In AlUla in January, the gap between the warmest hour of the afternoon and the coldest hour before dawn can be fifteen degrees or more. Days among the sandstone outcrops are bright and dry; nights in the desert camps call for a fire and a blanket. A wardrobe for this corner of north-west Saudi Arabia has to work across that whole range, and that range is the honest measure of any linen brand for AlUla.

It also has to respect the place. AlUla is a landscape of ancient kingdoms: the Nabataean tombs of Hegra, carved into rock some two thousand years ago and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Lihyanite capital of Dadan; the inscriptions on Jabal Ikmah. Visitors are asked to dress modestly in public, which for men and women generally means shoulders and knees covered, and current guidance is worth checking before travel. Linen meets that request comfortably in dry heat, because a long sleeve and a full-length trouser in an open weave cover the skin without holding warmth against it.

The day is spent outdoors among the monuments, usually with a guide and some walking over sand and rock. At Hegra, Qasr al-Farid and its neighbouring tombs stand in open ground with little cover; in the Old Town, the lanes between several hundred mud-brick houses are narrow and cooler. For men, a Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Beige Cream with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Vanille is covered, cool and close to the colour of the stone; a hat and closed shoes complete it. The pieces are in the men's linen collection.

Evenings are where AlUla has changed most in recent years. Maraya, the mirrored concert hall in the Ashar Valley, holds performances through the winter season, and dinners are laid out in canyons and on open sand under the stars. These occasions ask for a little more polish and, by December, real warmth. A Bliss Linen Shirt in Vanille, long-sleeved and buttoned to the collar, with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White, is right for Maraya, with a jacket or fine wool knit over it once the sun has gone. Linen nearest the skin and wool above it is a sound answer to a desert night.

Colour matters in this landscape. The sandstone runs from honey to rust, and the palm groves of the oasis add a deep green; pale, natural colourways sit within that palette rather than against it. Vanille, Oatmeal and Beige Cream all appear across the men's collection, and darker pieces such as the Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Dark Blue are easy to keep for the evening. Fine sand settles on everything in AlUla, and a loose garment shakes free of it more readily than a close one.

For women, the PP linen blouse in Sky Blue or Orchid, with ankle-length trousers and a light scarf, is a comfortable base for the monuments; the scarf is as useful against wind and dust as it is for modesty. The Amelia linen dress shirt is cut short of the knee and is kept for the privacy of the resort rather than the sites. Women planning the trip can turn to what to wear in AlUla for women; the pieces themselves are in the women's linen collection.

In the Gulf, the garments can be seen and tried on in Dubai: at Park Hyatt Dubai and The Lagoon Beach Club on Dubai Creek, at Surf Club Dubai and at Sofitel The Palm Beach Resort. PP's atelier is in Dubai too, a city where the desert is part of ordinary life, and the garments are made by hand there and in Belgium. For the wider oasis and its seasons, see what to wear in AlUla; for the rest of the Kingdom, the page on linen in Saudi Arabia.

A small daypack carries what the rest of the day asks for: a scarf for the wind, a hat for Hegra and a knit for the drive back after dark.

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