Forging new frontiers is nothing new for Giorgio Armani. But even the renowned fashion designer must have been relieved when he took the applause on Tuesday night at the end of a fashion show to open the Armani Dubai hotel.

The event was the realisation of a five-year plan to launch a chain of branded hotels with Emaar, the region’s largest developer.

But in a sign that Dubai is starting to rebound from its economic woes of the past two years – including amassing more than $100m of government-related debt, Mr Armani had to share the evening’s spotlight.

A short hop across town, was a Christie’s auction of regional art that achieved “spectacular” prices as buyers bid for a prized collection of modern Egyptian art. The sale made $15m (€11.4m, £10m), triple the estimate, with one work, Mahmoud Said’s “Les Chadoufs”, going for $2.43m, a record for such work. [Read More]