In a season where super high heels reign supreme in fashion isn't it funny that everyone is wearing flats?
When you look around the streets from LA to Moscow, women are either strapped into the flattest sandals since Roman times or wearing moccasins, brogues or ballet pumps.
It's not necessarily because we ladies love flats but because most of us have to walk more than four paces. "I can walk in flat shoes," says Naomi Campbell in the May issue of American Vogue as a woman who only flies by private plane and rides in chauffeured limos can. "But I'm better in heels." Yes, Naomi, but we all saw you fall off your Vivienne Westwood wedges on the catwalk, remember?
There is still a terrific one-upmanship between women when it comes to high heels which accessories brands (run mostly by men) take full advantage of.
Heels say what, exactly? I don't have to work? Or: I am more glamorous than you are? Whatever it is, it certainly isn't: I am rich. There are currently hundreds of cheap versions of teetering heels and whopping platforms around and still, everyone is wearing flats.
Twas ever thus. I have seen a Japanese version of super heels dating back a thousand years in Ueno, in Tokyo. Wearing high heels has long been regarded as a feminine trait and a signifier of social class.
I'll bet the reason the highest of heels survive, rather than the billions of flats worn by the same ladies, is because the everyday ones have fallen apart.
Around half of the shoes in my hoard are high heels, mostly in pristine condition. One of my favourite pairs are Prada wedges so high I've only ever dared wear them once. In comparison, my flats - bless them - are well-worn, verging on shabby and, I fear, less-loved.
Two nights ago at a party surrounded by well-dressed women and rock royalty including Iron Maiden, I lent a shoulder to a woman whose staggeringly high Dior heel had snapped. She had bought them that morning for Dh2,700.
I told her the story of my Prada-mad friend who returned a pair of shoes, one with a broken heel, to a store in Milan, and was asked by the sales girl what on earth she had been doing in them.
When she innocently replied, "walking", everyone in the shop echoed her in horror. Walking indeed!
High heels look great but, realistically, are of little practical use.
I can say this having spent the week trying out several pairs whilst viewing autumn/winter collections at showrooms dotted across town. By lunchtime of the first day I spied small piles of unfeasibly high heels - by Charlotte Olympia, Sergio Rossi, Sophie Gittens or whoever - discarded by their wearers (me included), who sat on sofas rubbing sore feet and complaining.
At one appointment I learnt about a British label called Pump and Circumstance (www.pumpandcircumstance.com) who have been making Sloane Ranger-type ballerinas for ages. This summer, they're trying out a new construction, the sacchetto, used in traditional moccasins, where the lining is sewn to the upper to form a sack and there is no hard insole, only padding on the ball of the foot and heel.
Although the sacchetto ballerina idea isn't exactly revolutionary (several big brands like Dior, Roger Vivier and Dolce & Gabbana already use it), the British version costs a fraction of the others.
I'm glancing at the navy and white pair which have only left my feet to shower and sleep in the past six days. I've even been to a Lindy Hop in them.
Although not quite Lanvin, the last time I wore anything as comfortable was when I worked in a chemist shop on a Saturday as a young teenager and had to wear a pair of wooden sole Dr Scholl's.Imagine my surprise at my very last appointment when I spied a high heeled boot (a bit clumpy biker-style) with the label Dr Scholl stitched inside.
Could this really be the first ever comfortable high heel? Unfortunately, only one half of the pair was avialable to try on, so we shall have to wait until September to find out.
artslife@thenational.ae
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Napoleon
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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.”
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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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals