Anna Wintour called time out on holidays in the Hamptons during the sleepy month of August by summoning a select gathering (including Sienna Miller and P Diddy) to a preview of The September Issue in New York.
However, in Paris, Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue, had already flicked the "on" switch to awaken the fashion industry from its traditional summer slumber.
Even before the all-important September issues hit the news-stands - September being the most important month on the fashion magazine calendar - the shrewd French editor had already nailed it, as in anything we might need to know for the coming season, in her August issue.
I got wind of what sounded like a pretty special fashion shoot in that issue (normally famed for swimwear features and not much else) just before it came out, when the son of a friend of my husband, who was assisting the Dutch photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, proudly showed us a preview copy of his first proper assignment.
His enthusiasm was matched equally by my own jaw-dropping excitement.
Let's put this in context. The duo of Lamsweerde and Matadin are currently responsible for nine out of 10 designer campaigns. They are considered so cool, so crucial, that most other fashion photographers have temporarily been put out to pasture. Who are Steven Meisel and Patrick Demarchelier these days?
When my mole revealed that his shoot was in fact a two-week project masterminded by Roitfeld, which had taken place in a damp warehouse in New York, right under the nose of Wintour and featuring only super-league models, my fashion antennae began to twitch.
There are three reasons why pulling off an August coup is impressive. Firstly, because of sheer strategy. Most fashion spreads are photographed at least three months ahead, when there is just one set of samples circulating the globe (most of which, I hear, are kept in the American Vogue fashion cupboards far longer than needed, for obvious reasons).
This also would be around the time that designers would be shooting campaigns and Lamsweerde and Matadin would be the most in-demand.
Secondly, the 64-page fashion spread (with no adverts in between) captures the feel of this season remarkably well with the help of one look from each of the greatest designers of our time, worn to perfection by great beauties of the moment, from Raquel Zimmermann and Daria Werbowy to Anja Rubik, Malgosia Bela and Lara Stone.
The shoot demonstrates Roitfeld's nuanced take on fashion, not least with her effortless styling. A tweak of a collar or an extra layer of pearls and suddenly each designer's look is up to date.
In order to keep the flow, she picks two trends: the Eighties and, as a theme, the handwriting of each designer. (This is not a season where designers mirror a few key seasonal looks.)
From Chanel tailoring to Yves Saint Lauren's Le Smoking tuxedo suit to Giorgio Armani's androgynous trouser suits to Balenciaga's sleeves to Jil Sander's precision-cut minimalism, it's all here.
Further more, Roitfeld and her fashion director, Emmanuelle Alt, enlisted a set of A-list fashion accomplices such as the stylist Joe McKenna and the make-up and hair supremos Tom Pecheux, Lisa Butler and Didier Malige.
I still can't put my (well-thumbed) copy down. My favourite? It would be a toss-up between Vivienne Westwood and Isabel Marant. It's mad, I know. So different and yet this is Roitfeld's point. She is smart to identify the contribution of all designers rather than single out favourites. Choice, it seems, is extremely fashionable in a global recession.
In many ways, the shoot works rather too well. I don't really feel the need to buy another fashion magazine until March 2010 (or even 2011, come to think of it).
It's certainly given me a head start and a lot to think about. I can safely say that black leather biker jackets with big pointy shoulders will become one of the must-have items, along with a silk Hermès scarf a pencil skirt and some clumpy shoe boots.
Nice touch, that. Roitfeld gives a nod to the glamour grunge that has become her unique fashion offering and, amazingly, Eighties gear is no longer a rehash of those bad old days.
The dust has yet to settle on the apparent gauntlet thrown down to her Prada-wearing nemesis, and I'm sure Wintour, ever the veteran, will respond with something devilish.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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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
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6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
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8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5