With a wardrobe packed full of Valentino and Kenzo suits, the interior designer Marina Kreidi does not look like your average bargain hunter.
But the 42-year-old Lithuanian, dressed in an immaculately tailored suit and snakeskin heels, spent Saturday afternoon ferreting through second-hand bags and clothes in search of a good deal.
She was one of a number of visitors to a designer market held at The Meydan Hotel in Dubai, where the usual clientele is made up of racegoers dressed to the nines in the latest catwalk gear rather than discarded fashion.
Horses for courses, though - while the shoppers who browsed at about 20 stalls were not cash-strapped, they certainly appreciated a bargain.
"I like coming to fleamarkets for vintage items and old pieces of cloth I can use as decoration," said Kreidi, who wears labels ranging from Zara to Valentino. "You can find unique pieces that are a change from the normal shops."
Last weekend was the third time Melanie Beese had staged a designer-themed event at the five-star hotel, a step up from the popular monthly Safa Park fleamarkets she usually runs.
She decided that in post-recession Dubai, there was a gap in the market for expensive, high-end items to be recycled with the chance of some money back for making their owners, especially with the help of euphemistic phrases such as "gently used" and "preloved".
British-born Joanna Reed, 51, had a clear-out to "make room for my husband-to-be". And if one woman's junk is another woman's treasure, there were Louis Vuitton handbags, Dior heels and Fenn Wright Manson suits to be had for a fraction of their usual prices.
So tempting was her range of new unworn items that Reed's friend, 46-year-old Anne Anderson - who was selling her own goods on the same stall - could not resist a Dh400 Chanel handbag.
"I think I am missing the point - we came here to sell, not to buy," she grimaced. "At least I got it down from Dh600."
Reed said the clear-out had given her a chance to make some space in her home. There were the unwanted Dolce & Gabanna handbag friends had bought her for her 50th birthday, a Louis Vuitton handbag she never used and dozens of pairs of shoes, all for less than half their original prices.
It was all too much for Dianna Abilmona, 29, a Lebanese human resources assistant who snapped up a pair of kitsch ballet pumps for Dh165 from another stall.
"I saw them and instantly thought I had to have them," she said.
Among the stallholders, who each paid Dh300 to display their wares, were artisans, designers and jewellery makers selling their newly made items.
Among them was Sheba Bashir Kichloo, whose one-off pieces included clutches, embellished abayas, kurta tops and semi-precious jewellery.
The former IT consultant designs the pieces herself under the label Afaaf and has them made in Turkey, with cloth sourced from India and China. She said having a market stall helped her cut overhead costs, a saving she could pass on to customers.
"The venue attracts a quality crowd and the right people who appreciate the brands selling here," she said. "These are items you cannot get on the high street. I have had interest from lots of different nationalities."
Not every item was for those carrying spare change, however. The vintage store Garderobe had a new Lana Marks crocodile skin handbag on sale for Dh29,990 and an ostrich skin Yves Saint Laurent Muse 2 bag for Dh27,000.
"They are worth far more," said the stallholder, Dina Kurbatore. "These are hard times and women love bargains.
The next designer market at The Meydan will be on Saturday, October 8, from 1pm to 7pm
Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
9.25pm The Garhoud Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,200m I Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Company%20Profile
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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Pathaan
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The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
The%20Last%20White%20Man
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SHAITTAN
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Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
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LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814