Fans of Versace can now have their home interiors bearing the signature of their favourite Italian brand. The project in London is called Aykon Nine Elms and located within the Nine Elms regeneration area. The developer is DICO UK Property Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Damac International, the international property arm of Dubai-listed luxury developer Damac Properties.
It may be the developer’s maiden foray outside the Middle East, but it is not Damac’s first collaboration with Versace Home. Damac had previously worked with Versace Home on two other projects: one in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that was completed last year; and the other in Beirut, Lebanon that was completed this year. The project in Jeddah has seen its values command a 22% premium to market values, says Ziad El Chaar, managing director of Damac Properties.
Damac is no stranger to forming partnerships with celebrities and glamorous brands. In Dubai, it is the developer of the Hollywood-themed Paramount Tower Hotel & Residences. Golf celebrity Tiger Woods has been engaged to design a new 18-hole championship golf course within Damac’s 55 million sq ft master-planned community Akoya Oxygen, which features the Trump International Golf Club and Trump Estates, with its limited-edition villas. Damac has also engaged Fendi to design the interiors of its Damac Tower in Dubai and another project in Riyadh.
In London, the design architect of the 50-storey Aykon is Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) Associates. The interiors of the project’s 360 apartments, the lobby, as well as the amenities — from the spa, swimming pool and sauna to the children’s playground — will, however, be designed by Versace Home. There is a second tower containing 38,000 sq ft of office space and affordable housing units for key workers.
Nine Elms is a two million hectare area stretching from Lambeth Bridge in the north all the way to Battersea Power Station. It is the largest regeneration scheme in central London and is developing into a vibrant neighbourhood with close to 3km of galleries, exhibition centres, shops and restaurants, says Damac’s El Chaar.
The Vauxhall tube station is located just a five-minute walk from Aykon. Next year, the US Embassy will move to Nine Elms. Aykon will be the first such fashion- branded development in London. The Versace-designed homes are priced from £700,000 ($1.49 million) for a studio apartment to £4 million for a three-bedroom apartment. The project has been well received at private previews in the Middle East, UK, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia, says El Chaar.
“Versace has only four buildings in the world, and this is the first in London,” says Doris Tan, head of international residential property at JLL, which is jointly marketing the project with Savills. “It was launched in London on July 22, and the reception was tremendous.” The project will be launched simultaneously in Singapore and Hong Kong from July 24 to 26.
This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 687 (July 27) of The Edge Singapore.