On Tuesday at Paris Haute Couture Week, Giorgio Armani delivered a celebrity circus of a couture show. On the front row, a shimmying Kate Hudson mingled with Jared Leto; Sophia Loren pouted; Pink tapped her foot; and Juliette Binoche caught up with fellow actress Chloë Grace Moretz.
The ushers had to link arms to form a human wall when the show ended to protect the myriad stars from the masses and deliver them to the safety of backstage.
It’s not often that Karl Lagerfeld is outdone in the Hollywood stakes – but Chanel’s front row shows that he’s focusing his attention on couture-hungry Asia.
Overlays through a palette of red, white and black defined Armani’s autumn/winter aesthetic. And the result was a rare intellectual show from the Italian master of safe classicism.
Quilted-effect ruffled capes mixed with shorts alongside curved-shouldered pantsuits with exaggerated tubular sleeves. This began a play in proportion. Armani segmented the clothes, producing jacket sleeves that went high and appeared separate from the torso. This silhouette then fluffed out into some voluminous net clouds dresses fit for Lady Gaga.
But the crescendo came at the end, in overlays of polka dots, chenille embroidery and billowing tulle veils that played cleverly with differing depths.
• Look out for our round-up of the best of Paris Haute Couture Week in the July 13 edition of Arts&Life
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
