Amy Winehouse was many things in her messy, chaotic life - including something of a style icon, famous for her distinctive beehive hairstyle and kohl eye make-up. She was also, for a brief period towards the end, a fashion designer, working on an Amy Winehouse-branded range for the classic clothing company Fred Perry. The new season, which includes a body-con dress, houndstooth shirts and skirts, and a range of accessories, went on sale just days after her death. The clothes bear a Fred Perry logo and the promise that any proceeds will go straight to Winehouse's charitable foundation.
Actually, the range is rather tasteful in a retro-chic kind of way. Which is news in itself, because pop artists pretending to be designers rarely set fashionistas' pulses racing. Not that the artists concerned seem to care too much about wowing the catwalks: in an era of diminishing record sales, it's increasingly about the proceeds from the clothes.
Take Rocawear. In 1999, the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Jay-Z branched out into clothing with this label. The collection was, and remains, the kind of slightly bland assortment of T-shirts, jeans and leisure sportswear one might expect to see in Gap or Abercrombie and Fitch. But it was so successful that in 2007 Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand for a staggering US$204 million (Dh739m), while still retaining his stake in the company. Annual sales are around the $700m mark. Last week, Jay-Z tweeted that he would partner his fellow hip-hop star Pharrell Williams - not on a new song, but Williams's clothing line, Billionaire Boys Club.
Of course, music and fashion have always been inextricably linked, right back to The Beatles' sharp suits and mop-tops. But it was hip-hop's peculiar obsession with branding that monetised that relationship. In 1986, Run DMC released a song on Def Jam records called My Adidas - not because they were paid to by the sportswear company, but as a fashion statement. The endorsement deal came later - it's surely no coincidence that the Def Jam label boss Russell Simmons, whose younger brother was in Run DMC, swiftly set up the multimillion-dollar Phat Farm clothing label.
In fact, for a while it seemed that every hip-hop star of worth (50Cent, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes ... the list is endless) had his own clothing label. Most were nothing more than the kind of gear one might expect to see at merchandising stands - Wu Tang Clan's Wu Wear label being a particularly uninspiring offender. Fifteen years on, though, the label still exists, somewhat oddly operating out of a provincial town in Germany.
Others did at least attempt to appear as though thought had gone into the process - Puff Daddy's Sean John line started as a signature collection of sportswear and has ended up peddling tailored clothing at fashion shows and making a fortune from the designs.
Such extra-curricular interests have even infiltrated these stars' songs. Nelly didn't pull the lyrics "Warm, sweatin', it's hot up in this joint, Vokal tank top, on at this point" out of thin air when he wrote Hot in Herre. Vokal was Nelly's own clothing line, and after initial success, it was discontinued when Nelly's female range, Apple Bottoms, took off.
Beyoncé's dabblings in House of Dereon fashion have also shamelessly made their way into her songs. The peerless Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) is just a little less perfect when you realise, halfway through, that she's "got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips, got me tighter in my Dereon jeans".
Cynicism aside, perhaps Beyoncé does take time out from wowing Glastonbury and making new records to sketch beautiful designs. Maybe Justin Timberlake is really involved in the premium jeans that make up his William Rast label, and Madonna spends nights dreaming up children's clothes with her 13-year-old daughter for the Material Girl line.
One sign of the appeal of celebrity lines was found in Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green shop in Manchester, which was targeted during the August 9 British riots. The former Oasis frontman's selection of mod-inspired leisurewear was completely cleaned out of the shop, with estimates suggesting that around £272,000 (Dhs1.6 million) worth of clothing was stolen.
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
