Wealthy Chinese shoppers’ latest hot spot: Dubai

BEIJING, Jan 3 — Move over Paris and New York. The hot new luxury shopping destination for well-heeled China tourists is crisis-hit Dubai.

Some tour agencies in Beijing, and even smaller cities like Chengdu in south-western China, reported a doubling or even tripling of people signing up for tours to the Middle Eastern playground of the rich and famous during the Christmas season.

Chengdu-based Dreams Travel tour agency told The Sunday Times that its 7,000 yuan (RM3,456) five-day package and 50,000 yuan luxury tours were all fully booked.

Some Chinese are willing to splurge 30,000 yuan per person for week-long tours at attractions such as The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment venue, and Mall of the Emirates.

Angel Li, in her late 20s, who works for her father’s real estate business, flew off on Christmas Eve for a 15,000 yuan, five-day trip with her boyfriend.

Having shopped in Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue in New York’s Manhattan, as well as in London’s High Street as a teenager, Li said she was “looking for more excitement in a new place”.

She already had her shopping list planned before the trip: Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Dior and Monte Bianco.

A Beijing executive in his 30s told Beijing TV that he was planning to “take advantage of the year-end sales to buy duty-free branded goods that are cheaper than in China”.

He boarded the plane with an empty luggage bag and was prepared to buy another two to cart back the merchandise.

Compared to Western shopping hot spots such as Milan, London and New York, Dubai is a novelty to Chinese big spenders.

Its US$26 billion (RM124 billion) debt scare in end-November, which briefly spooked world markets, has helped.

“The debt crisis has made Dubai famous in Chinese news, so everyone knows about it,” said a sales manager with Dreams Travel who gave only his surname, Li.

And with hotel rates in the emirate under pressure because of the debt restructuring debacle, tour packages look even more attractive.

The Dubai Tourism Board said compared with 2008, when some 96,300 Chinese guests stayed at hotels there, it expected a “remarkable increase” for 2009.

Adding to Dubai’s advantage is the Chinese government’s recognition of the United Arab Emirates as an “approved destination” as of Sept 15 last year.

The status allows locals to apply for visas to travel to Dubai for leisure.

Another edge Dubai has over more established shopping hot spots in the West: Flights from Beijing to Dubai take about 71/2 hours, compared with 91/2 hours to Paris and about 13 hours to New York.

Singapore, another popular shopping destination for the Chinese, has no cause for worry, said tour agencies in Beijing.

“Most Chinese still prefer Singapore because the people there can speak Mandarin. And Singapore’s duty-free shopping is also world renowned,” said China International Travel Service’s manager, who wanted to be known only as Sun. — Straits Times


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Runway report: next season's hot new looks

In the fashion world, Milan and Paris are the masters of the universe and dictate next season's hot looks. Natasha Silva-Jelly celebrates Europe's finest.

After three weeks running with the international fashion pack in the global epicentres of London, Milan and Paris, the curtain drew to a close on the spring-summer 2010 ready-to-wear runways in the city of lights last week.

While the clothes won't arrive in stores here until early next year, we say take inspiration from the three big trends and start adopting the looks now. As for the hot hue of the season, fashion was in a monochromatic mood with many shows starting with all white or all black – though Givenchy combined the two with a fierce-looking geometric collection.

That's not to say there wasn't the occasional burst of colour, mainly tomato red and sunny yellow. Fabulous floral prints livened up many a designer landscape but it was Stella McCartney, Valentino and our own Collette Dinnigan who did it best. And all evidence of recession dressing is officially dead, as almost all designers turned up the glamour meter with the help of Swarovski crystal-encrusted detailing and splatterings of sequins – or in the case of Lanvin, the hottest show on the circuit, luxe jumpsuits and dresses to die for, all accessorised with lashings of gilt and accessories to make you go gaga.

Of course, glamour comes as naturally to Donatella Versace as mother's milk. Not that spring-summer was all about exuberance. At the heart of the collections, a new era of wearability emerged. Phoebe Philo pioneered the movement at Celine with a seriously chic, precision-tailored display of understated glamour: ultra-lightweight leather tees, tailored trousers and sexy safari-style utilitarian pieces. Of course, not everyone got it right – Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, what were you thinking? Why not leave the experimental approach to your own label and return the iconic luxury brand to its classic roots? For if there was one trend that tied all of the talent together this season, it was to remain true to designer DNA.

THE NEW LUXURY

1. Prada: Gorgeous island prints, crystal chandelier pieces and crystal-encrusted shoes – what's not to love?

2. Givenchy: The sharp, almost futuristic geometric vibe was offset at Givenchy with draped goddess dresses complete with shimmering shoulders.

3. Lanvin: Consider Lanvin the go-to label for after-hours glamour. Glittering jumpsuits, short, block-colour cocktail frocks and plenty of luxe neck, arm, wrist and bag candy.

FABULOUS FLORALS

4. Stella McCartney: In addition to her sharp tailoring and lots of wearable basics (welcome back, denim skirt), McCartney's show was big on beautiful rose-print dresses and blouses.

5. Valentino: The emperor might have retired but his successors are ensuring the glamour lives on with short, sheer party dresses (no, there was not a hint of red) and a stunning floor-length chiffon gown with black-orchid print.

6. Collette Dinnigan: Dinnigan injected a little bit of Australiana into her collection with long and short-tiered florals in a kaleidoscope of colours and a stunning silk strapless maxi with beaded and embroidered sunflower motif.

OH SO WEARABLE

7. Celine: Thanks to the Celine show, we're all coveting earthy shades of camel, nude and safari – not to mention butter-soft leather.

8. Salvatore Ferragamo: Hello, sunshine – bursts of bright yellow were warmly received at Ferragamo, who in Milan also channelled chic wearability.

9. Stella McCartney" Don't be afraid of soft and simple was the message at Stella McCartney and for that, her show was a standout.

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