Under the dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi the light arrives in pieces. Jean Nouvel's roof, a lattice of layered steel, breaks the Gulf sun into moving points that cross the white walls and the water between the galleries. Visitors slow down without being asked. It is a useful first lesson in what to wear on Saadiyat Island: this is a place of shade and brightness in quick succession, of cool interiors and warm sand ten minutes apart, and it rewards garments that are at ease in both.

Saadiyat lies a short bridge from the centre of Abu Dhabi, and it has been planned with unusual restraint. The beach runs for kilometres along the open Gulf, backed by dunes that are protected because hawksbill turtles come ashore to nest in them; boardwalks carry guests over the sand rather than through it. Behind the shore are a golf course drawn by Gary Player, low villas, and a cultural district that continues to grow. Nothing here is loud. Dress on the island follows the architecture: pale, clean, considered.

From October the season opens. Days ease from the mid thirties toward the high twenties by December, the humidity of summer withdraws, and the evenings become the reason people come. Linen is at home in exactly this range. For a morning at the museum, the Laos long sleeve linen shirt in Oyster with PP casual linen trousers in Oatmeal is correct without effort, and the sleeve earns its place indoors, where the galleries are kept cool. For her, the PP linen blouse in Orchid or Sky Blue has the long sleeve and the hip length that suit a cultural visit. The shirt is among the PP linen shirts; the blouse belongs to the women's linen collection.

The Abrahamic Family House, a short walk from the Louvre, places a mosque, a church and a synagogue around a shared garden. It asks for modest dress from every visitor: shoulders and knees covered, and in the mosque a head covering for women. The Amelia linen dress shirt is a dress in itself, cut to the thigh, so it is kept for another part of the day; for this visit the PP linen blouse over long loose trousers of her own is the right choice. Men wear full-length trousers. None of this is a burden in linen. Covered and cool are the same thing when the cloth breathes.

The beach is another register. Saadiyat's sand is fine and very white, the water shallow and clear, and the beach clubs keep a calm, grown-up tone. PP natural swim shorts in Oyster or Sapphire Blue are the garment for the sea. Out of the water, the shirt goes back on: the Vibes linen shirt, oversized and cut shorter in the body, in Vanille or Dubarry, suits the walk from the shore to a long lunch. For her, the ladies linen set in Light Blue or Mint Green moves easily from sunbed to table. The natural swim shorts are for water; linen shorts and shirts are for dry land. The island makes the distinction easy to keep.

Golf at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club follows convention: a collared shirt, tailored shorts or trousers. The Laos short sleeve linen shirt in White, with PP linen shorts in Navy Blue, meets it in a natural fibre, and the course, which runs beside the dunes, is played mostly in the cool of the morning in season.

Evenings gather along Mamsha Al Saadiyat, the promenade where restaurants open onto the beach. From December to February the air after dark falls to the high teens and low twenties, and a breeze comes off the water. A long sleeve is the natural answer: the Bliss linen shirt in Dark Blue for him, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Violet or Hibiscus for her, colour that holds against the last light.

PP is not presented on Saadiyat itself. In the Emirates the collection is found in Dubai, at Park Hyatt Dubai and its Lagoon Beach Club, at Surf Club Dubai and at Sofitel The Palm Beach Resort, a little over an hour by road. Those staying in the capital will find its wider character in what to wear in Abu Dhabi, and the case for the fabric in a Gulf winter in the Gulf winter wardrobe.

The island's name means happiness. It is an easy claim to accept at five in the afternoon, when the dome of the museum turns silver, the dunes go quiet, and the only decision left is whether to walk to dinner along the sand.

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