New opening
Akris
You feel like you are stepping into a modern art gallery when you swing open the heavy doors to the flagship Akris store. The cavernous size and crisp white décor envelope you and provide the perfect backdrop for the smattering of colour from the spaciously hung clothing rails. The shop is full of classically-tailored clothing designed for the discerning middle aged woman who’s not quite ready to let her daughters have all the fun in the fashion stakes. The eye-catching colours of the short jackets, pleated chiffon skirts and smart t-shirts are offset by the subtle beiges of the smart trouser suits, sheer blouses and silk v-neck sweaters. There’s also a limited, almost overlooked, line of black satin cocktail dresses for the evening. A huge changing room looks fit for an army of friends to give potential purchases the once-over and there are numerous leather sofas that offer respite to weary shoppers. Suitably manicured customers come equipped with Giorgio Armani bags bulging from trips to the boutique opposite and their wallets must be equally well endowed: a pullover will set you back Dhs1,650 while a summer jacked costs Dhs6,000. Although most of us can’t afford to shop at Akris it makes a refreshingly discreet and welcome entry into Dubai’s usually brand name obsesses high-end market. Michelle Byrne.
Akris, Shopping Boulevard, Jumeirah Emirates Towers (04 330 1020). Open Sat-Thu 10am-10pm; Fri 4pm-10pm.
Shop review
Nine West
The service
It’s never nice being followed around by staff who make you feel like a shoplifter. But the other extreme is no good either and at Nine West we received no ‘hello’ upon entering the shop, and more unforgivably (with a staff-customer ratio of 3:2) we had to wave a stiletto around in the air to get staff attention. However, they were very knowledgeable about other branches and the product range.
The shop
The bright white and squeaky clean interior gives an uncluttered feel to the shop which actually bursts at the seams with products. There are comfy chairs for the trying-on of shoes but while this comfortably caters for a few customers at a time, it could become a bit too cluttered on a crowded day.
Rang and value
Women’s shoes, bags, sunglasses and even a couple of jackets vie for your dirhams and this is the first Nine West branch in the city to stock the entire range of the new spring/summer accessories. Nine West certainly deal in well-priced and high-quality products and at this Mall of the Emirates brand there’s an emphasis on strappy shoes that’ll get you noticed on a girly night out.
Return policy
Disappointing. We were told that if we kept the receipt we could swap any unsuitable products, but there would be no refunds and no exchange vouchers even if the purchase was taken back ten minutes later and hadn’t been removed from the bag.
The verdict
The staff need to be a little more forthcoming, more room is needed for stretching legs, and the return policy should be more extensive than it currently is.
Nine West (04 341 0244), ground floor, Mall of the Emirated. Open Sun-Tue 10am-10pm; Wed-Fri 10am-12 midnight.