“I wanted to create an initiative where our customers, as a collective, could come together and make a change,” says bag designer Lilian Afshar. She is speaking about her recently released Sierra bag, created to help raise money for medical organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres.
The purple Sierra bag is being sold on www.lafshar.com for Dh3,674, with proceeds being donated to the charity's Covid-19 Crisis Fund.
I was hit back with a lot of 'no' or 'that is not possible', but I kept going until we got it right
When coming up with the campaign, which is registered with the UAE's Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department, the designer decided the best approach was to ask her customers which charity they wanted to support. "So I reached out to everyone on our Instagram asking them to recommend all the great organisations we can work with. That is what this initiative also symbolises: unity and solidarity," she explains.
Since launching her brand in 2013 in Dubai, Afshar has made a name for herself with her hard-framed evening bags, often intricately patterned or pieced and, although small in size, loaded with attitude and sass. Made in repeating, geometric patterns, or in luxe materials with large-scale acrylic chains, her pieces are regularly carried by the likes of Beyonce, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Celine Dion and also Queen Rania of Jordan.
Afshar has an eye for tidy, structural shapes that she calls "a mix of architecture and art", often using difficult or unusual materials. She has famously created bags such as the Bianca, made from diamonds of bevel-edged mirror, or the Eugene in white marble, and the Eva in clear acrylic that looks like crushed ice.
“The obstacle I faced was in the beginning, trying to find ways to use materials that had never been used in handbags. I was hit back with a lot of 'no' or 'that is not possible', but I kept going until we got it right,” she says. It is a process of exploration without end, she adds.
"We spend a lot of time in research and development. One of my favourite things to do is to sit with my production team and bounce back ideas and come up with new techniques."
One of the latest techniques involves lucite, a type of acrylic that had its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was largely used for making jewellery. By choosing to return to it, Afshar continues to acknowledge the distinctive glamour of the Art Deco era that infuses her collections.
Brought bang up to date, these themes now play out as tiny box bags with lucite chain handles, or with lucite cast into transparent handled bags, either left clear as ice, or dyed into candy-coloured tones, making each one a precious, gleaming gem.
“I always loved mixing two polar opposites and observing the outcome,” she says.
A British-born Iranian, Afshar has lived in several countries, including the UK, Canada and Spain, but now calls Dubai home, where all her bags are hand made. She draws on skills learnt studying at Esmod, the Dubai branch of France’s Ecole Superieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode.
“I studied fashion design, but always had a bit more interest in accessories and design objects, and I found it fascinating to think of a design or idea and see it translate into a real piece,” she says.
“Interest is what motivates me to create," she says of her design ethos.
"The passion for creating came first, it just so happened that I turned it into an actual brand and business. I’m interested in all aspects of design outside of the realm of fashion. For me, fashion is an industry I’ve always wanted to be part of and I knew I would start in, but as a creative.”
Now stocked in 17 countries – such as the UAE, China, London and Canada – the stockist list for her bags reads like an industry who's who. This includes Selfridges, Moda Operandi, ShopBop, Holt Renfrew, among others.
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
Price: From Dh39,500
Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Four-speed auto
Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYodawy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarim%20Khashaba%2C%20Sherief%20El-Feky%20and%20Yasser%20AbdelGawad%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2424.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlgebra%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20MEVP%20and%20Delivery%20Hero%20Ventures%2C%20among%20others%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20500%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
CREW
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
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)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs%20
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AIDA%20RETURNS
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At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The%20specs
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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
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
