My summer holiday took in two locations that couldn't have been more different. First stop, St Tropez or "St Trop" as you must call it. Although I didn't run into Kate Moss or Lily Allen at Le Cinquante-Cinq - the private beach club where anyone who's anyone spends the day working very hard on their tan - I did see fabulous fashions. Not on tourists (who wore grungy denim cut-offs 24/7) but natives.
French women still wear almost entirely white with simple gold jewellery and sandales Tropeziennes, flat sandals bought locally from K Jacques or Atelier Rondini, where shoes are made by hand in the back workroom. The effect being that they look like filmstars.
Of course some are. When I was here the French daily, Le Figaro, bragged that St Trop still had "the greatest number of famous faces per square metre." It certainly felt like it when Jack Nicholson and Eva Longoria buzzed by on a jet-ski close to us on Nikki beach and no one batted an eyelid.
This year the jet set and fashion pack seemed to rediscover the picture postcard port of the South of France en masse. With good reason. Unlike Ibiza, you can never quite dress up enough in St Trop. Full make-up, flowing kaftans and sequined one pieces on the beach for instance are quite the norm.
Funnily enough, though, it wasn't the South of France that provided me with an insightful style nugget. It was my second stop-off, rural Northumberland, somewhere I had written off as "tumbleweed territory" as far as fashion was concerned.
Who could have thought here, sandwiched between the borders of England and Scotland, amongst newly harvested fields of golden wheat and sleepy villages where men folk still wear cloth caps (during a heatwave), I would find the muse-of-the-moment. At least in fashionable menswear terms.
Farmers - yes, farmers - were the unlikely inspiration behind the men's designer catwalks of Paris and Florence earlier this year. Not just any but plucky, well-bred, well-off toffs from the North East of Britain who learn how to run daddy's estate at Cirencester Agricultural College and occasionally visit his tailor (Norton and Sons) in Savile Row.
Although there weren't any celebrities hanging out in the market town of Alnwick (Milla Jovovich and her Newcastle-born new husband, the director Paul Anderson, who often pop into town were too busy getting married in Beverley Hills), there were plenty of stylish farmers.
Occasionally, I would catch sight of one driving along a country lane in a mud-spattered tractor or, equally, the shiny new 2010 supercharged Range Rover. (Despite the fact this gas-guzzling boy toy only came out in July and is recession-defyingly pricey, it was as common a sight as sheep or cows.)
Northumberland was the place to study the latest fashion-forward menswear trend up close and in its natural habitat, a few miles from the River Tweed (as in, you know, "tweed").
For anyone not familiar with the dress code for the posh county farmer, they wear big workmen's boots with weather-beaten fitted cords, worn-in jodhpurs or sun-bleached jeans. On top goes a hairy Tattersal shirt, often open with rolled up sleeves over a t-shirt that could have once been white, and, the piece de la resistance, a beautifully tailored moss green or pale brown jacket, handed down a couple of generations, made of the finest Worsted tweed.
Clothes that were once essential are taking on a new nostalgic appeal, particularly to fashion designers from Dolce & Gabbana and Prada to Burberry.
It's also basically a new way to grunge up suiting and tailoring, without veering into sportswear, which has been done to death.
New season's menswear is all about vintage cotton twill rain coating, brogues, breeks, the colour green, checked lumberjack shirts and wardrobe staples, like a weatherproof jacket originally designed for a pursuit other than posing, with details like pockets or belt loops to hold a brace of pheasants or air rifle.
Farmer fashion is being called the "new grunge" and is evident in high-street ranges such as Gap, starting with countrified brogue boots and finishing with a rather dashing tailored jacket or quilted "husky" jacket, pioneered by Barbour but more recently worn by City dwellers from Hoxton to the Hamptons.
I returned to the city, post-holiday, with deep regret this season in womenswear, alas the farmer's wife is not equally a current fashionable look. I did however purchase a grungy green waterproof parka by Burberry, (an authentic outdoor bit of country gear but reminiscent of early Oasis I rather thought), which I shall be wearing to London Fashion Week next week, along with my St Tropez tan. Result.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
More on Quran memorisation:
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Fiorentina v Torino (8pm)
Hellas Verona v Roma (10.45pm)
Sunday
Parma v Napoli (2.30pm)
Genoa v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (8pm)
Juventus v Sampdoria (10.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Bologna (10.45om)
Playing September 30
Benevento v Inter Milan (8pm)
Udinese v Spezia (8pm)
Lazio v Atalanta (10.45pm)
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: April 10
