Sandra Choi, creative director Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo
Sandra Choi, creative director Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo
Sandra Choi, creative director Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo
Sandra Choi, creative director Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo

Jimmy Choo and Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou joins forces for new art project


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The words “Jimmy Choo” spark visions of elevated, glamorous shoes, brimming with sensual charm. Since founding in 1996, the British brand has added bags, eyewear and perfumes to that lexicon and, in 2024, its exploring yet another facet – an art platform.

The brainchild of creative director Sandra Choi, the concept will bring commissioned art into Jimmy Choo boutiques to reside alongside the high-end goods, sourced furniture and found objects that already decorate some of its spaces in Paris, Miami and beyond. “Art is personal and it can transport you to other places,” Choi tells The National. “It adds a different dynamic and that, for me, is important.”

Speaking ahead of her visit to the region, where she will take part in an art forum to launch the platform here, she explains why Dubai was the natural choice for this latest evolution. “Every time I go to Dubai, it gets me very excited because, unlike other places, it has the luxury of space.

“You can dream the biggest dream you want, you can build the biggest building you want. That openness and sense of space is inspiring.”

Having been at Jimmy Choo since its conception 28 years ago, Choi is keeper of the flame first ignited by couture shoemaker Jimmy Choo and entrepreneur Tamara Mellon. Their singular quest was to bring beautiful footwear to London in the mid-1990s.

Shaikha Al Mazrou has the power to build something so tremendous and there's an inner strength in her, but she is quiet. I love that
Sandra Choi,
creative director, Jimmy Choo

Looking to keep that vision constantly dynamic, Choi has learnt a thing or two about staying inspired. “I want to get the essence, and what I originally think of as an idea, to come through,” she explains of her design process. “Maybe there's a picture still on the moodboard that I haven't touched? How do we make a stiletto-pump – that we do really well – new again? I just constantly feel like the job is not done.”

This searching has now led to art and what role it may have within the Jimmy Choo universe. “It is our responsibility. We are a luxury brand and, at this level, we have to share the thought process and inspirations with the community we're trying to build.”

In the Middle East, this journey begins with a brand-new collaboration with Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou. Having studied at the University of Sharjah, Al Mazrou earned her master's in fine arts at Chelsea College of Art in London. In choosing the artist to create a site-specific artwork for the Dubai store, the Jimmy Choo team understood that the person selected had to come with a new voice and perspective.

Shaikha Al Mazrou’s site-specific artwork for Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo
Shaikha Al Mazrou’s site-specific artwork for Jimmy Choo. Photo: Jimmy Choo

Seen as one of the most promising artists of her generation, Al Mazrou is known for work that is large-scale, monumental almost, and uses painted metal to explore scale, form and abstraction.

Her 2022 work Red Stack, for example, was shown in Regent’s Park as part of London's contemporary art fair Frieze. A pile of eight cushions cast in metal, it rose several metres into the sky.

“She's this young woman who's got a point of view and this incredible volume,” says Choi. “She has the power to build something so tremendous and there's an inner strength in her, but she is quiet. I love that.”

The opposition of scale and materials in Al Mazrou's work also connected with Choi on a creative level. “Contradiction is a word that I adore because I love glamour but, at the same time, I love it to be a bit more raw. To go from something quite obvious to something that has depth and beauty, contradiction for me is everything.”

Red Stack (2022) by Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou at Regent's Park in London. Photo: Frieze / Lawrie Shabibi
Red Stack (2022) by Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou at Regent's Park in London. Photo: Frieze / Lawrie Shabibi

For this commission, Al Mazrou has scaled down her work, bringing it closer to the intimacy of footwear. The result is a circular, concave dish patterned with lines that could be the facets of a gemstone or the intricate folds of origami. The ambiguity of the work is its beauty and power in equal parts, Choi explains.

“She was explaining to me how she was starting to form her ideas for this, and it was all about folding a piece of paper and seeing where the lines go.” The result is a round sculpture in a deep shade of red, that feels precious and feminine while the concave shape lures the viewer closer, into a more confidential distance.

In choosing to echo a cut gemstone, Al Mazrou skillfully draws parallels with the jewelled stones used across Jimmy Choo, while sparking dialogue about preciousness and luxury. It is a rich analogy, Choi explains. “A diamond is multifaceted and treasured. It can be raw, but depending on how you work with it, it becomes beautiful. When the light comes in, it glows, but if there's no light, it will never glow. And that whole theory to me works really well for Jimmy Choo.”

I believe objects are timeless
Sandra Choi

Given the artwork will go on permanent display in the boutique from next year, its ability to spark a new dialogue with the clients who flock to Jimmy Choo in search of perfectly crafted footwear was a key priority. Around the world, the brand's boutiques are filled with furniture that has had previous lives and, most recently, with artworks that are modern and relevant. “I believe objects are timeless. I've got pieces my husband thinks are rubbish, but for me are treasures filled with memories from my parents. It can be personal,” says Choi.

Ultimately, what will drive this wider project forward is how it examines the space where art and design intersect. “Art is different to design,” Choi explains. “In design, you are given a brief and it is commerce-driven. With art, you don't need to figure out how to wear it or how to buckle it up, or have that relationship with your body.

“Yes, it can be shoes, handbags, perfumes, eyewear and all the things you can actually make a transaction on. But it's more than that. It is having the taste and the flair that we can share with our clients, and really build on that personality.”

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Short-term let permits explained

Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.

Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.

There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.

Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

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European arms

Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons.  Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.

The Bio

Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.

Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.

Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.

Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

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Meg%202%3A%20The%20Trench
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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Porsche Taycan Turbo specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 1050Nm

Range: 450km

Price: Dh601,800

On sale: now

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

The%20specs
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Updated: October 21, 2024, 1:42 PM`