Every week, The National's Luxury magazine team puts together Black Book, a cheat sheet of the most interesting and noteworthy arrivals in fashion, watches, jewellery and cars.
Dyson teams up with Stormzy
Dyson, the global technology company, has teamed up with the British musician Stormzy, naming him as its latest global ambassador and the new face of its OnTrac headphones. The Vossy Bop rapper fronts a new campaign about the headphones. To highlight the headphones' 55 hours of noise cancellation from one charge, Dyson and Stormzy created a campaign film that follows 55 hours of the musician's life, from working in the studio to boarding planes and hanging out with friends to spending more reflective time alone.
Dh1,999 ($544)
Bottega Veneta fragrances
Bottega Veneta has released five new fragrances inspired by the rich trading history of where the brand began: Venice. The series is a skilful mixing of influences, from the East, West, North and South and are made using 100 per cent natural origin ingredients. Colpo di Sole, for example, marries Moroccan orange blossom with tranquil French Angelica oil, while Alchemie is a blend of precious Somalian myrrh and spicy Brazilian pink pepper. Deja Minuit, meanwhile, weaves the heat of Guatemalan cardamom with geranium from Madagascar.
In a further nod to Venice and its storied glassmaking heritage, the bottle is fluid and irregular, as if hand-blown, and rests on a base of green Verde Saint Denis marble.
Dh1,650 for 100ml
A driveable Batmobile from Wayne Enterprises Experience
Wayne Enterprises Experience, a concept retail project, has announced the world's first driveable Batmobile, as part of the character's 85th anniversary. It is an exact replica of the Tumbler Batmobile from the Dark Knight trilogy and has been authenticated by Warner Bros. Only 10 will be produced and will be constructed from Kevlar and carbon fibre, with a 6.2-litre 525hp engine.
It will have a fully functioning smoke-screen system and can even accommodate a replica gun turret on request. Aimed at serious car collectors and Batman enthusiasts only, would-be owners must request allocation, with only a lucky few invited to move forward and purchase the car, with a 15-month production time. The price tag? $2.99 million.
Dior's punk ballet flats
Dior has unveiled a tough new shoe from its Cruise 2025 collection: the punk ballet flats. Made in supple leather, the familiar ballerina shape is now wrapped in buckled straps and comes with a squared toe, like a ballet pointe. A mix of contrasts, the new flat is given an air of tenacity by playing with ballet codes, as it swaps out the ribbons used to hold the slipper in place for punkish black leather buckles. To add to the rebellious mood, the top strap is studded with metal eyelets and stamped in gold with the famous company name, Christian Dior.
Dh4,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
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Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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