Dubai Diamond Fashion Jewellery 80

Dubai Diamond Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Dubai, or rather the part of Dubai society that hosts its fashion week, also exudes a kind of squeaky-clean luxury, which is relevant to both the high-end retailers who sell ostrich skin to Angelina Jolie, and the club kids who are obsessed with the “newness” of anything. It’s got one finger in Bergdorf and Goodman, and the other in last season’s Jeremy Scott show. The problem is, however much Dubai might be a good place for Western designers to make money, it's still the wrong place for them.

In the 350-word press release I received, the PR company felt compelled to proudly list “Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Shakira, Nicole Scherzinger, Amber Rose and Nicki Minaj and Michael Cinco, who has worked with Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Sofia Vergara among others” (and breathe) as friends and fans. How do you reconcile these lists of extremely Westernised women in a place where their knees and shoulders must be covered in public, and though not technically mandatory, they’re also encouraged to wear a full hijab?

Well, there are a few ways. Firstly, this list of women is incredibly safe. Even Nicki Minaj, whose publicity agent will maintain that she’s "outspoken", has become homogenised to the point of absurdity. Between her and Katy Perry, you’ve got cynicism-free, sound-clipped “strong women” who are happy to smile and look pretty practically anywhere in the world as long as they're getting paid and there’s Red Bull.

In 2010, a woman was prosecuted for illegal alcohol consumption after reporting to Dubai police that she

had been raped – if you thought that this kind of warped political agenda might deter a rapper who waxes lyrical about gender equality, you’d be wrong. Put it this way, you won't see Ariel Levy chomping chocolate covered strawberries at the Hilton Dubai any time soon.