Love fashion but cannot afford the price tag? Well, stop worrying and head to Animal Crossing: New Horizon instead.
Released in late March, this Nintendo game has proved to be a welcome distraction from the pandemic, with millions turning to the virtual world as an escape. Not to be left out, now fashion designers are lining up to create digital clothes for it. OK, given the cartoon-ish figures and limited colours, this is hardly haute couture, but this week Marc Jacobs took to social media to announce it had created six designs for the game, in its customary sugary colours.
Realising that increasingly gamers were making bootleg designer gear for their online characters, now it seems as if the fashion houses have adopted a policy of 'if you can't beat them, join them' and made parts of collections available for download.
For those obsessed with detailing, this is not the platform to admire the quality of shoulder stitching, but for those looking to add some upscale fun into their avatar world, this will hit the spot perfectly. The six Jacobs looks are sweet and very much part of the high end shift into gaming.
Valentino too has released Animal Crossing looks, dropping 20 pieces from its spring / summer 2020, and pre-fall 2020 collections. While much of the subtlety of its house prints are lost, its VLNT branded pieces are easy to spot, but best of all, in this charmingly naive make-believe world, no one really cares. It seems the characters are too busy dealing with racoons or collecting turnips.
Much of the success of the game is the ease with which it can be customised, with players able to type in a code, or scan a QR code to add in new elements. Nintendo Switch has made its tool readily available, allowing anyone to upload as they wish.The beauty of this is that now gamers can really build a private tropical island paradise as they wish, and such is the demand for new content that it's not only fashion designers getting involved. Noticing that gamers were using art works to decorate their virtual ‘homes’, in April The Getty Museum made some of its vast art collection available to use, via its aptly named Animal Crossing Art Generator.
CONCRETE COWBOY
Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
