( CNN ) -- These days , no fashion house portfolio is complete without a hotel -- or at the very least , a luxuriously designed suite . Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld are the latest fashion icons to try their hands at hoteling , with Hilfiger recently purchasing Miami 's The Raleigh Hotel and Lagerfeld set to open his first branded property in Macau ( albeit not until 2017 ) . They join the ranks of many of the fashion industry 's most iconic members , including Bulgari , Armani , Versace , and -- until recently -- Missoni ( the Hotel Missoni brand , alas , is calling it quits ) . `` From a designer 's perspective , a hotel gives you complete latitude to bring their way of thinking to everything , from the draperies to the textures and colors , that 's what you sign up for , '' says Nikhil Bhalla , vice president of equity research in lodging at FBR Capital Markets . In many cases , a hotel acts as a sort of large-scale designer showroom . Armani Hotels , for instance , are outfitted with furnishings from Armani Home , ball gowns accentuate the décor at Milan 's Maison Moschino , and no suite at Bulgari Hotel is complete without the brand 's signature silver . `` Hotels are a great way to showcase the design identity of a brand , and to project a lifestyle that goes beyond products , '' notes Silvio Ursini , the executive vice president of Bulgari Hotels & Resorts . Or , as Bhalla puts it , `` the handbag experience has extended itself into a lifestyle experience . '' Hotel brands are just as eager to align themselves with a fashion brand ( even if they do n't hand over the reins completely ) . When they 're not tapping big-name designers to decorate their suites , hotels are conjuring up fashion-led experiences to entice customers , be it a Burberry trench coat-loan program or same-day delivery from Net-a-Porter . `` For the consumer , who probably already likes the brand , these experiences are an opportunity to experience it at a higher level ; it helps them bond with brand a little bit more than they would have before , '' explains Bhalla . It also offers the customers a consistency that they might not otherwise expect from a hotel room . `` When a woman comes to us for a dress , she knows she 's going to look gorgeous and glamorous -- that 's what we do . When she stays in our suite , she 'll know the same design levels went into making the space , '' notes James Mischka , half of the design label Badgley Mischka , which designed a 1,700-square foot suite at The Breakers Palm Beach . Branding a hotel suite with a fashion label also helps it attain an extra level of exclusivity . Bulgari Hotels , for instance , mimics the exclusivity of its design brand by limiting its room count . `` There 's always a scarcity value attached to these types of offerings , and at no point does a brand want to dilute that , '' explains Bhalla .
Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld are the latest fashion icons to turn hotelier . Lately , hotels and fashion houses are becoming more aligned . The trend is not just about making a splash in New York or Paris but also about creating an environment that will attract customers from around the world who want to see what designers have come up with