What happens when you mix Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson – known for his love of uplifting joyfulness – with a key ingredient of Japanese anime?
Answer: the charming Loewe x Spirited Away collaboration. The Spanish luxury fashion house has teamed up with Studio Ghibli for a second time, now taking inspiration from the anime film Spirited Away.
First launched last year as Loewe x My Neighbour Totoro, which sold out in record time, the tie-up has returned with another round of ready-to-wear, bags and small leather goods all scattered with the familiar figures from the 2001 anime film Spirited Away.
In the notes accompanying the new collection, Anderson describes the film as being “an ode to loyalty, friendship, and stubbornness in the face of adversity", and calls it "magical”.
He is not alone in that view, with the film bagging the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003.
It is this same sense of magic that Anderson has brought to a collection, now on show at a pop-up in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. The range is decorated with the film's main characters, Chihiro, Haku, Fly-Bird and the sorceress Yubaba, as well as Kaonashi, the spirit with no face, and the Susuwatari soot sprites. Described by Loewe as being a "wearable movie" the collection features intarsia knitted wraps covered with scenes from the film, sweatshirts with patchwork faces and knitted cardigans with woollen soot sprites sprouting in 3D.
The famous leather know-how of Loewe is bolstered with characters embroidered on to canvas panels and made into bags, and as intricately appliqued purses and wallets. Best of all, the sprites – the small quirky Susuwatari – swarm over everything, as fluffy black pom-poms, with big, googly eyes.
For Japanese aficionados, there are even patchwork coats that call on the "boro" technique of taking discarded fabric and mended scraps – now dyed in a rich, saturated indigo blue – to make loose fitting jackets, while the rest of the clothes are also roomy, to give the characters space to shine. Jeans, puffer jackets, hats, oversized jumpers and even blankets are all shown in a pop-up setting that echoes a traditional Japanese ornate bridge and the inside of a subway train.
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
