DUBAI — Creating a brand new trend with bejewelled gun-shaped belt buckles, red sequined jeans and Marilyn Monroe collages, the Bauhaus lifestyle store in Ibn Batutta Mall creates a niche for itself by being the trendiest music, fashion and art store in Dubai.

Located in the India Court of the mall, Bauhaus becomes the perfect spot for Dubai’s party-goers, because the unique line of sequined, bejewelled and “bling” designs.

Bauhaus owner Samara Punjabi said, “the name was inspired from the revolutionary movement in Germany, where writers, poets and artists got together to form a pool of ideas during the First World War. Bauhaus literally means ‘design’, and the shop aims at encouraging people to explore what fashion is about, checking out new cool things and having fun”.

The store sells everything — from a funky line of clothing to vibrant paintings by local artists — and also has an elite collection of lounge, club and classic rock music. It caters basically to the young and the young at heart, including clothing and accessories for infants. “Bauhaus adds to Dubai’s glamour scene. Dubaiites are into clothing that’s not too flashy, but ideally a dressy crowd” said Samara.

The store occasionally launches new artists in Dubai, and designs custom-made paintings for its customers. First launched in 2005 in Ibn Batutta Mall, it now has two other branches, one in Khalidiya Mall, Abu Dhabi and the other in the Dubai Outlet Mall.

“Dubai has its high end designer stores, but we offer European and American brands that are not commonly found in the Emirate, and at affordable prices,” said Samara.

One of the store’s hottest items are caps designed by Red Monkey. The caps are flashy and have bejewelled skulls designed on them. Other popular brands in the shop are the Japanese denim brand Evisu, AG Jeans and
Antik Denim.

The store also has an impressive line of funky shoes ranging from sports to brightly coloured pumps and
stilettos, for both men and women

Unusual accessories like cuff-links and bag holders are exclusive to Bauhaus. Designed by the European brand Glamnoir, the bag holders come in various colours that can be matched with most dresses.

The shop’s design has been inspired by the ‘Bauhaus’ architectural style with the walls bent at 70 to 80 degree angles and adorned with paintings and bright colours, with the over Dh20, 000 prized bejewelled mirror in the middle of the store.

The shop has a mix of both modern and traditional designs.

“Another exclusive and unusual item in the store are designer brands which have been made from old candy wrappers. Most of the clothing here are very popular with both Emiratis and expatriates,” said Samara.

The clothing line offers everything from casual T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, sneakers and party dresses and are priced between Dh300 for T-shirts to Dh5, 790 for jackets.

The paintings fall between the Dh5000 to Dh2000 price range.

Bauhaus is the perfect place to visit before one decides to hit the nightclubs.

Published by Dhanusha Gokulan on 7 May 2009 on on http://www.khaleejtimes.com