The Galleria - Abu Dhabi's hottest new shopping destination

Marina , Khalidiya , Wahda and Abu Dhabi Mall are all great shopping malls in Abu Dhabi we have grown to visit at least once a week.One thing they do have in common is that they miss that little 'touch' of glam, haut de gamme luxury and nonchalance.

All you fashionistas' prayers have been answered a couple of months ago.
A new luxury shopping and dining destination developed by Gulf Related and Mubadala , The Galleria,opened its doors to redefine Abu Dhabi's retail platform.

Featuring more than 100 of the world’s most renowned retail outlets, The Galleria brings a new era of stylish and sophisticated shopping to the capital and the region.Situated on Al Maryah Island, home to the capital’s new CBD, The Galleria boasts spectacular waterfront views across the Abu Dhabi cityscape and elevates the city’s retail offering with one of the highest concentrations of luxury brands in the Middle East.

Fifty brands have chosen this new luxury destination to open their first stores in Abu Dhabi  These include international labels such as Boucheron, Celine, Diane von Furstenberg, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Mulberry, Paul Smith, Tory Burch, Alexander McQueen, Moschino, Kenzo (which is set to open in February - Can't wait ) ,Thomas Pink, Pucci, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Emporio Armani Caffe and Magnolia Bakery.

I was invited to attend the Official VIP Launch of the mall.
The night kicked off with a cocktail and introductory speech , which was then followed by a fashion show.
The models were impeccably styled by Teresa from styledrifter.com , and featured an array of sport luxe ensembles by various brands.

For the rest of the night, In-stores events were aplenty.

 To celebrate the opening of its first store in Abu Dhabi, Moschino created 20 exclusive limited edition pieces. The sky to turquoise variation of blue is a lovely color and the Moschino's gold hardware is classical.
I made the most of the night , and purchased the Moschino belt I had my eye on for quite sometime.

Lanvin statement necklaces that read 'happy' , 'help' and 'love' are all the rage this season.
Street style savvy for sure !

How gorgeous is this Pucci jumpsuit? Also impeccably styled for the fashion show.

Instead of heading to Dubai this weekend, head to The Galleria and support Abu Dhabi's growing fashion platform!

Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience

In cooperation with Vogue Italia magazine and Dubai Mall, the lifestyle based global property developer, Emaar Properties, hosted the first Vogue Dubai Fashion Experience on the 10th of October , officially branding Dubai as an emerging fashion capital of the world.
Over 400 000 people attended the event to celebrate all things high fashion.

Here's what Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia had to say : “Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience has been a fantastic demonstration of Dubai’s positivity and global outlook. This is a city that inspires people to deliver their best, and we saw that in the creations of the young designers who got one of the first platforms to present their works. Fashion also has a higher role to play and we proved that through our support to Dubai Cares"

Numerous events were ongoing through out the mall.
A fashion show showcasing emerging designers' talent took place and was attended by big names in the industry such as Franca Sozzani,The Dsquared brothers , Naomi Campbell , Riccardo Tisci and Donatella Versace.

The mall was filled with fashion aficionados and a truck load of Celine, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
In-store events were hosted all over the mall.
My personal favorite was Marc Jacobs' 'Tulip Fest'!

You can always count on Marc Jacobs' event organizers to host the most creative and funky events.
This time, we were treated to a tulip planting station ,a caricature station as well as a photo booth.
My pot is currently on top of my kitchen counter : I sure hope my seed will bloom soon.

All eyes were also on Kenzo! We were treated to some delicious eye shaped cookies and sweets.I even tried a Japanese delicacy which was filled with ice cream : It's currently on my very short list of sweet dishes I love.
The current collection is to die for, especially because the Eye means so much to me and my culture.

                                                 How cute are her Kenzo eye print trousers?

Another print of Kenzo's I'm crazy about is the clouds , I picked up a snapback that I'll be wearing soon.

Last but not least, I attended S*uce's The Blonde Salad Event.
The gorgeous Chiara Ferragni , wearing Zayan , was there to meet her fans and sign t-shirts.
Due to some heavy traffic that day on the road from Abu Dhabi to Dubai I arrived quite late.
After waiting in the line for half an hour , I only managed to take a group picture with Chiara.
The bouchees were delish and the music was blasting!

What I wore to VFDE : Top - Fashion Laboratoire (look out for more designs from my upcoming brand)
                                     skort - Zara
                                     Lady Dior Bag

Sorry for the lack of posts, I'm up to my ears with exams and activities.There are plenty more interesting posts coming soon including a fashion forward cover, Glambox reveal and AW 13 Trend how-to!

P.S How do you like the new website design?

Ivy's Big Reveal

Lebanon is mostly known for three things : its style , food and nightlife.

To prove this right, Vero Moda  & RagMag Magazine collaborated to reveal one of Lebanon's best blogger's identity.
#IvysBigReveal took place at Le Gray's Cherry on the rooftop in downtown Beirut.
With music courtesy of DJ Jack Sleiman , the party was a hit!
We were served the cutest bouchees and the tastiest champagne throughout the night and treated to hot pink goodie bag at the end.

www.Ivysays.com is a Beirut based fashion and lifestyle blog.
The girl behind it remained anonymous until #IvysBigReveal when she announced her identity and claimed to be Dana.
(I must say I wasn't expecting such a gorgeous and bubbly young lady to be Ivy, since being anonymous shows weakness and shyness).
I'm pretty sure nobody was disappointed with Dana, who entertained the crowd with her wide smile and great social skills.

It was a great opportunity to get to know Lebanon's fashpack and the girls behind vero moda's blog whom I've been talking to via social media.

Pick up August's issue of RagMag Magazine to read Ivy's essay and know more.

 

Head to toe Zara + Chanel 2.5 bag

 

 

With Dana , the girl behind ivysays.com

 

 picture courtesy of Beirut Night Life

 

Maison Sez - Fashion Extravaganza

I  recently attended  'a night with The National - Fashion Extravaganza at Maison Sez's boutique.
Being Gatsby themed everyone was asked to dress up in 20'S attire, which meant lots of pearls and feathers.

The event featured a presentation by the editors and stylists of Luxury Magazine on the behind the scenes of a shoot as well as this season's top trends.
Adorable bouchées and juices were served by Shakespeare & co and the night ended with a fashion show featuring stunning pieces available at Maison Sez.

 

 

Video : A night with the National : fashion extravaganza

A few days later , I passed by Maison Sez to take a closer look and go through the vast range of brands.

The 4,900 square-foot boutique is beyond lavish and houses such a breath taking collection of pieces, including brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Robert Rodriguez, Viktor & Rolf, Gat Rimon, Hotel Particulier, Rebecca Taylor, Zhor & Nema, Alice & Olivia, Manoush and Philippe Audibert to name a few.

You can even find pieces that were donned by celebrities such as Olivia Palermo and Kim Kardashian.

The interior is très chic with each section corresponding to a different theme.

It was very hard trying to capture the intricate details of the store , carefully put together by Madonna Morgan the owner of Maison Sez.

At such a young age, she managed to make Maison Sez a fashion hub in the heart of Abu Dhabi.

 

Make sure to pop by and grab a few quirky pieces !

 

 

 

 

 

Pinko Event

After my birthday weekend I was invited to a Styling Session hosted by Tala Samman from myfashdiary.com at Pinko,Dubai Mall.
After telling her about my current obsession with prints , she picked out the cutest monochrome shorts for me, paired with a striped blouse.
We had an exclusive sneak peek into the Autumn/Winter 13' collection and were able to pre-order the pieces.

                                             
                                   My favorite item from the SS13 collection

With Tala Samman from myfashdiary.com

 

 How Gorgeous are her Palazzo's?She designed them herself. Nisa Tiwana from     nisatiwanaandco.blogspot.com

The event was catered by Hey Sugar , hence the creative tasty treats.