Once, luxury travel was defined by the thread count of the sheets, the name of the chef in the kitchen, and the square footage of the suite. Today, it is being redefined by logos — but not just any logos. Dior, Bugatti, Elie Saab, Mercedes-Benz: names that once adorned runways, racetracks, and ateliers are now appearing above hotel doors and on residential towers.
The convergence of fashion, lifestyle, and hospitality is rewriting the global map of luxury. Developers and brands are no longer content with sponsorships or boutique shop-in-hotels. Instead, they are collaborating at the level of architecture, interiors, and services — embedding brand DNA into every detail of the stay. The result is a new frontier in high living: the branded hotel and residence.
And nowhere is this phenomenon more visible — or more ambitious — than in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai, that glittering experiment in manufactured luxury, has become the epicenter of this branded boom. The city’s skyline is already a catalogue of global aspirations, but recent projects are pushing the boundaries further, turning buildings into three-dimensional advertisements for brand worlds.
Mercedes-Benz Places, developed with Binghatti in Downtown Dubai, marries automotive precision with vertical living. The design language echoes speed and mobility, embedding the carmaker’s aesthetic into homes that promise both comfort and cachet. A few blocks away, Bugatti Residences translate the spirit of the racetrack into ultra-luxury apartments. These projects are less about square footage and more about storytelling: residents aren’t just buying real estate; they are buying into the mythology of the brand.
What differentiates these ventures from mere licensing deals is their coherence. The logo is not simply slapped on a façade; the entire project is crafted around the identity of the brand. Architecture, interiors, even the concierge services carry its DNA. The line between lifestyle and living space blurs.
If branded residences are shaping the skyline, branded hotels are reshaping hospitality itself. Dorchester Collection’s latest jewel, The Lana, opened its doors in early 2024 in Dubai’s Marasi Bay marina. It is the group’s first hotel in the Middle East and, significantly, the home of the region’s first Dior Spa.
Designed by Foster + Partners with interiors by Gilles & Boissier, The Lana’s 30-story structure is less hotel than stage set: glass-walled rooms with sweeping views of Burj Khalifa, duplex suites with double-height living rooms, and a presidential suite that stretches across an entire corner of the building. It is architecture as theatre, every angle designed for maximum spectacle.
The dining roster reads like a Michelin summit. Jean Imbert of Paris’s Hôtel Plaza Athénée brings a Riviera-inspired restaurant and a rooftop venue aptly named High Society. Martín Berasategui, Spain’s twelve-star powerhouse, introduces Basque cuisine to Dubai with Jara, accompanied by a speakeasy cigar lounge. Pastry star Angelo Musa adds Parisian flair with a café serving chocolate bonbons and artisanal viennoiseries.
The Dior Spa, perched on the 29th floor, offers treatments like Hydrafacial and Dior’s LED light therapy mask, but also three therapies exclusive to The Lana — couture beauty as destination spa. Transport is equally on-brand: guests are ferried in custom Rolls-Royces or a private Foiler boat.
The Lana demonstrates how hospitality has become the ultimate canvas for luxury brands. A stay here is less about rest and more about immersion in a branded universe.
Residences are no longer judged simply by their floor plans but by the lives they promise. In Dubai, branded properties offer everything from private cinemas and infinity pools to curated social clubs. For owners, the value lies in belonging to an elite micro-community — one in which the brand itself serves as cultural glue.
The Franck Muller Aeternitas Tower, set to rise in Dubai Marina, exemplifies this evolution. Soon to be the tallest branded residential tower in the world, it promises spa-like interiors, sweeping views, and a lifestyle narrative that justifies premiums of up to 60% over unbranded properties. Buyers are not just securing a home; they are securing status.
Beyond Dubai, Marriott International and Abu Dhabi National Hotels are collaborating on a Luxury Collection resort and residences on Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Marjan Island. The project, with more than 400 rooms, 29 villas, and nearly 400 branded apartments, will offer residents access to resort-style amenities: ballrooms, wellness centers, even padel courts. Ras Al Khaimah, once overshadowed by its flashier neighbors, is positioning itself as a luxury destination in its own right — its visitor numbers are projected to nearly triple by 2030.
Fashion brands, too, are stepping beyond boutiques and red carpets. Nowhere is this more visible than in the Swiss Alps, where Elie Saab has entered hospitality with the Post Hotel & Residences in Andermatt.
The project reimagines an 18th-century post office beside the Unteralpreuss river into a chalet-style retreat, designed in collaboration with A++ Group and UAE developer Mira Developments. Saab’s couture sensibility translates into architecture through embroidered patterns carved into wood, draped fabric-inspired details in stone, and a play of light and shadow reminiscent of stagecraft. Original timber beams and masonry were carefully restored, while state-of-the-art climate systems were discreetly integrated — a marriage of heritage and high-tech sustainability.
For Saab, the move is part of a broader strategy. “Elie Saab has always been more than a fashion house; it is a complete lifestyle brand,” his son and CEO, Elie Saab Jr., explained. With furniture lines, branded residences, and now hotels, the house is expanding couture into a lived experience.
If the Middle East is synonymous with extravagance, it is also becoming a laboratory for sustainable luxury. Increasingly, branded developments boast green building certifications, renewable energy systems, and locally sourced materials. The marketing pitch has shifted: to invest in these properties is not only to buy prestige, but also to participate in a more responsible future.
This mirrors a global shift: in high fashion and high living alike, sustainability has become the new marker of refinement. True luxury now signals not just wealth, but foresight — the ability to blend indulgence with responsibility.
The Middle East, and Dubai in particular, has become a benchmark for the branded living movement. By merging iconic collaborations, extravagant amenities, and sustainability narratives, it has created a template that other cities are eager to emulate.
For investors, branded residences offer returns beyond real estate value — they deliver cultural capital, the kind that cannot be duplicated. For travelers, branded hotels transform the stay into a curated experience, as memorable as the destination itself.
The message is clear: in 2025, luxury is not just something you wear. It is something you live in, sleep in, dine in, and check into. And as fashion and hospitality increasingly intertwine, the journey itself has become couture.
