The good news is there is a distinct whiff of glamour in the air at London Fashion Week. Historically, designers in the British capital prefer to display a hard edge to femininity, embodied in the signature designs of Alexander McQueen, with the label's power suits and daring eveningwear bristling with attitude.
By day three of London, this toughness had evaporated. Poof! Almost as though designers have removed a protective layer, allowing a more vulnerable fragility to creep to the surface.
Throughout the day, at collections by Holly Fulton, Markus Lupfer and Maarten van der Horst, who said "Aloha" to Hawaiian prints, until the spectacular evening presentation by Matthew Williamson, it was as though designers had decided to make elegant eveningwear famous once more.
This was the case before the Swinging Sixties put London on the map for its youthful music scene, and more recently when it secured the mantle of playing nanny to young, emerging designers.
Although Anna Wintour and her team had arrived in town to catch shows by Topshop Unique, now an important part of LFW's repertoire, (which showed prints inspired by hip-hop and the artist Keith Haring), she appeared to be visibly thrilled to the point of almost relaxing in her seat at Williamson's evening presentation staged in the vast steel and glass Turbine Hall of London's premier contemporary art gallery, Tate Modern.
This might have had something to do with the fact this directly followed Tom Ford's event, which had a media blackout (although the naughty American stylist, Rachel Zoe, twittered, twice, that it was lovely).
It wouldn't be surprising if Williamson's show, which attracted an impressive gathering of fashion's hoi polloi including Anna Dello Russo, Tim Blanks and Cathy Horyn, didn't at least match up to Ford's.
There was definitely a sense of "gauntlet throwing" from the moment Ana Rubik (the highest-paid supermodel on the circuit) stepped on to the runway dressed in a breathtaking tangerine evening gown with vertiginous Charlotte Olympia platforms.
Both Williamson's daywear - sandwashed silks shifts, shorts and skirts folded and draped and oozing elegance - and his eveningwear - knee and floor-trailing, decorated in tufted ostrich feathers, bursts of hand-painted metal sequins and dense appliqué - oozed jet-setting sophistication.
This season, the label's signature prints were in fact computer-generated blossoms stretched and distorted until they took on an Ikat graphic. Some were flipped vertically to make a mirror image or set against blurry Tokyo night scenes.
"The collection was loosely based on Oriental textiles, ceramics and antique heirlooms," Williamson exclusively told The National, post-show. "I wanted to introduce a longer length and languid feel this season." I wouldn't even hazard a guess as to what might become bestsellers at his boutique in the Dubai Mall. This was a standout collection.
Indeed, there were moments at the shows of Williamson, Holly Fulton and Marios Schwab, the latter who imagined what the film star Rita Hayworth might have worn if she was a young actress living in 2011, when I got flashbacks to the wonder years of Gianni Versace's shows.
I was lucky enough to witness these brief iconic years at the start of my career. Oddly enough, no designers have come close to erasing the memories. Gianni knew a thing or two about glamour. He practically invented supermodels, the modern catwalk and made red-carpet watching a contemporary sport.
"C'mon. Let's pretend it's Versace!", whispered Mark Connolly, Condé Nast Traveler's discriminating style director to me during the show.
And you almost could if you blurred your eyes and pretended the bland, Eastern European waif models at Schwab were in fact Amber Valetta or (harder still) Linda Evangelista circa 1990.
Schwab's signature is panelling but until now this didn't follow the flow of the body like Versace's panelled dresses did. However, his finale of dresses, peppered with twinkling Swarovski crystals, were spine tingling.
Versace's other unmistakable trait was colour. Although Williamson's palette was very modern, there was something that paid homage to the citrus hues that used to flow from Milan throughout the early 1990s. Earlier at Mulberry, which took place in the ballroom of London's grandest hotel, Claridges, and where Kate Moss and the Twilight star, Kristen Stewart, sat front row, saturated pops of colour drew attention away from the bags.
Interestingly, Donatella Versace, the sister of the late designer, has recently "gifted" vintage Versace to Lady Gaga. Apparently, the singer is a big fan. Of course she is. She's also a media-savvy performer who knows what's going to be the next big trend.
Versace for H&M will arrive in 300 stores globally from November 17. In which case, Ms Gaga will be wearing original Versace gowns before the wider world.
At least this means no more meat dresses. Now that really is good news.
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.”
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.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Letswork%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Almheiri%2C%20Hamza%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20co-working%20spaces%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.1%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20with%20investors%20including%20500%20Global%2C%20The%20Space%2C%20DTEC%20Ventures%20and%20other%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
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