When the Duchess of Cambridge gets dressed, her outfit needs to be spot on. As one of the most photographed women in the world, the scrutiny received by every detail, from the angle of her hat to the precise diameter of her bouncing curls, means that style failures are not an option. Given these high stakes, when she deigns to patronise a new designer, such as Emilia Wickstead, it’s worth paying attention.
When Kate Middleton first started stepping out in Emilia Wickstead’s ladylike pastel concoctions, it’s fair to say that most of the fashion world’s reaction was: “Emilia … who?” It didn’t take long for Wickstead’s creations to catch on; the designer has injected the made-to-measure world’s rarefied confines with a fresh and modern energy, aided along the way by her photogenic fans.
A New Zealander, Wickstead spent her formative years in Milan before putting down roots in London, where she launched her eponymous label in 2009. She developed her skills from an early age; her mother ran a bespoke dressmaking service in Auckland.
“My mother remains my mentor and will always be a key inspiration to me,” she says. “I have memories from every aspect of her growing business – the happy and the hard times.”
Wickstead is tight-lipped about her clients, especially when quizzed about her most famous fan. “I’m just so thrilled whenever I see my clothing on clients and friends,” she shrugs. The duchess isn’t her only high-profile client; Diane Kruger is a fully paid-up member of the Wickstead fan club, and, at this year’s Golden Globes, Caitlin Fitzgerald wore a cornflower blue, high-low hem Emilia Wickstead gown, a dress that earned Fitzgerald a place on just about every best-dressed list.
Wickstead is clear on the kind of woman her designs attract: “She’s independent, has a big personality, is intelligently interesting – and fun”.
Like her royal patron, Wickstead has taken the odd fashion risk. After studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, she chose to take her talents in a different direction from the rest of her class. Instead of the London-designer route to the runway, she focused her business on creating made-to-measure clothing for women. It’s a simple enough concept; but one that largely faded from fashion’s mainstream in the mid-1950s.
“When I started, I was interested in old-world glamour and how women used to dress up, so I started my made-to-measure business to cater to that,” she says. “That’s something that’s exciting and refreshing. I wanted to design clothing for women that they would keep in their wardrobes forever.”
In an industry that adores the shock of the new, a young designer’s conscious decision to turn away from trend-led fashion to focus on timeless style seems, well, rather shocking. Wickstead’s old-world atelier approach is comparable to haute couture – except when it comes to price. “I wanted to make it affordable for clients,” she says, “but the pieces should be designed in a way that they want to wear them again and again.”
An haute-couture dress can cost up- wards of US$150,000 (Dh560,000) while Wickstead’s made-to-order dresses start from $1,500 (Dh5,500). “I think there is a trend toward consumers seeking out bespoke craftsmanship,” she says. “They want a well-fitted, unique garment, in their colour and fabric choice, to fit their body and taste.”
Clients who opt for Wickstead’s made-to-order service can choose from select styles of blouses, dresses, skirts and trousers that are both modern and classic. The flair is in the detail and a deft, but unexpected, use of colour – abstract pearl beading on a classic darted, powder-pink pencil skirt or an impeccably cut tuxedo overcoat in dazzling chartreuse – quirks that give her designs a modern, one-off twist.
Clients choose their preferred material and colour with the help of an in-house team, and can alter a neckline, sleeve and hem length at will. Those wanting to take it up a notch can opt for the made-to-measure service, where bespoke garments are created to precise measurements. The turnaround is quicker than traditional bespoke services: “We have quite a fresh and modern approach to couture and a first fitting would take place after 20 days.”
Business is booming, and Wickstead has expanded her repertoire to include seasonal ready-to-wear collections, stocked everywhere from AlOthman and The Art Of Living to Selfridges and Net-a-porter. But despite earning the patronage of fashion’s upper echelons, Wickstead has no plans to deviate from the personal approach that is at the root of her label. “The made-to-measure and bespoke is the heart and soul of my business – without this first chapter, how would I know what my clientele truly wants?”
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
