Oscars fashion: Arab designers have their moment at 95th Academy Awards

Oscars fashion: Arab designers have their moment at 95th Academy Awards
Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing made a regal entrance in a sparkling silver and emerald green gown created by Lebanese Italian designer Tony Ward. (AFP)
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Updated 14 March 2023

Oscars fashion: Arab designers have their moment at 95th Academy Awards

Oscars fashion: Arab designers have their moment at 95th Academy Awards

DUBAI: Arab designers had their moment at the 95th Academy Awards and Vanity Fair Oscars After-Party with the likes of Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad and Tony Ward dressing Hollywood’s leading names.

Lebanon’s Saab dressed US actress Monica Barbaro and British model Cara Delevingne, while Australian model Miranda Kerr showed off a signature Saab look — from his Spring/Summer 2023 Couture collection — at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars After-Party, as did British model Suki Waterhouse. 




Suki Waterhouse in Elie Saab at the Vanity Fair Oscars After-Party. (Getty Images)

Delevingne hit the carpet in a gorgeous red silk taffeta ballgown with a thigh-high slit and one shoulder with a billowing bow. She paired the look with a Bulgari serpent choker in white gold with emeralds for the eyes of the snake.




British model Cara Delevingne in an Elie Saab outfit. (Getty Images)

Kerr showed off a baby blue look by the fashion house, while Barbaro looked elegant in a teal-and-maroon ensemble, complete with ethereal chiffon and a structured billowing skirt.




Monica Barbaro showed off an Elie Saab gown. (AFP)

US actress Eva Longoria stunned in a geometric mirrored gown by Murad, complete with a deep neckline, from the designers Spring 2023 Couture collection. 




Eva Longoria opted for a Zuhair Murad gown. (AFP)

Chrissy Teigen showed off a beaded and feathered look from Murad’s Spring/Summer 2023 Couture collection at the Vanity Fair After-Party.




Chrissy Teigen showed off a beaded and feathered look from Murad’s Spring/Summer 2023 Couture collection. (AFP)

Meanwhile, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing made a regal entrance in sparkling silver and emerald green — it was created by Lebanese Italian designer Tony Ward. “X-Men” star Bingbing finished off her look with hair sculpted into an Old Hollywood bob.

While Fan looked like a queen, Sofia Carson was a princess in white custom Giambattista Valli haute couture, a stunning statement diamond and emerald necklace accenting her ball gown with its off-shoulder, form-fitting bodice, a delicate diamond-shaped cutout at the center. Her jewels were by Chopard, including 122.49 carats of emeralds and 92.57 carats of diamonds, The Associated Press reported.

Also looking royal was Angela Bassett in Moschino. The dress by Jeremy Scott included draping that looked like a huge bow up top as the fabric swirled around her body. She was perfectly accented with a serpent Bulgari necklace.




Angela Bassett in Moschino. (AFP)

“It's light, it's royal purple, our color for royalty," she told E!. "Just bringing that to the carpet. And, also spring.”




Sofia Vergara stepped out in a golden gown by Lebanese designer Reem Acra. (AFP)

Colombian American actress Sofia Vergara stepped out in a golden gown by Lebanese designer Reem Acra, while US comedian Tiffany Haddish wore a multi-colored Zuhair Murad dress with thigh-high slits, from the Lebanese designer’s ready-to-wear fall 2022 collection.




Tiffany Haddish wore a multi-colored Zuhair Murad dress. (AFP)

US model and volleyball player Natalia Bryant, daughter of late basketball player Kobe Bryant, championed a black form-fitting gown with long, voluminous sleeves by Bahraini label Monsoori.




Natalia Bryant wore a black gown by Bahraini label Monsoori. (AFP)

Rihanna helped close down the carpet in custom Alaia, a leather band dress she wore over a jersey bodysuit as she showed off her baby bump. Lady Gaga snagged a black Versace look off the runway from the fashion house's show last week in Los Angeles. It featured boning under a sheer top with sheer sleeves and a ballgown skirt with a drop waist. Around her neck was a Tiffany & Co. diamond choker.




Rihanna helped close down the carpet in custom Alaia. (AFP)

Cate Blanchett donned a never-before-seen blue draped velvet top from the Louis Vuitton archives. She wore it with a black skirt made of fully sustainable silk.

Florence Pugh went in a different direction with a super-mini look in black under a voluminous strapless top that fell into billowy sleeves and yards of long fabric in a greyish white. It was Valentino Haute Couture. She had a Tiffany & Co. diamond necklace around her neck with matching pink tourmaline earrings.




Florence Pugh in Valentino Haute Coutur. (AFP)

Halle Bailey did the young proud as well in an ethereal strapless soft blue gown by Dolce & Gabbana, with sheer panels at the skirt and boning on top. So did Janelle Monáe in a Vera Wang look that fell from a strapless black crop top to an orange skirt. She wore a black fabric choker around her neck.

Jamie Lee Curtis went for a long-sleeve sparkler by Dolce & Gabbana that was the precise color of the Oscars' new off-white carpet.

Harvey Guillen and Harry Shum Jr. made statements of their own, the former in a Christian Siriano coat with a silver brocade design and a full ruffled coat and the latter in a white evening jacket with a wide sash and black trim.

“Puss in Boots” star Guillen said his outfit is the first time Siriano has designed for a plus-size man. The dramatic, embellished long coat flared out at the waist. It evoked Guillen’s vampire mockumentary show “What We Do in the Shadows,” on which he plays fan favorite Guillermo.


Influencer-loved The Giving Movement goes luxe with new Ramadan collection  

Influencer-loved The Giving Movement goes luxe with new Ramadan collection  
Updated 27 March 2023

Influencer-loved The Giving Movement goes luxe with new Ramadan collection  

Influencer-loved The Giving Movement goes luxe with new Ramadan collection  

DUBAI: Founded by Dominic Nowell-Barnes, popular sustainable brand The Giving Movement — the UAE-born label known for disrupting the Middle East athleisure scene — has launched its Ramadan Collection featuring luxurious fabrics and timeless silhouettes.   

“Our collection is a futuristic and luxurious take on modest partywear special designed for the holy month of Ramadan. The fabrics are a mix of luxurious plisse and satin. We have created some beautiful showstopping pieces with special tassel trims as well as timeless all over monogram prints which were first initially showcased at Arab Fashion Week last year,” said Khairunisa Suhail, head of design at TGM, in an interview with Arab News.  

 

 

Suhail, who developed her design signature while working in the UK and Stockholm, brought her love for Scandinavian designs, streetwear and minimalist ideology to TGM, which is also reflected in this latest drop.  

“As well as the fabrics and trims being sustainable and the collection being made right here in the UAE, we have carefully designed each piece to be comfortable, elegant and regal. Each piece is specially designed to make you feel like royalty,” said Suhail.  

The Ramadan Collection features luxe fabrics like plisse and satin. (Supplied)

While the modest collection is specially made with Ramadan in mind, the pieces are diverse and inclusive and can be worn comfortably whether you are planning a trip to the beach or heading to a special iftar with friends and family, added Suhail.  

“We believe comfort goes hand in hand with style. Comfort is at the forefront of our thinking when designing as it’s an important USP of ours. We want you to be comfortable in our designs whilst looking and feeling your best,” she said.  

 

 

As a brand, TGM has also done its fair share of charity work, especially during Ramadan.   

“We are extremely proud and grateful to be able to give back whilst doing what we love. We donate to our two partnered charities, Harmony House and Dubai Cares. Internally, we also organize charitable events such as iftar box handouts where the full team will help towards this cause during Ramadan. Last year, we partnered with The Giving Family to do this,” said Suhail.  


With her Syrian heritage, designer Daniela Cassab is putting Mexican craftsmanship on the global map  

With her Syrian heritage, designer Daniela Cassab is putting Mexican craftsmanship on the global map  
Updated 27 March 2023

With her Syrian heritage, designer Daniela Cassab is putting Mexican craftsmanship on the global map  

With her Syrian heritage, designer Daniela Cassab is putting Mexican craftsmanship on the global map  

DUBAI: Mexican designer Daniela Cassab, whose grandparents migrated from Aleppo, Syria, knows how to make the perfect leather jacket. Founder and designer of her artisanal label, DanCassab, she specializes in handmade leather garments in Mexico designed to transcend seasons and pass down through generations.   

The designer was in Dubai earlier this year to launch her exclusive pop-up at THAT Concept Store. Arab News caught up with her to understand her love for outerwear and what goes behind creating each piece.  

 

 

 

Born and raised in Mexico, Cassab grew up around fashion. Her family has been in the textile industry, and her father's factories manufactured jeans for Guess and Marciano.   

After studying art history at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York, she moved back home and realized the possibility of starting a label that valued slow fashion and focused on preserving the heritage and crafts of her country.   

Mexican designer Daniela Cassab specializes in outerwear. (Supplied)

 In 2016, DanCassab was born, one of the pillars of the brand being her employment of highly skilled local artisans.  

 Her specialty? Outerwear — you always need a perfect jacket that you can wear with jeans and a silk dress,” she explained.  

 

 

 

One look at her bestselling Loretta jacket, and it's hard not to fall in love with its glamorous cowboy aesthetic, oversized collar and soft fringes. Inspired by traditional jackets called Cuera Tamaulipeca worn by hunters in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, she explained that typically fringes were designed to shed rain.   

“Four years ago the government from Tamaulipas wanted to reinterpret the Cuera Tamaulipeca and asked me to do it in a more contemporary way. That’s how our Iconic ‘Loretta’ came to life, and it was a hit. That was the first piece that started the idea of fringes, and I also love the whole cowboy vibe,” she said. Each of her pieces is handmade from the finest leathers using traditional construction techniques and can take six-to-eight days to create. Elsewhere, her beaded fringed jackets are equally covetable – especially with their Rock'n'Roll vibe.   

Daniela Cassab describes her clothes as works of art – because of the time and dedication that goes behind them. (Supplied)

She describes her clothes as works of art – because of the time and dedication that goes behind them. “The beading takes hours as it's done by hand. Additionally, unlike other materials, leather has no give – if you stitch it the wrong way, you must go back and do it all over again.”   

When it comes to her Arab roots, the designer said her heritage inspires her work ethic.  

“My Arab roots inspire me in the business area, since I was very young I was able to see how my great grandparents and my grandparents who came from Syria started a business in a completely different country. They were very agile and used to selling textiles. It was their passion, they were capable of creating a very big textile empire that lasted for generations until today,” she said, adding: “This is how I learned the importance of working, of falling in love with your passion and what you desire… the perseverance and the way they communicated with clients was also special, it’s a magical approach that makes customers fall in love.” 


Sudan’s speciality ‘bittersweet’ Ramadan drink

In Sudan, the brew is so identified with Ramadan that even the US embassy took to Twitter to promote its staff making it.
In Sudan, the brew is so identified with Ramadan that even the US embassy took to Twitter to promote its staff making it.
Updated 26 March 2023

Sudan’s speciality ‘bittersweet’ Ramadan drink

In Sudan, the brew is so identified with Ramadan that even the US embassy took to Twitter to promote its staff making it.
  • In Sudan, the arduously made “helo-murr,” which means “bittersweet,” is a drink synonymous with Ramadan
  • It can be found on almost every table across the northeast African country at the end of the day’s fast

OM ESHR, Sudan: As generations of Sudanese have done before her, Wissal Abdel Ghany crouched next to a fire to prepare a traditional drink, a thirst-quenching favorite enjoyed during the fasting month of Ramadan.
In Sudan, the arduously made “helo-murr,” which means “bittersweet,” is a drink synonymous with the Islamic holy month.
It can be found on almost every table across the northeast African country at the end of the day’s fast.
“Without it, our table feels empty,” said Abdel Ghany, wearing a bright orange headscarf.
She sat in a small room in the village of Om Eshr, on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, which teemed with a small force of women busily scraping and spreading a mixture before serving the beverage in clear glasses.
The drink has satisfied thirsty fasters for decades and recipes are “inherited from our mothers and grandmothers,” the 43-year-old said.
Corn is harvested and left to dry in the sun before being ground and mixed with spices such as fenugreek, cumin or even hibiscus — Sudan’s other essential Ramadan beverage.
This mixture is then soaked in sugar and water for several days.
Abdel Ghany spread a layer of the thick brown paste over a grill plate above the coals of a wood fire, cooking it into a thin, leather-colored film.
The resulting crepe-like layer is then peeled away and stored — ready to be soaked in the final step to create the beloved drink.
Served as cold as possible, the drink is one of many ways that fasting Sudanese cool off, a significant challenge in one of the world’s hottest countries.
The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, after which they traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast.
In Sudan, the brew is so identified with Ramadan that even the US embassy took to Twitter to promote its staff making it, with diplomats wielding wooden spoons over embers and sipping the amber liquid.
Abdel Ghany said preparing the drink is a collective effort, bringing “together our sisters and friends.”
“We make it together to share among ourselves,” she said.
In Sudan’s cities, she added, some people don’t make it themselves.
“But they still have to offer it for dinner, so they buy it ready-made,” she said.
For Abdel Ghany, the preparation of helo-murr and the holy month cannot be separated.
“All it takes is a whiff of the scent coming out of a home to know that Ramadan is here,” she said.


London’s Victoria & Albert Museum hosts ‘open iftar’ for hundreds

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum hosts ‘open iftar’ for hundreds
Updated 26 March 2023

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum hosts ‘open iftar’ for hundreds

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum hosts ‘open iftar’ for hundreds

DUBAI: More than 500 people flocked to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on Friday for an ‘Open Iftar’ event organized by the Ramadan Tent Project charity.

“Ramadan 2023 marks 10 phenomenal years of the Ramadan Tent Project and our signature Open Iftar events. Over the past nine years, our humble tent on a patch of green grew and grew, before it traveled to landmark locations,” the project said.

Similar events will take place this year at Shakespeare’s Globe theater, Wembley Stadium, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium and the Royal Albert Hall.

“The theme to mark our 10-year anniversary is ‘Belonging’. For the past decade we’ve connected and convened over half a million people from all backgrounds. Our passion in bridging between different communities is rooted in sharing our authentic selves with the world. 

“True belonging shouldn’t require you to change who you are – rather, it’s to celebrate who you are,” read an additional statement on the website.

Since 2013, the Open Iftar events have hosted more than 500,000 people across the UK at some of the country’s most iconic cultural spaces including Trafalgar Square, the BALTIC Museum, Bradford’s Centenary Square and Coventry Cathedral.
 


Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad strikes again with second custom look for Taylor Swift on ‘Eras’ tour 

Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad strikes again with second custom look for Taylor Swift on ‘Eras’ tour 
Updated 26 March 2023

Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad strikes again with second custom look for Taylor Swift on ‘Eras’ tour 

Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad strikes again with second custom look for Taylor Swift on ‘Eras’ tour 

DUBAI: After revealing that he designed US pop sensation Taylor Swift’s showstopping ballgown for the “The Eras Tour” just last week, Lebanese couturier Zuhair Murad is back with yet another unique look for her latest stop in Las Vegas.  

The 33-year-old wore a shimmering dark blue outfit, with embellishment and fringe detailing, paired with knee-high boots. 

“@TaylorSwift wore for The Eras Tour Las Vegas Opening Night a custom #ZMCouture midnight blue crystal embellished bodysuit, overflowing with richly beaded fringes and a matching garter,” posted the label’s official Instagram account, sharing a picture of the glittering outfit.  

The Grammy Award-winning singer -- who kicked off her first trek in more than four years at Glendale, Arizona's State Farm Stadium last weekend -- belted out her top hits at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday in a three-hour show  that ran through hits from every era of her 17-year career. 

At the Glendale concert, Swift donned a custom-made gown by Murad in a peachy hue with starburst sequin work across the length of the creation.