Who doesn’t dream of summer as a week of sandy feet, salty hair, coconuts in hand and a strong sea breeze, somewhere beautiful, with a hint of French accents and pearly trinkets in the stores… Yes, Bora Bora is real.
I’ll tell you who else is feeding off this Tahitian island vibe, Billabong – with their Bora Babin’ collection. Featuring flowing summer capes, sheer materials, embroidered dresses and of course… figure hugging bikinis.
Here’s what we’re packing…
Back in the spring of 2011, the Rude project started taking shape somewhere between Milan, London, Los Angeles and Miami. It was the brainchild of celebrity PR manager Marco Bacini and Gianluca Gigli, who both had the same passion for fashion and communication. 
Travelling between these cities in particular helped develop the brand’s direction and looking at their trends help mould a unique new a philosophy for the Rude Project: the Rock’n’Dandy concept. 
Born in Milan and totally ‘Made in Italy’, Rude is unique in that it reads the same in both English and Italian. Rude is an irreverent skull, “raw” – T-shirt’s that are fun don’t take themselves too seriously, designs which send a strong message of character and sensuality. 
Making waves across the city, Rude immediately became a “cult” must-have for all celebrities. The Rude project is a constant work in progress, which continues with the same explosive energy now as it did at the beginning, with Marky Ramone being one of the brands biggest ambassadors! 
“Rude Mania” has hit town… in just 9 months, it’s in more than 300 boutiques worldwide and has opened their first pop-up here at Dubai’s infamous BoxPark. 
There’s a new yoga legging and shower slipper to covet, co-founded by the Queen B herself, expect to see legions of fans queued up for the arrival of Beyonce’s first active wear range Ivy Park. Partnering with Sir Philip Green, Topshop is launching their collab this month!
Created by the Queen for women to feel empowered during their daily workouts, we’re sure you’re going to start seeing the brand in your local barre class very soon. Bey has always been a big supporter of enforcing a positive body image so it’s quite fitting that she’s gone that one step further with her new line.
From leggings with three crop lengths, to crop-tops, bodysuits, T-shirts and sweatshirts, Ivy Park is a brand we’re keen to try out. Launching exclusively with Namshi, make sure you’re online NOW for their drop!
Another day and we’re another step closer to summer here in Dubai. As the saying goes, summer bodies are made in the spring, so it’s also true that the bikini’s we’re buying to wear in the summer, we’re shopping for now.
There’s a new designer on the net who’s highlighting the maillot in exciting ways. Designed by Anisha Lalani, Blue Ink Beachwear is a pretty mixture of prints and pastels that have us wanderlusting after the long sunsets in the Med. Designed in Belgium and made in Italy, Blue Ink is made using carefully selected luxury fabrics, that are both girly enough and sexy enough to excite us here at TBS.
With a focus on ‘strong is the new sexy’ Blue Ink furthers our mantra for a more confident summer outlook!
Check out our favourite pieces from their inaugural collection and the details that made us fall in love with them: 
Celebrating the worldwide release of Walt Disney’s classic “The Jungle Book” we’re not surprised to see that Parisian fashion house KENZO, known for their eccentric and animalistic prints, has got jungle fever with a very special collection.
KENZO Creative Directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s limited edition ready-to-wear pieces highlight all your favourite fairytale characters, using the animations from the original movie.
The collection features silk and cotton summer shirts, dresses, jackets and tops for women, and for the men; light jackets, trousers, shorts and Hawaiian shirts, rounded off with knitwear featuring Kaa the python. Shere Khan makes his dramatic debut replacing the brand’s original and iconic tiger on their logo too.
“What we found most appealing for this project was to marry strong Jungle Book elements with details that we know as quintessential KENZO. There’s a way that everything comes together that is slightly familiar but also really fresh and exciting. The silhouettes we chose for the garments and accessories were inspired by the new direction Disney has taken with the live-action movie. There is a slight nod to jungle / safari elements (and even beautiful printed silk shorts directly inspired by Mowgli’s costume)” Carol Lim & Humberto Leon.
Can’t wait to see the new movie, but Mowgli, Bagheera, King Louie, Hathi, Baloo and Akela the wolf will forever be remembered in these original portraits… 
I love a good cocktail at sunset on the beach… i mean who doesn’t! So we wasted no time heading down to the Layali shoreline at Al Qasr hotel on Saturday for a surf inspired sunset session with global brand BCBGMaxAzria. 
Live music permeated the venue, with tones more ethereal than the songs she was covering… 
…must find out who the singer was! 🙂
The collection was a mixture of floaty fabrics, perfect for the So Cal summer they were taking inspiration from, festival florals combined with a few bulky booties. Expect Coachella to be full of this SS16 line up! 
I’m a big sunglass-aholic… literally drawers full, but as much as I love all shapes and sizes, there’s only ever one pair in my handbag at any one time and these Italian imports have made quite an impact. 
Born in 2010 by two LOVELY designers Alessandro Forte and Stefano Ottone, they opened a vintage store in Ibiza and escalated their entrepreneurship to creating and producing ‘Glassing‘ – their own brand, after an adventurous summer on the white isle. It quickly emerged as one of Italy’s most cutting edge brands, focusing on using innovative materials, often combined in unusual ways. 
With four flagship stores in Italy; in Milan, Portofino, Taormina and Capri, they have now brought their famous frames to Dubai and I have fully jumped on their beachside band wagon (they are currently retailing in a bright yellow pop-up container down at The Beach Dubai). Fans include Kate Moss, Justin Bieber, Beyonce and Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Anna Dello Russo to name but a few. 
They have tons of designs but these are my Top 5 Frames: 
There’s nothing I love more than beautiful resort wear. I work hard to try and ensure that my body looks half way decent in it, so it makes sense to reward those efforts occasionally and right on time… along came SAPIA•KANG.
It’s the brainchild of founders Sapia Simone and Ellen Kang who met in Dubai and started working together back in June. The brand is a true result of their explorations and adventures, living this sunny expat lifestyle that we all share and love.
If you’re as desperate to get your hands on one of these gorgeous pieces as I am, wait no longer… on January 28, SAPIA•KANG’s e-store, will be unveiling its very first collection, ‘Fantasy Island’. With wild inspirations, it’s a collection perfect for future globetrotting… swimwear to be seen in!
H&M is known for bridging the gap between affordable and luxury fashion, and its latest collab has everybody talking. This Autumn, as you’re all aware, it launches its latest foray into the world of couture, teaming up with the Parisian house of Balmain. Founded in 1945, Balmain has been making more international waves of late under the enigmatic and exciting young Olivier Rousteing, who proclaims to design for a younger, much more trendy audience, than fellow fashion houses.
Rousteing’s collaboration with H&M is furthering their global appeal online by creating the #HMBALMANATION community. And anyone who’s anyone wants to be part of it. From famous friends like Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunn starring in the campaign, to rocking the looks on the Billboard Music Awards red carpet, this digitally led fashion army is gaining momentum. The collection itself has impressed us. Not stealing away from its signature rope decals, pearl and gilded designs, Rousteing has made sure that he keeps the H&M collection completely true to Balmain’s heritage. 
“I want to talk to my generation: this is my main aim as a designer. H&M allows me the unique possibility of bringing everyone into the world of Balmain, getting a piece of the dream and creating a global #HMBalmaination: a movement of togetherness, fuelled on a hashtag. The collaboration felt extremely natural to me: H&M is a brand that everybody connects to. It calls for unity, and I am all for it”, says Olivier Rousteing
Available from November 5, in around 250 stores worldwide, The Dubai Mall is your go-to H&M outlet in Dubai for this exclusive range!
Here are our favourite pieces (so hands off!): 
#TEAMBEEM
Dubai has a new piece of tech that will literally change your life ladies… no longer do you have to have that embarrassing phone call about which bikini wax you’d like in the middle of your office, speaking like a ventriloquist and willing the receptionist to understand your request telepathically. My VERY clever (and brave) sister has ventured into the world of tech, after working in the women’s fashion and beauty sector here for 5 years, and watching women suffer in silence.
I know I am notoriously last-minute with my maintenance requirements, often begging to sit on the floor of a salon if it means I can get in for a touch up that evening. BEEM takes all of that stress away from you, by helping to geo-locate salons for easy access. 
So what is BEEM? It’s a very clever and easy to use APP that allows you to pick from the top 6 services; mani, pedi, eyebrows, eyelash extensions, wax and blow dry. You then get to pick 3 time slots for that day or the day after. As they have the BEST salons already signed up, you can choose from a chain you prefer, or find some that are closer to you and select one of them. There are also featured salons, which is great if you don’t know your way round the city’s hotspots yet. Once you’ve chosen, BEEM will search for availability, and the available slots will be pinged back to you for you to confirm your selection. 
Download BEEM free BEEM, to use its one-stop beauty concierge service that takes all the embarrassment out of your bookings.