Yazhini ManimudiLooking to buy one of the unconventional designs or creative perfumes by the French fashion house Maison Margiela? Choose the one in the Mall of the Emirates over all others where they treat your sense of taste along with sight and olfaction. Tucked away in a passage just past Debenhams and on the way to That Concept Store is Maison Margiela’s own concept store.
It’s quiet even on a busy Sunday evening, a calm corner in the midst of the hubbub of Dubai. The store welcomes you in with mannequins that seem frozen in a snowstorm, clinging on to their Maison Margiela bags. Halloween isn’t as big in the UAE as it is in the US, but the creatively designed mannequins bring a haunting sensation apt for the season even in the brightly lit, minimal environment of the store.
Beyond the entrance, you’ll find more displays of their various leather goods. Just as you’re charmed by the wall display of empty shoe mannequins modeled after their signature split toe Tabi shoes, you’ll notice the coffee station. It’s unexpected for a fashion space to politely pass you a drinks menu but they have very interesting options.
I would’ve liked to have a coffee, but it was evening and a glass of Hibiscus Iced Tea (AED 32) seemed better. As my tea was underway, I was able to sample the Replica perfumes. Rather than the usual cotton bond paper strips for testing perfumes, they offer white strips of cloth that appear weathered to match their design philosophy. You can try some of their most popular fragrances that replicate a certain time or place through fragrance. My favourite is By the Fireplace and I’m partial to Jazz Club, Sailing Day, and Under the Stars.
The natural stone color shelves add to the minimalist interior of the store and flows on to the quaint café right outside. Cylindrical stone tables sit between pairs of seats of the same stone and plush white cushions. It’s a quieter part of the mall and most people who walk through may not even know it exists unless they planned to visit the stores in that short passage.
Though all the desserts and pastries in the glass case tempted me, I went with the Tabi Cake (AED 58) and the Raspberry & Custard Swirl (AED 22). The Tabi cake follows the motif found all over the café, including the design above welcoming you to the store. They offer two flavours– the white one with pistachio and cardamom and the red with raspberry and rose. I chose the former and was proven right when the creamy pistachio filling melted on my tongue at the first bite.
The Raspberry & Custard Swirl was delightful, the pastry just the right level of flakiness to please without causing a mess, the custard softening the raspberry filling inside.
The café is run with quite the attention to detail, many elements a nod to the design philosophy at the heart of Maison Margiela. Just by the café is a Ralph Lauren store with its own coffee shop, indicating a new development in the luxury fashion industry.
It’s not a place you go to with your laptop to get some work done. The seating doesn’t really favour that. It’s a smaller space but still comfortable enough for a short time. The portion sizes are small, which means you won’t really be spending too much time at the café unless you’re ordering every item on the menu. It’s great for a special occasion or a brief meet-up. Also ideal if shopping has you overwhelmed and you need a quiet, calming space to gather your thoughts.
It was a lovely experience and I would definitely return to try out their matcha latte, coconut ice cream, and the tiramisu.
Yazhini Manimudi
