Posted: Friday, August 6, 2010 12:25 pm

Life imitating art, imitating fashion, imitating hotel design. This appears to be the current pattern in our endlessly design-driven world. Chic hotel design has opened up to the possibility of merging the arts in more ways than one. It is no longer just about who is hung on the walls of the lobby, or the name that adorns the Michelin star restaurant. There is a new style of luxury in town and unlike the seasonal fashion that struts up and down the catwalk- this trend is here to stay.

Some of the masters of the fashion world have returned to the proverbial drawing board and put thread and needle to brick to bring us a new definition of hotel luxury. Backed by an already powerful brand name, Milan, Dubai and Edinburgh now house some of the most fashion-forward hotels in the industry. The Armani Hotel, Dubai; Maison Moschino, Milan and Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh all dedicate their walls, floors and drawers to luxury in the highest fashion sense, transferring cleverly sculpted designs into hospitality spaces.

The Armani Hotel, Dubai, was officially launched back in March, and is the first hotel to open under the collaboration between Giorgio Armani S.p.A. and Emaar Properties PJSC. The Armani Hotel resides in the infamous Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai Tower), and is the first of a series of hotels, resorts and residences designed by Giorgio Armani to be opened around the globe. This hotel marks fashion maestro Giorgio Armani’s debut in to the world of hospitality. Defined by its unique location, highest standards of aesthetics and service excellence, the Armani Hotel Dubai plans to be the most exclusive destination in the city. The opening of the Armani Hotel in Dubai will be followed by the launch of the Armani Hotel Milano. Other properties underway include the first Armani Resort, planned for Marrakech, and the first Armani Residences villas, for Marassi in Egypt. Further Armani hotels, resorts and residences will open subsequently in key international destinations such as New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and London. Armani Hotels & Resorts was established in 2005 under an agreement between Giorgio Armani S.p.A. and Emaar Properties, with the objective to develop, own and operate an exclusive collection of hotels, resorts and residences in the world’s most important cities and holiday destinations. Armani Hotels & Resorts plans to open at least ten hotels and resorts within the next ten years.
There is currently very little information about the interior of the hotel as Armani are keeping it under wraps; but their already established Armani Casa brand name gives us some indication of the sense of style and luxury that will no doubt be emulated throughout the hotel.

Maison Moschino, Milan, was opened in 2009. The hotel is located in the old neoclassical railway station on Viale Monte Grappa, 12, which opened in 1840 for the Milan-Monza route.  The hotels creative direction was led by Rossella Jardini and Moschino’s creative team. The exterior facades were restructured to be faithful to the original structure, while the interior was completely interpreted in the Moschino style. Divided into four floors, the 54 rooms and 15 suites are all different. On the ground floor, the hall and the bar welcome guests into the hotel. The restaurant extends from the hall to the garden, and the spa and the gym are located on the lower levels. The common thread connecting the rooms is a fairy tale theme. The hotel interior reflects Moschino’s distinctive style where the ordinary world is painted with a brush of surrealism.  Hotelphilosophy S.p.A, Mobygest Group are the partners in this project,while the actual owner of the real property is Allianz Global Investors SGR S.p.A, Fondo Ras Antares. 

The hotel interior represents a world where fashion is king, fairytales come true and dreams are realised. Stefano Ugolini of Hotelphilosophy, along with the creative team at Moschino and Rossella Jardini have created a totally unique 65-room hotel, which opened its doors to the public this March. The rooms are an invitation to guests to fully submerge themselves in a fairytale land and names such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Clouds’ and ‘Sleeping in a Ballgown’ adorn the rooms to create a further sense of fantasy and imagination.Stefano Ugolini, Founder and President of Hotelphilosophy commented: “This project shares little with the other ‘fashion hotels’. Our venture is the first where the interiors are entirely conceived by the label’s creative staff. I wanted to give birth to a hotel that takes the synergy between fashion and hotel design a step further. I had in mind an elegant and absolutely exclusive ambience that my guests could experience thoroughly, the kind of hotel you just die to tell your friends about.” 

Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh, is the debut hotel from the The Rezidor Hotel Group and luxury fashion house, Missoni.  Opened in June 2009, the lavish hotel overlooks Edinburgh’s old town in the heart of the historic city centre. 
The hotel has been individually designed by Creative Director Rosita Missoni and her expert team.  Style is top of the agenda from the moment you step into the lobby until the moment the guest checks out.  The overall colour scheme is a simple, stylish black and white punctuated with brilliant flashes of colour.  The unmistakable Missoni prints sit alongside the work of interior designers whom Rosita admires.  From the chic large mosaic urns, which greet people on arrival, there are trademark zig-zags, geometric patterns, and splashes of bold colours on the walls, vases, plates, cushions, gorgeous bedding and flooring, the restaurant Cucina and Bar Missoni, and even towels in the bathrooms. 
Every element of this hotel has been decked out in Missoni–inspired wares, from the homeware in the restaurants, to bathroom suites filled with Missoni touches, the hotel is distinctly designed to enhance the guests experience, whilst also bringing a recognisable edge of fashion to the interior.

With these super-stylish hotels rolling out across the globe, there seems to be no stopping the formidable fashion force from collaborating with our designers and the results are truly magnificent.