Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates shopping mega-complex is best known for housing what is effectively the Middle East’s largest chiller cabinet—in the form of its indoor alpine resort, Ski Dubai. Yet, in the shadow of Ski Dubai on Friday, the Arab world’s favorite super-brand, Louis Vuitton, was turning up the heat with a glamorous afternoon of Polynesian-inspired poolside antics at the adjacent Kempinski Hotel. The event, complete with Balinese massage stations, coconut-shell cocktails, and sax-playing hula boys, was held in association with Grazia Middle East, the weekly glossy whose “news and shoes” agenda has captured the imagination of Jumeirah Jane expats and local ladies-who-lunch alike. Grazia’s entire editorial staff turned out to celebrate the arrival of Vuitton’s new Tahitienne accessory line. It will be interesting to gauge the success of the collection’s pastel, Gaugin-inspired aesthetic in the United Arab Emirates, where the label’s more extravagantly gilded statement bags have become part of national dress, along with the traditional floor-length abaya.—Mark Smith

Photo: Alan Desiderio

If the raspy, plaintive chansons on her first album, Quelqu’un m’a dit (Naïve, 2005), weren’t enough to convince you that Carla Bruni had more going for her than that whole Italian heiress/supermodel/rock star arm-candy thing, her sophomore effort, No Promises (Downtown Records), which hit stores last week, will make a believer of you yet. Deciding that her own introspective lyrics couldn’t compete with the words of her favorite poets, Bruni tailored her guitar arrangements to accompany works by W. H. Auden, Dorothy Parker, Emily Dickinson, W. B. Yeats, and others, confirming that the onetime face of Dolce, Chanel, and YSL can definitively add smart cookie—fat-free cookie, that is—to her list of attributes. Here are some of our other favorite catwalkers who have managed relative success as crossover artists:

Amanda Lear: A favorite with designers Mary Quant, Ossie Clark, YSL, and Chanel, this English/French/Asian/Russian beauty dated Bowie, was muse to Salvador Dalí, and, with her ambiguous sexuality and deep, throaty voice, owned the international disco scene.

The single: Queen of Chinatown—Amanda Lear (Queen of Chinatown, 1998)

Milla Jovovich: While her late-nineties band Plastic Has Memory never released an album (and has since disbanded), Milla’s 1994 solo debut, The Divine Comedy, was a critical success, boasting pop tracks fused with traditional Ukrainian folk music and her complex voice, which prompted comparisons to Tori Amos and Kate Bush.

The single: Gentleman Who Fell—Milla Jovovich (The Divine Comedy, 1995)

Naomi Campbell: Before doing community service, Naomi spent her leisure time trying to break into the music industry. After being featured on Vanilla Ice’s single Cool as Ice in 1991, she released a solo album, Baby Woman, in 1995, which sold more than one million copies worldwide (mostly in Japan, though).

The single: Love and Tears—Naomi Campbell (Baby Woman, 1995)

Karen Elson: This flame-haired British beauty—a.k.a. Mrs. Jack White—has wowed crowds with her striking vocals as one of the leaders of the New York City-based cabaret troupe the Citizens Band, for which she also serves as creative director.

The single: I Love You (Me Either)—Karen Elson with Cat Power (Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited, 2006)

Kate Moss: After appearing in a slew of music videos, Lady Kate has said that she’d like to make her own musical ambitions known, preferably at the Glastonbury Festival. She has already lent her voice to recordings by Primal Scream and ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty’s band Babyshambles, and it’s rumored that songs co-written by the estranged couple will appear on the band’s second album, Shotter’s Nation, due out this October.

The single: Some Velvet Morning—Primal Scream (Some Velvet Morning, 2003)

Grace Slick: Pre-Jefferson Airplane (and her infamous plan to spike President Nixon’s tea with a helping of LSD), Grace, er, graced, the pages of the I. Magnin department store catalog—an experience that may or may not have influenced the pill-popping lyrics she penned for the smash hit White Rabbit.

Single: White Rabbit—Jefferson Airplane (White Rabbit, 2001)
—Celia Ellenberg

“It’s a big wedding summer for me,” said Zac Posen early Monday morning at his resort presentation. “I did Melia Marden’s dress. She married Kid America in gold sequins this weekend.” Next up is his pal Alexia Kondylis’ Montana wedding. The designer wouldn’t say much more than “Goya” and “fifties-era Dior”, but you can bet it’ll be a touch—or ten—more lavish than the white denim wedding dress from his Bonnie (as in Clyde)-influenced resort collection.

Photo: Don Ashby

Am sending off a note from the sunny Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic. We started with a fabulous shoot at Minitas Beach and Altos de Chavon for our upcoming ad campaign. It’s tough shooting fall in the middle of a Caribbean summer, but the pictures look amazing. Once the two days of work were out of the way, it was all about enjoying the vacation. Took a gorgeous catamaran trip to Catalina Island that ended in a feeble attempt at salsa dancing with the crew, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Saturday included a long horseback ride and a spectacular dinner at El Pescador, Le Cirque’s new spot down south. The crab roll is not to be missed and the beachside locale was très romantic. The next morning was all about shopping and relaxing on the beach. Doesn’t get much better than this…. Amy

The dog days of August are tricky times, sartorially speaking. Spring looks are getting a bit passé, while most fall options look silly when it’s still scorching out. Kerry Washington’s breezy color-block dress, which she wore to last night’s Creative Coalition party hosted by Los Angeles Confidential, neatly bypasses the issue with a shape that says summer and deep hues that say fall.

Photo: Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com

Beginning today, the Paris concept shop Surface to Air has a new locale, on rue Charlot in the outer Marais. Following the trend for ultradiscreet storefronts, outside you’ll find only an industrial door and a plaque that reads “Surface to Air Open” at number 68. Inside, however, is a different story. There, the same laser-beam focus on emerging street-wear designers, accessories, magazines, and art that set the original boutique (which is slated to close at the end of the year) on the map is very much in evidence. Given this agenda, it’s not surprising that the shop’s new ‘hood is being touted as an emerging hot spot for everything cutting edge—neighbors include Christophe Lemaire’s new boutique and the avant-garde Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac.
—Gentry Lane

Photo: Gentry Lane