Under the great dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, sunlight falls through layer upon layer of perforated metal and reaches the ground as a moving pattern of small points of light. Jean Nouvel's building is, among other things, a lesson in how to live with the Gulf sun: not by shutting it out, but by letting it through in measured amounts. A good linen garment works on the same principle. That is the starting point for any honest answer about which linen brand belongs on Saadiyat Island.

Saadiyat is two places at once. On its western side lies the cultural district, with the Louvre on the water and further museums rising around it. To the north runs a long, pale beach, backed by dunes and resort gardens, where the sea is shallow and calm through the cooler months. A week here moves between gallery and shoreline, often in the same afternoon. Whatever one wears has to be comfortable in both, and to stay so when the day is still in the low thirties in October.

The first test is the fibre. Linen, spun from the stem of the flax plant, is cool to the hand and does not cling to warm skin; the air that moves through its weave is the reason it has been worn in hot countries for thousands of years. A linen brand worth considering here should be clear about what its cloth is. At Pieter Petros, the swim shorts and the PP Natural Set are certified Belgian linen, a certification that traces the flax from the field to the fabric, as is much of the men's shirting, and the women's pieces state their fibre colourway by colourway: the Amelia linen dress shirt in Dubarry or Oyster, for instance, is Belgian linen, while Lemon, Pink and Blue are natural linen.

The second test is the making. Every PP garment is handmade, in the Dubai atelier, roughly an hour and a half up the coast by road, or in Belgium. The men's shirts carry seashell buttons; the Monte-Carlo Male and the linen shorts and trousers carry walnut. These are small things, but on a cloth this light they are what the hand notices first, and they are part of why the garments are biodegradable by design rather than by claim.

The third test is how the garments behave across a Saadiyat day. The Louvre asks visitors to dress respectfully, and covered shoulders and knees are the safe standard. A man in the Laos Long Sleeve Linen Shirt in Oyster with PP Trousers 100% Linen in White walks from the galleries to a terrace lunch without changing anything. A woman in the PP linen blouse in Pink with ankle-length trousers is equally ready for both, and the Amelia linen dress shirt in Violet comes out after dark.

On the beach the order changes. For men, PP swim shorts in Sapphire Blue or Black cover the sea, and a Cuba Linen Shirt in Lemon Yellow is the shirt for the walk back to the cabana. For women, the Linen Ladies Set in Coral Orange is easy from the sand to a late lunch. In the evening, when the breeze comes off the Gulf and the temperature finally eases, the PP Natural Set in White, shirt and shorts cut together, or the Vibes Linen Shirt in Dark Blue with trousers, carry a man through dinner.

For those who prefer to see a garment before choosing it, the collection is presented in Dubai, at Park Hyatt Dubai and The Lagoon Beach Club on the Creek, at Surf Club Dubai and at Sofitel The Palm Beach Resort on the Palm, all within a long morning's drive. Online, each colourway is listed with its fibre and sizes.

Saadiyat rewards restraint. Its architecture is pale and quiet, its beach almost empty on a weekday morning, its evenings slow. Logos and loud colour sit awkwardly here; good cloth, cut simply and made by hand, does not.

On a weekday morning, before the galleries fill and while the beach is still empty, Saadiyat is at its quietest. One linen wardrobe is enough for both halves of the island.

Read more: What to Wear on Saadiyat Island  ·  The Best Linen Brand in Abu Dhabi  ·  The 100% Belgian Linen Guide