On Monday, the final day of Milan Fashion Week, Italian designer Giorgio Armani and Japanese newcomer Tomo Koizumi offered two very different takes on what constitutes style.
Koizumi, who was being supported this season by Dolce & Gabbana, delivered a show that was a bright and joyful explosion of colour.
Dolce & Gabbana gave Koizumi the space, bolts of fabrics from its own studio and armfuls of shoes. It also covered the cost of all the models. In return, Koizumi delivered a show that was like a blast of fresh air, clearing away any fashion week fatigue in a few short moments.
Using only tightly ruffled fabric made from hundreds of metres of netting, an effect Koizumi has made his signature, the designer sent out a huge, bulbous blue tulle skirt, topped with a frilled robe made from Dolce & Gabbana’s own Sicilian fabric. This was followed by a frothy knee-length skirt in mustard, worn under a rippled jacket in neon yellow. There were great green trousers that came with mismatched wrist pom-poms, and a raspberry ruffled skirt with a matching hooded jacket.
One of Koizumi’s most high-profile projects recently was dressing singer Sam Smith for his latest video. The same enormous, neon pink gown featured in the Milan show, shortened in the front with an additional cape of orange and purple. This look was followed by a floor-length white skirt, with a bright blue jacket — worn by veteran model Jessica Stam — that was almost triangular in outline.
To finish, Koizumi sent out a "caterpillar" of five models, all inside the same vast, multicoloured, floor-length blanket.
The clothes were exuberant, playful and tremendously fun. The question could be asked: who will wear it? But with the weight of Dolce & Gabbana behind the brand, that hardly seems to matter at the moment.
On the other side of town a very different aesthetic unfolded, that of Giorgio Armani.
In fashion there are brands that stand outside the normal parameters, which favour discretion over headline-grabbing antics — think Hermes, Max Mara and Loro Piana. Set apart from these is Giorgio Armani, who has been walking to his own elegant rhythm since 1975.
Opening with a loose raincoat over equally spacious trousers in high-shine bronze, the show set an elegant tone that barely wavered. More glossy fabric appeared as a molten bronze, belted tunic and gleaming trousers paired with a caramel jacket, and a fringed velvet wrap. Dresses appeared as simple columns in shades of sand, biscotti and oat, and were worn with sheer plisse trousers that added a sense of lightness.
There was faux fur, first as a shaggy top with an asymmetrical neck in shades of taupe, and then as an intricately pleated gilet in fawn, worn with a sepia, raw silk hobble skirt.
The coats were long and lean, with sleeves typically ending just shy of the wrist in tones of Armani's famous greige, as double and single-breasted, or held with a single button, while skirts were slim-fitting and stopped below the knee, mid-shin or at the ankle.
There is a longevity to Armani's vision, and this was best seen in the closing look. The collection was named Cipria, Italian for face powder. As the last model stopped on the runway to powder her face, the audience was granted a longer look at the dress covered in tightly packed, vertical lines of black-on-black, shiny lozenge beads. Fluid and decadent, it was still cut to be slightly boxy through the shoulders, hanging just short of the underlayer, which sat as a strip of matte black around the ankle.
As a dress, it was sublime, and showed just why Armani is known as the master of sophistication.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
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AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: April 10
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HOW TO WATCH
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UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand (Saturday, 12pm)
Wales v South Africa (Sunday, 1pm)
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
