Indian Olympic shooter Manu Bhaker – the first Indian woman to secure an Olympic medal in shooting, when she scooped two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics – can now add modelling to her CV, after a spin on the runway at Lakme Fashion Week in New Delhi. Modelling for Marks & Spencer, Bhaker helped the brand reveal its autumn/winter 2024 collection wearing a fitted faux leather dress in black with a citrus cardigan draped over her shoulders.
Speaking after her runway debut, Bhaker told news agency ANI that she found the event “surreal”, adding: “I was very nervous, but it made me feel alive.”
Bhaker, 22, is far from the only sports star to take a turn on the runway. Earlier this year, tennis star sisters Serena and Venus Williams walked as part of Vogue World in Paris, a fashion extravaganza held in June before the opening of the Paris Olympics. Serena wore a custom-made look by Off-White, while Venus's look was made by Marine Serre out of repurposed tennis bags. Fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova also walked in the same event.
A couple of months later, in September, American gymnast Jordan Chiles took to the runway as part of New York Fashion Week. The team gold medal winner walked for the label Kim Shui.
World record sprinter Usain Bolt, too, has turned model in September 2022, when he appeared as part of the Futrograde show by Puma. Wearing a tuxedo, Bolt even broke out his signature pose at the end of the walkway.
In June 2019, Spanish football player Hector Bellerin walked for the Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2020 show, while Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton appeared on the runway next to Naomi Campbell for the Tommy Hilfiger autumn/winter 2019 show.
Elsewhere, actors and musicians have also been roped in to turn fashion model for a day.
At the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week, actors Shilpa Shetty, Shefali Shah and Shriya Saran (who did a Kathak dance step on the ramp), swished down the runway for Indian designers Megha Bansal, Masters of Minimalism and Payal Singhal respectively.
In the past, the fashion event has attracted Bollywood stars such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aditi Rao Hydari and Anil Kapoor.
As a promotional stunt for the film Zoolander 2, actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson walked in the autumn/winter 2015 show by Valentino, to the tune Don’t You Want Me? by The Human League.
Jared Leto and Macaulay Culkin both walked in Gucci's spring/summer 2022 show, while Prada has a strong track record of persuading actors to tread a different kind of board. Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan and Thomas Brodie-Sangster all walked in the brand's autumn/winter 2022 show, while Adrien Brody and Jamie Bell took a turn on the Prada runway a decade earlier, for autumn/winter 2012. For its most recent show in Milan, it was the turn of actor Willem Dafoe.
Rappers Pusha T and No Malice both walked for Louis Vuitton's spring/summer 2024 show, Machine Gun Kelly walked for Dolce & Gabbana's autumn/winter 2022 and A$AP Rocky was part of the Hood Air autumn/winter fashion show back in 2013. Singer Shawn Mendes, too, has strutted his stuff for the Giorgio Armani spring/summer 2018 runway.
Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman and Romeo Beckham have both walked for the Spanish house of Balenciaga. Kidman modelled a look from its haute couture 2022 collection, while Beckham took part in the spring/summer 2025 ready-to-wear show.
In an unexpected turn, veteran actor Ian McKellen appeared on the runway as part of the SS Daley autumn/winter 2023 show, while Channing Tatum tried his hand on the runway for Sean John in 2003.
Then there is Chloe Sevigny, who has walked the runway no fewer than five times. She was part of the Simone Rocha autumn/winter 2019 show, and has walked for Miu Miu twice, in 1996 and 2019. She also took part in the spring/summer 2022 show by Mugler and most recently took a jaunt on the runway as part of the autumn/winter 2023 show by Proenza Schouler.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scotland v Ireland:
Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn
Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Kibsons%20Cares
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envi%20Lodges%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Noelle%20Homsy%20and%20Chris%20Nader%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hospitality%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%20to%2015%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%20of%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The%20Kitchen
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
