W HOTELS, the boutique brand which opened its first Middle East property in Doha earlier this year, expanded its fashion credentials with a designer space at Paris Fashion Week.
The brand, which has a particular emphasis on fashion, design and pop culture, has hosted a special back-stage ‘pop-up VIP lounge’ at New York Fashion Week for the past 12 seasons and this year, prior to the launch of W Paris-Opera in early 2011, it took the show on the road to Paris.
A private ‘event space’ was created in the hip Bastille district for celebrities, designers and fashion’s elite to relax and unwind in between fashion shows and take in special performances and surprise events. Eva Ziegler, global brand leader W Hotels Worldwide and Le Meridien, told TTN why the group chose to stage the Paris event, which was attended by Middle East journalists from Abu Dhabi and Dubai where new Ws are planned in the future and Doha where the brand has already established itself as a staple on the local sophisticated party scene.
“There were multiple angles, for one our passion for fashion and as the brand goes international we want to start to be internationally present. Events such as Paris Fashion Week, it’s an international happening. So we need to take this and increase the knowledge and awareness of W outside of North America.
“And we are opening a W in Paris at the beginning of 2011 so basically we wanted to start the buzz and feel of what it is to live the W lifestyle.
“The set up at the launch was like the set of W living room, great bar, great music, people socialising and hanging out, a cool crowd and that very much is the very ambience and atmosphere of a W living room evening, the living room is our version of the lobby.”
She added that Dubai Fashion Week is a possibility for the future once W opens in the emirate.