One might have expected a quieter day in Paris, after the drama of Friday, but no one messaged Viktor & Rolf, whose collection was shown to a soundtrack so loud (a remix of Placebo's thumping Battle For The Sun) that the grand dame of the front row, Suzy Menkes, spent most of the show with her fingers plugged firmly in her ears.
The collection itself started late, the restless photographers' podium having erupted into their own shouty version of Aida's Hebrew Slaves' Chorus to pass the time. When the drawbridge - yes, the drawbridge - finally came down at the back of the runway, it was to reveal a reworking of mediaeval suits of armour in black, cream and red felted wools. They were overtly aggressive, but go past the stomping models and massive shoulders and the tailored pieces were, as ever with this duo, extremely desirable, ingeniously cut and in luxurious fabrics, including some of the panne velvet that's appearing across the shows. And the red face paint with flossy platinum hair? Dubai's dedicated tanners are well ahead of the curve on that one.
A more subtle look was to be found at the École des Beaux Arts on the left bank, where Martin Grant offered his reliably tasteful collection. A Jackie Brown sassiness was purveyed through the sounds of 1970s soul, starting with the Bobby Womack blaxploitation classic Across 110th Street: the patent leather coats, slimline dresses in fluid jacquard checked silks and the palette of browns, copper, red, black, tan and orange certainly recalled the films of that era. But in classic Grant style, the effect was flattering and sophisticated rather than retro-kitsch, the finest pieces being the sunray-pleated silk maxi dresses with giant zigzag patterns in red and cream or copper and magenta. If not exactly what you'd expect for autumn/winter, the Australian designer had come up trumps for the UAE climate.
A fashionable, celeb-laden crowd arrived at the Sonia Rykiel show, including Kanye West, flashing his diamond teeth, and Daisy Lowe, to see Nathalie Rykiel's latest take on the house's signature style, and it was business as usual, if with a slightly seamier edge than previously. The wire fence and neon lights hanging from the ceiling, together with some arid plumes from the smoke machine, created a street scene for the models to slink down, wearing tight, retro knee-length skirts and lean-fitting tops in bright silks, glittering Fair Isle and cable knits and, unusually, some checks and tartans in bigger, looser shapes. The ski pants were, perhaps, a misstep, but the colours, as always, were enticingly clashed and the details, such as giant bows and spangles, kept things young and fun, as Rykiel should always be.
West also showed up at Jean Paul Gaultier's late-starting show, slipping past the crowd of jeering anti-fur protesters. Interestingly, while Gaultier did use furs from Saga, it was with more restraint than normal, and there have been far more fur-bedecked looks at other collections during the week. Indeed, the wearing of fur has become almost endemic in the fashion set, and before emerging back into the night from the show, to face the hooting and catcalling, many a once-defiant fashionista was seen to remove his or her fluffy coat and turn it inside out.
The show itself was a celebration of rich elderly ladies with attitude. If that sounds like a somewhat niche market (although let's not forget that it is the rich old ladies who have the disposable income needed by the prêt-a-porter market), the clothes themselves could have found admirers across age groups, with pieces ranging from the very classic 1960s-style black dresses and cropped loose jackets with bead embellishments to skintight Lurex cardigans and busily patterned silk blouses and dresses.
Amy Winehouse-style beehive wigs in grey (as well as a Rehab remix on the sound system), cat's eye glasses and shades and kitten-heel shoes provided the old, but the attitude came with the near-stripteases of the models, discarding accessories as they walked, as well as with the star of the show, the 46-year-old French actress and singer Valérie Lemercier, who coquetted her way down the catwalk twice, in a giant brunette wig. Once again, Gaultier set out to prove that fashion is not just for tall, skinny teenagers, and there were many people watching who looked delighted at the news.
IF YOU GO
The flights
FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.
The tours
English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people.
The hotels
Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.
St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Imperial%20Island%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Empire%20in%20Modern%20Britain
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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
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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
Company%20Profile
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