However fabulous, exciting, starry and provocative they might be, catwalk shows do not always do justice to the clothes that they are supposed to display.
It is at the "re-sees" that the press can examine the looks in person, and the pieces worn at Dior's Friday show perfectly illustrate this point. Clothes that looked merely pretty on the catwalk revealed their true luxury up close at Tuesday's press re-see, with cloud-soft fabrics, exquisite beading and complex cutting and tailoring forming the show's recurring themes.
The Chanel show on Tuesday was spectacular of course - as ever, the Grand Palais played host to a major set that divided the catwalk with a series of walls and doorways in stark white against which the clothes played well, though it was frustrating for people-watchers, as it hid one side of the audience from the other. (Kate Moss was interested in her neighbours Jamie Hince and Mario Testino, but the rest of the room was interested in Kate Moss.)
Graphically effective though it was, it rendered the black clothes merely black, flattening out texture that reveals the workmanship. This does the "snapshot" job that we, the press, demand for our publications, but it hides the embroidery that mimics bouclé tweed on the suits and the detail of the ruffs.
Apparently inspired by Beau Brummell, the 18th-century English dandy, Karl Lagerfeld seemed, in fact, to be channelling his own personal style, with slender black suits and high white collars. In a strange twist he then used knits in pale pink and sage green for legwarmers, hats and frills that spoke of Eighties dolls - even down to a bag that mimicked toy packaging, compartmentalising a quilted bag and its contents into a flat, clear plastic pack. If the knitted hats were reminiscent of loo roll holders, the rest of the collection was as elegant as the Chanel customer would expect, delighting the audience, which also included Freida Pinto, Claudia Schiffer and Beth Ditto.
While it's clearly better to see the looks worn by a model than hanging limply in a showroom, the stalking gait of the catwalk can be misleading - wonderful when swathes of chiffon ripple from behind, but not exactly realistic.
Agnès b's film presentation, though, at a decrepit but beautiful Chinese-style theatre, La Pagode, reflected the youthful, gamine charm of the clothes in a way that stroppy catwalk mannequins could not. The grey schoolboyish suits, with their slender cropped trousers, the flat shoes in bright red or black and the cute little tartan minis were shown off by playful models moving like real people, bringing a welcome simplicity to a season that has thus far been almost too sophisticated.
A designer that no one could accuse of being too sophisticated, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac again showed a bright, fun but entirely literal collection, replacing last season's Obama prints with a Muppet Show theme that saw puffball skirts printed with puppet characters, a stole made of Kermit the Frog toys sewn together and even a hat made in the shape of Animal. A young Michael Jackson and Clint Eastwood also made it onto the front of de Castelbajac's dresses, and while the collection was not to everyone's taste, it at least livened up the day.
Less lively, though extremely successful, was the first ready-to-wear outing for Valentino by the design duo Maria Grazia Chiuri et Pier Paolo Piccioli. After mixed reviews for their couture in January, it was with relief that the audience received their collection of rich colours and embellishment, deceptively simple evening gowns and desirable coats and daywear. Both Valentino veterans of many years, they clearly know how to please their customer on the shop floor and on the catwalk.
Of course, there are certain designers for whom the catwalk show is the only way to work out the full vision of their creativity, and Alexander McQueen is one.
On a gleaming runway covered in the blackened debris of previous shows, his models stalked out in a spectacular series of exaggerated suits and dresses of the extraordinary, eccentric type that haven't graced a fashion week since the Eighties heyday of Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Made up to resemble the late performance artist Leigh Bowery, the models pouted and posed down the runway, throwing shapes for all they were worth and enhancing the drama that McQueen's collections never fail to create. Standout pieces included the giant dogtooth check print that morphed into birds and the dramatic New Look silhouettes, complete with saucer hats (made of car hubs).
Yet beneath the wonderful, almost parodic fabulousness, it was clear that the pieces were as flawlessly tailored, creatively printed, dramatically draped and, well, wearable as any buyer could desire. No close inspection needed.
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
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The biog:
Favourite book: The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Pet Peeve: Racism
Proudest moment: Graduating from Sorbonne
What puts her off: Dishonesty in all its forms
Happiest period in her life: The beginning of her 30s
Favourite movie: "I have two. The Pursuit of Happiness and Homeless to Harvard"
Role model: Everyone. A child can be my role model
Slogan: The queen of peace, love and positive energy
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
