Has Middle Eastern fashion ever had a higher international profile? Red carpets worldwide are the modern measure of a designer's success, and while Elie Saab's gowns have been gracing them for over a decade, the past two years have seen a rush to harness the Arabian glitz that shines so brightly under the flashbulbs.
The designers of Lebanon, for example, are setting up shop in Paris - Saab, Zuhair Murad, Robert Adi Nader, Basil Soda, Rabih Kayrouz - and New York - Georges Chakra, Reem Acra - and in the past couple of weeks alone the London-based Omani designer Amr Ali has seen his label BodyAmr sported by Elle Macpherson, Hilary Swank and Katy Perry.
This can only be good news for Rami al Ali, the much-loved Dubai-based couturier who has just celebrated his 10th year in business in the UAE.
Today, al Ali will show his extravagant evening gowns at the Rome couture fashion week Alta Roma for the fourth time, in his continuing efforts to grow his label internationally, and if the global passion for Middle Eastern fashion is anything to go by, this could be his season.
It's started already: last week the 38-year-old Syrian provided two ball gowns for attendees at Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball, one of which, a flamboyant peacock gown from his autumn/winter 2009/10 collection, was worn by Ivana Trump.
"Knowing the calibre of the people attending, the celebrities, the media that's going to cover it, especially when they see a massive piece that is known from your show, it's a very good visual identity for us," he says, clearly delighted.
But when I speak to al Ali in Dubai, a couple of days before he leaves for Rome, celebrities and PR are taking second place to bringing together the Persian Princess collection that he will show in the hope of attracting more couture clients.
His 40-strong team (which includes master cutters, tailors, finishers, quality controllers, embroiderers, sample makers and beaders) is frantically finishing the collection ahead of the journey.
"The last week is the most horrible week for me, and it's actually the most fun week," he says, "because in this week we try to finish everything and it is the time where I start connecting all the dots together, so when I find something not really relevant, that I don't feel is really helping the theme of the collection, I try to eliminate it. The work this week is going to be very dense and very hectic."
That work is only just beginning: when he arrives in Rome he will have to cast the models, do the fittings, meet the production company, organise the choreography. The show itself will fly by in a flurry of hair, make-up, pins and fashion tape, and then begin the meetings with buyers, stylists, costume designers and media.
It's hard work, but for al Ali it's worth it.
"From the second collection [in Rome] we started having enquiries from Russia, from Brazil, from the States, and lots of enquiries for red-carpet events. There are not a lot of couture clients in the world and when you show internationally it's easy to be noticed. That's the good thing about showing in Rome or in Paris. It's a very strong presence, because you're not competing with so many worldwide."
But why, when other designers are flocking to be recognised by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris, is Al Ali showing in Rome? "Rome is closer to the Middle East when it comes to style and fashion and taste, and for a long time the Alta Roma was closer to the Middle East in design and more exposed to the media here, and at the same time it was easier to show first where you feel that you shared some elements," he says. "Both countries have a lot of sun, and they work almost with the same body figures and features, so it's easier for them to understand what you produce before you go somewhere else."
Of course, al Ali already has a devoted following here in the UAE. "Luckily, in the Gulf region the couture market is still flourishing, and clients still buy couture for their main occasions, so that's why you find most of the Middle Eastern designers focus on the Gulf region."
The designer's regular customers get the full couture experience, something that those of us accustomed to prêt-à-porter (an area al Ali is dipping his toes into for the international market) can only dream of.
"We have our regular clients and of course every new collection we add to them, thank goodness. We always build their own mannequin, with their own figures, so when they come back they still have their fitting ready for them.
"For the new customers, we adjust a new mannequin for them until it fits the right size. Then we meet a couple of times before we proceed with the dress just to know exactly what's suitable for the client, what's the occasion, what she wants to look like, if there's jewellery or anything to be added to the dress.
"And when we decide on which design the client wants to pick we see if there is any amendment to make it more suitable for the client, if there is any change of detail or colour, and then we proceed with the sample-making, with the first stitching, and once everything is approved and the client is comfortable with it then we proceed to the final stage of delivering the dress."
These are gowns that come in at between Dh23,100 and Dh92,500, in contrast to his prêt-à-porter line, which costs about Dh3,700 to Dh14,800. Why, then, continue with the prohibitively priced couture?
"The prêt line is easier to market, you can buy it off the rack, it's simpler, therefore the cost is less, so the price tag is less," explains al Ali. "The couture line is very exclusive, it's one piece for one client, it's made to measure, all hand-made, and all precious materials and limited edition fabrics, therefore the cost of it is quite high. That's why we're trying to balance by having both lines.
"The daywear we are still working on. When we talk about jackets and sportswear and jeans and pants, we don't have a big demand for it yet."
What al Ali does have a big demand for is feminine, glamorous, embellished evening frocks, and that looks set to continue. This season's collection is inspired by Persian carpets, he says. "The detailing, the colours, the ornament, the weaving of the silk and wool, this mixture, the richness, that's the core of the inspiration.
"There are a lot of patterns. We were trying to recreate the fabric from crystals on some dresses, and on some others we took antique carpet designs and we printed it on a special fabric for this collection."
This is Al ali at his best, pursuing a quintessentially Dubaian design vision that he describes as "a blend between east and west, very feminine and very soft, very romantic. It's not harsh, it's not sharp, it's not so heavy that you feel that you had enough from the first five minutes that you saw it - no, you want to see more of it."
We'll be seeing a lot more of it, if all goes to plan in Rome.
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
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.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
more from Janine di Giovanni
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%0D%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EAlexandra%20Eala%20(Philippines)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
More on Quran memorisation:
THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
