Surrounded by shipwrecks from the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s, an unused dockland area on the outskirts of Kuwait City is an unlikely setting for one of the Middle East's most luxurious fashion stores. But adjacent to industrial shipping containers is a place where Kuwait's wealthy come to buy international chic. Opened in April 2002, Villa Moda is the brainchild of Sheikh Majed al-Sabah, the 35-year-old nephew of the Emir of Kuwait. The new Villa Moda is a 100,000-square-foot (9300-square-meter) glass-cube emporium overlooking the Persian Gulf. Designed by Italian architect Pierfrancesco Cravel, the building is a glass box divided internally into fashion "aquariums. "There are ten stand-alone brand-specific areas including those for Prada,Gucci, Fendi, and Ferragamo, along with Vertu, the luxury communications company, and two multi-brand shops. Pierfrancesco Cravel was selected as lead architect because of his experience with fashion retail projects. Cravel's process began by referencing the dockland context and, to some extent, Islamic precedents. Islamic architectural tradition sees the entrance as important as the foundation. Cravel took care to respect this.A more obvious referent is the surrounding landscape, the former industrial seaport. The giant glass shell of Villa Moda mimics the shipping containers, while The 39-foot- (12-meter-) high steel poles in front represent ship masts. "Sails" are used in the parking lot to protect vehicles from the sun. More sails hung inside the atrium are said to protect the interior from direct sunlight. Within the building, 30-foot- (9-meter-) high glass cubes, resembling huge aquariums, house the fashion areas. Each participating company has design control inside their own glass borders. The project of the italien architect govern the spaces between them. Despite the chic look in the aquariums, the US$9 million "destination" is given a raw, industrial atmosphere by its exposed concrete floors. Al-Sabah explains: "We mainly used four cheap materials ‹ concrete, gypsum, glass, and the green India stone that you see on the facade. That's it. It was all about the innovation of design but not being flashy." In contrast to the conservative budget for the building shell, the greatest expense went, probably, to each store's fittings ‹ furnishings and displays ‹ from Italy and France. Don Barker