Every season brings its share of debuts, but some pieces cut through the noise to become instant markers of taste and craft. This month, that spectrum stretches from the Middle East to Europe: Bahraini eyewear label Sun Suns puts a vintage spin on sunglasses, while Burberry casts British-Moroccan model Nora Attal in a campaign that celebrates London’s spirit.
Van Cleef & Arpels continues its lyrical storytelling with the Flowerlace collection, and Haider Ackermann makes his long-awaited debut at Tom Ford, marrying precision tailoring with a more languid elegance.
Meanwhile, Bottega Veneta expands its fragrance universe with Mezzanotte, and Cartier distils its jewellery savoir-faire into a new line of Panthere bags.
Sun Suns
The Bahraini brand creates vintage-inspired sunglasses for the Middle Eastern market. Crafted in Italy, the frames use flexible cellulose acetate, while CR39 lenses deliver rich colour. Each pair is coated for 100 per cent UV protection. Styles range from women’s frames such as Diva to men’s designs including Dexter, with many genderless options, including Forte and Lea.
Burberry
Burberry has tapped British-Moroccan model Nora Attal for its Back to the City campaign. Shot on a London double-decker bus, it features Attal in a dark red leather trench alongside Bemi Orojuogun, better known as Bus Aunty, the Nigerian TikTok star famed for her silent bus posts. “It’s the personality of its people that makes London feel so unique,” explains Daniel Lee, Burberry’s chief creative officer. “Something you’ll find woven into the very fabric of Burberry.”
Van Cleef & Arpels
The poetic language of French jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels expands with the Flowerlace collection. Featuring openwork floral designs that nod to the house’s couture heritage, the line includes rings, earrings, a pendant and a transformable clip pendant, all crafted using lost-wax casting to showcase the maison’s mastery of warm, radiant gold.
Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford
Ackermann’s highly anticipated debut collection for Tom Ford has arrived in stores. Hand-picked to lead the brand famed for its sleek, charged silhouette, the French designer introduces his own slower-burn aesthetic. Fans of Ford need not worry, though – sharp tailoring remains, from a men’s ecru suit with sequins woven into boucle cloth, to a women’s high-neck column dress in green satin.
Bottega Veneta
Following the success of its 2024 perfume debut, Bottega Veneta unveils Mezzanotte – a trio of new fragrances named after the Italian word for midnight. Hinoki combines fir balsam, hinoki wood and patchouli; Goodmorning Midnight blends wild strawberry, Thai oud and rose; while Almost Dawn layers vanilla, truffle and chestnut. Each fragrance comes in a uniquely shaped glass bottle set on a marble disc.
Cartier
Drawing on Cartier’s jewellery heritage, leather goods creative director Marlin Yuson has created a new line of Panthere de Cartier bags that unite the house’s jewellery expertise with fine leather savoir-faire. The clasp reimagines the iconic feline head with leather inserts, while Art Deco codes appear in the gold-and-black chain and leather strap. Geometric lines are echoed in the quilting of the soft-sided flap bag.
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Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
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