Olympic star Yusra Mardini walks the Boss runway in Miami 

Olympic star Yusra Mardini walks the Boss runway in Miami 
Mardini wore a white shirt dress with a beige vest, beige calf-length stockings and brown heels. (Instagram)
Short Url
Updated 17 March 2023

Olympic star Yusra Mardini walks the Boss runway in Miami 

Olympic star Yusra Mardini walks the Boss runway in Miami 
  • The Syrian refugee appeared for the German designer having walked for Parisian brand Casablanca earlier this year

DUBAI: Syrian Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini has officially added another title to her growing repertoire of accomplishments after becoming a model. 

The athlete, whose story of fleeing her homeland alongside her sister Sarah was made into a BAFTA-nominated film by Netflix called “The Swimmers,” walked the runway in Miami this week for German fashion label Hugo Boss. 

“Thank you for including me in this phenomenal experience,” Mardini wrote on Instagram sharing a picture of herself on the catwalk. 

Mardini, who is based in Germany, wore a white shirt dress with a beige vest, beige calf-length stockings and brown heels from the brand’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection. 

She walked the show, which was inspired by Miami, alongside A-list stars Naomi Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Law Roach, US Palestinian producer DJ Khaled, Precious Lee and Ezra Frech. 

This is Mardini’s second runway appearance, after she appeared for fashion brand Casablanca’s Autumn/Winter 2023 show in January. 

She also starred in Boss’s digital campaign that month, which featured a long list of Arab and international stars, including DJ Khaled, Dutch Palestinian model Gigi Hadid, Demi Lovato, Paris Hilton, Columbian singer Maluma, actress Bella Thorne and many more. 

In the advert, Mardini shared a photo collage featuring two images — one from her childhood and one present-day photo, while wearing Boss sweatshirts. 

In a recent interview with Arab News, Mardini said she is turning her focus to her non-profit work, as well as other endeavors.  

Having competed in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, Mardini is aiming to develop a foundation to facilitate education and sports opportunities for refugees. She is also starting her own journey as a filmmaker. 

“I am also studying in a university here in California called University of Southern California and I am studying film and production,” she said. “I am doing a lot of activities in the fashion domain and I have a non-profit organization, and I am doing something with the UNHCR and I am also studying, so generally I am happy with my life.”


Arab films win big at Cannes Film Festival

Arab films win big at Cannes Film Festival
Updated 27 May 2023

Arab films win big at Cannes Film Festival

Arab films win big at Cannes Film Festival

DUBAI: Arab films and filmmakers won a range of awards at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

Sudanese film “Goodbye Julia” by filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani won the Freedom Prize, while “Les Meutes” by Moroccan filmmaker Kamal Lazrek won the Jury’s Prize.

Moroccan film director Asmae El-Moudir addresses the crowd after receiving the best director award for her film “The Mother of All Lies” at the Cannes Film Festival. (Ammar Abd Rabbo/Arab News) 

Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El-Moudir won the Directing Prize for her film “The Mother of All Lies.”

After 21 world premieres, almost two weeks of red-carpet parades and hundreds of thousands of camera flashes, the festival will conclude its 76th edition on Saturday with the presentation of its top prize, the Palme d’Or.

Moroccan actor Ayoub Elaid (L) and Moroccan actor Abdellatif Masstouri pose during a photocall for the film “Les Meutes” at the Cannes Film Festival. (AFP)

Major films were premiered at the festival. Martin Scorsese debuted his Osage murder epic “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a sprawling vision of American exploitation with Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Harrison Ford’s Indy farewell, launched with a tribute to Ford. Wes Anderson premiered “Asteroid City.”

The festival opened on a note of controversy. “Jeanne du Barry,” a period drama co-starring Johnny Depp as Louis XV, played as the opening night’s film. The premiere marked Depp’s highest profile appearance since the conclusion of his explosive trial last year with ex-wife Amber Heard.

The film was backed by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival.


Actress Lindsay Lohan enjoys babymoon in Oman

Actress Lindsay Lohan enjoys babymoon in Oman
Updated 26 May 2023

Actress Lindsay Lohan enjoys babymoon in Oman

Actress Lindsay Lohan enjoys babymoon in Oman

DUBAI: US actress Lindsay Lohan and her financier husband Bader Shammas are enjoying a babymoon in Oman at the Six Senses Zighy Bay resort in Musandam.

The “Mean Girls” star took to Instagram to share pictures of her growing bump by the pool with the backdrop of the city’s rocky mountains and trees.

The actress announced her pregnancy in March. She shared an image of a baby onesie at the time with “Coming soon...” written on it. The post was captioned “We are blessed and excited!”


Saudi couturier Honayda Serafi designs dress for Rajwa Al-Saif’s mother

Saudi couturier Honayda Serafi designs dress for Rajwa Al-Saif’s mother
Updated 26 May 2023

Saudi couturier Honayda Serafi designs dress for Rajwa Al-Saif’s mother

Saudi couturier Honayda Serafi designs dress for Rajwa Al-Saif’s mother

DUBAI: Saudi designer Honayda Serafi on Friday shared behind the scenes footage of the design process for the dress that Azza Al-Sudairi, Rajwa Al-Saif’s mother, wore to her daughter’s pre-wedding henna party in Jordan.

Serafi had also designed the white and gold creation that Al-Saif, Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah’s fiancee, wore to the celebration.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by HONAYDA (@honaydaofficial)

“We have been honored to have designed the dress of Mrs. Azza Al-Sudairi, mother of the ethereal bride Miss Rajwa Al-Saif for the special occasion of the traditional henna night, as Queen Rania hosted a pre-wedding henna party at the Royal Hashemite Court,” the designer wrote on Instagram, sharing pictures from the event along with a video of the sketching process.

The mother of the bride wore a blue gown embroidered in shades of red, blue and green.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by HONAYDA (@honaydaofficial)

Serafi said that the design was inspired by the Saudi art of Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, known as Al-Majanab, which is deeply rooted within the identity of the southern region of the Kingdom.

“Crafted from crepe, the two-piece gown reflects cultural elegance, imbued with geometric patterns, decorational elements and hand-embroidered Asiri inscriptions,” Serafi said on Instagram.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by HONAYDA (@honaydaofficial)

She added that the colors of the gown were inspired by the nature of the Kingdom’s southern region.


Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival co-sponsors amfAR gala in Cannes

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival co-sponsors amfAR gala in Cannes
Updated 26 May 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival co-sponsors amfAR gala in Cannes

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival co-sponsors amfAR gala in Cannes
  • Event raises funds for HIV, AIDS research, education
  • Auction of car, jewelry, artwork brings in millions

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival was one of the main sponsors at the star-studded amfAR gala, held during the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.

Guests included Riyadh-based Argentinian model Georgina Rodriguez, Eva Longoria, Fan Bingbing, Rebel Wilson, Elsa Hosk, Heidi Klum, Coco Rocha and Winne Harlow, who all posed up a storm in front of the Saudi Film Festival’s insignia on the red carpet.

The event, which raises money for AIDS research, took place at the famous Hotel Du Cap, Eden Roc.

In addition, Bebe Rexha and Adam Lambert performed at the event.

“I’m very honored to be singing tonight for this cause and seeing amazing people on the carpet and … beautiful fashion all in the name of raising money for HIV, AIDS, research,” Lambert told AP before the gala.

The auction featured an array of artwork, diamond jewels, and experiences.

The centerpiece was an Aston Martin sports car, the first of its type in the world, which was auctioned off by Longoria for $1.6 million.

The engine cover has the signatures of F1 drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso and the car will be presented at a grand prix of the buyer’s choice.

Other top lots included a pair of white gold Chopard earrings set with diamonds and emeralds, sold for $295,000, and a Damien Hirst portrait of Leonardo DiCaprio that went for $1.29 million.

DiCaprio, an amfAR regular, slipped in undetected by cameras to enjoy the entertainment, but did not come to the stage to present the winning bidder with his prize.

AmfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $600 million in its programs and has awarded more than 3,500 grants to research teams worldwide.


NEOM stages first international exhibition at the Venice Architectural Biennale

NEOM stages first international exhibition at the Venice Architectural Biennale
Updated 27 May 2023

NEOM stages first international exhibition at the Venice Architectural Biennale

NEOM stages first international exhibition at the Venice Architectural Biennale
  • ‘Gravity Urbanism – Principles for a New Livability,’ celebrates the design of The Line, NEOM’s linear city

VENICE: The futuristic avant-garde designs of The Line, Saudi Arabia’s trailblazing linear city, are on view for the first time outside of the Kingdom during the 18th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale.

The Line is part of NEOM, a smart city being constructed in the Kingdom’s Tabuk region of the country — a city that, in many ways, fits perfectly with the theme of this year’s biennale, “The Laboratory of the Future,” and with its focus on architecture from historically under-represented parts of the world.

The designs are on show in the exhibition “Zero Gravity Urbanism: Principles for a New Livability,” which is being staged in a former church, the Abbazia di San Gregorio, one of Venice’s oldest buildings, and injects high-tech futurism into the Renaissance and Gothic architecture of its location. It also provides a glimpse of the riveting architecture of The Line, the world’s first linear city.

As soon as visitors step inside the building, they will come face to face with the exhibition’s focal point: a large-scale 9x13 meter relief plan of NEOM set in in the central courtyard, highlighting The Line’s futuristic design, its non-disruptive interaction with its natural environmentm and its passage through coastal, mountain and desert landscapes.

NEOM leadership and world-leading architects, designers and urban thinkers open NEOM’s first international exhibition in Venice. (NEOM)

The exhibition uses high-tech maquettes, simulations and installations to explain Zero Gravity Urbanism, which the show’s organizers define as “a linear and three-dimensional concept that provides an innovative alternative to our current urban model.”

The design is intended to address key global challenges, not just in terms of climate change but also the growing demand for urban land, and rising social and economic inequalities. People from all classes, cultures and walks of life will reportedly be able to find a home in The Line, which also aims to provide a model for developing cities with a radical approach to conservation and standards of living.

The exhibition runs until Sept. 24. It brings together 20 of the world’s leading architects, designers and “future thinkers” and marks the launch of the Zero Gravity Urbanism concept. Sir Peter Cook, Massimiliano Fuksas, Jean Nouvel and Ben van Berkel were among the world-renowned architects who joined CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr and other representatives from NEOM leadership at the exhibition’s opening ceremony, attended by more than 100 other architects from around the world.

“Venice is the debut of Zero Gravity Urbanism to the world,” Tarek Qaddumi, executive director of urban planning at NEOM, told Arab News. “What better place to do it in than Venice? It also reflects the idea of the laboratory of the future. We are bringing forward an idea, rather than just the design. The design becomes the manifestation of that idea for a solution to the current challenges of the world.

“We can only imagine that the rest of the world has their own take on things, but we believe that Zero Gravity Urbanism offers solutions across sectors,” he added. “The exhibition represents an important first step onto the global stage for Zero Gravity Urbanism, as the world’s wider architecture community now has the opportunity to see the depth of thinking and work that has gone into this incredible project from so many prominent thinkers and architects.”

Ultimately, the exhibition is not just about the aesthetics and technological prowess of The Line’s cutting-edge architecture, but also presents a vision of solutions for pressing urban and global problems.

 Antoni Vives, NEOM’s chief urban planning officer, said in a press release: “Brought to life in Venice through the design proposals and intellectual contribution of the world’s leading architects and urban thinkers, Zero Gravity Urbanism represents a proposal of how humanity can better respond to the urban challenges we face globally.”