Runway street, 18th-century Paris and wall-to-wall Karl Lagerfeld aesthetics inspire luxury community
The first images of a Karl Lagerfeld-branded Dubai villa development have been revealed. Showcasing a blend of traditional and modern architecture, combined with the late German fashion designer’s eye-catching aesthetics, the villas are inspired by 18th-century Paris.
“I’m happy to open the next chapter of Karl’s future legacy,” Pier Paolo Righi, chief executive of the fashion house, 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.”
The first plans were announced in October. Fifty-one luxury homes will be built in 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 in keeping with Lagerfeld’s style. A centre strip will be designed to represent a runway and link a community club with landscaped gardens and a lagoon.
The project will be the company’s third branded residential property development worldwide and the first in the Middle East. The fashion house launched luxury homes 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 middle of 2027.
Inspired by Lagerfeld’s fascination with 18th-century Parisian architecture, the project mirrors the elegance and demure of this period. The designs of the five, six and seven-bedroom villas take inspiration from the facade of the company’s headquarters in Paris, which was reportedly one of his favourite buildings.
The 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 options for the facade: soft modern or urban modern.
Each property will feature a grand entrance reminiscent of the building’s historical charm, designers say. They will guide residents towards the showpiece of the house: a spiralling staircase. Each villa will have a pool and garden area, as well as a study, majlis, show kitchen, dining area and multiple bathrooms.
There will be a Parisian-style community clubhouse with meeting rooms, a library, a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym and gardens.
“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.”