystals and lined up together to make one rather bling-heavy piece of headgear. Expect to see several glittering Burj Khalifas bobbing around at the next World Cup horse race. www.shopatsauce.com
With the Middle East finally acknowledging that hotels needn’t be gigantic to be luxurious, Bahrain now has its own boutique affair. L’Hotel, in Manama’s Seef district, has not only upped Bahrain’s elegance stakes with 90 gorgeously furnished rooms, plus sauna, hammam and outdoor swimming pool, but it has also added a few fine-dining options to the country’s menu. Parisian chain Relais de Venise Son Entrecôte has been keeping Manama’s steak lovers happy, its dedication to the needs of red meat fans unsurpassed across the kingdom.
You’ve no doubt seen the Burj Khalifa and thought something along the lines of “wow!”. Well, if you’re feeling wobbly, your legs having turned to jelly after a trip to take in the views from the observation deck, you can now stay the night – in the newly opened Armani Hotel, no less. Taking up the first 39 floors of the tower, the hotel is the fashion house’s first – which isn’t surprising for a structure loaded with Guinness World Records.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, all 160 rooms have been designed by Giorgio himself. www.armanihotels.com
Alternative music in Beirut keeps getting more lively, varied and unpredictable. The underground hip-hop scene, led by performers such as DJ Lethal Skillz and RGB, is the most active in the Middle East, while the underground rock scene includes fantastic bands such as Scrambled Eggs and The New Government. Untitled Tracks is a book combining Tanya Traboulsi’s photography with critical and personal essays by local musicians and and writers. www.lebaneseunderground.com
The Middle East
Type The Middle East into Google and you’ll see a mysterious Australian band at the top of the pile. Their debut record is called The Recordings of the Middle East, but don’t expect Umm Kulthum or even Haifa Wehbe. Instead, expect delicate folk music and gentle harmonies from a band that looks likely to be a major hit on the festival circuit this summer. www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast
Bloomingdale’s
The Khan
Throwing Shapes
KAGE
The Dubai Tiara
L’Hotel, Bahrain
Armani Hotel
Untitled Tracks
The Middle East