This season, London Fashion Week will go ahead without the Qasimi show. The label has built up a loyal following and become a fixture in the English capital for the past five seasons.
Last week, I caught up with the 29-year-old designer behind the label, Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, minutes before he hopped aboard a Eurostar train en route to the French fabric and fashion forecasting fair, Première Vision.
You may remember seeing images of the Qasimi spring/summer 2010 collection last September, which featured dazzling gold separates with giant shoulders and colourful gowns inspired by the Gulf's jalabiyas.
So why the decision to take a break from showing womenswear after five seemingly successful seasons in a city he has called home since the age of nine?
"Following the first show (in autumn/winter 2008), we had so much press and a hugely positive feedback, which was all amazing," Al Qasimi says.
"Then, when we dressed Lady Gaga, and Cheryl Cole when she was judging The X-Factor, the brand really took off."
This was due partly to the support of Nicola Formichetti, the creative director of the style magazine Dazed and Confused and Lady Gaga's stylist, who became one of the first influential fashionistos to pick up on the brand following the autumn/winter 2009 show.
This featured a line-up of supermodels including Lily Cole, Yasmin Le Bon, Liberty Ross, Jade Parfitt, Jacquetta Wheeler and Carmen Dell'Orefice wearing dramatic black Victorian-style crinolines and corsetry.
"In London I didn't get too much support from the BFC [the British Fashion Council, the official body behind London Fashion Week] and had to show off-schedule, which meant some important store buyers and fashion press were unable to attend because it clashed with on-schedule events."
In the meantime, Al Qasimi had begun working on a debut menswear line. "Ultimately, it became a case of choose one or the other," he says.
"The womenswear market is so saturated and the competition so fierce, I decided to wait until we had the stockists I really wanted and get the product perfected and out there."
The decision was ultimately made for him by Didier Grumbach, the highly influential president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt à Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode (aka the Chambre Syndicale), who just happens to be one of the most important people in the fashion world.
When Grumbach invites you to show menswear, on the official schedule in Paris, you don't refuse.
"Although it was all a bit last-minute, Monsieur Grumbach said there was room for me to do an installation in Paris and I jumped at the chance. Menswear comes so naturally to me. I know what men want to wear. There isn't a men's fashion week in London. The French fashion council in Paris were really supportive and got behind me pushing sales and a season later offered me a catwalk show. Menswear suddenly seemed the more obvious route.
"What I have ended up doing is a much tighter, stronger collection than my womenswear range ever was. It is also far more commercial, which is something I wanted to focus on rather than trying too hard with creativity. At the end of the day, like every other designer, I want to make money and establish a strong business."
Al Qasimi hopes to show menswear in Paris again next season.
"I'm continuing with my line of unisex accessories, including woven leather bags, which have proved a big hit. I always listen to department-store and boutique buyers and this seems to be what they want right now. It's been an interesting couple of years and I've learnt so much from everything I've been through. I hope to pursue a couple of options selling to UK major stores and US boutiques and other international markets."
Still, he hasn't forsaken womenswear entirely. "I do miss doing womenswear. It was sad having to let go of some of my atelier team, but it was ultimately a really small, luxury brand. My dream isn't just to create clothes for celebrities or pop stars. I'd be just as happy spotting one of my designs worn by someone on the street. I am about to start working on a new womenswear project which will be for a capsule collection for a store in Europe as an exclusive. This is really to please my fans. I can't disclose any more information at the moment!"
Al Qasimi's latest collection for autumn/winter 2010/2011 which was shown on the catwalk in Paris in January, features more commercial tailored grey suits, chunky knitwear, woven leather tops and pearl-embellished tops. His headquarters remain in London.
"It's important to develop my brand and also feel in control. I'm really enjoying doing menswear. I'm even toying with the idea of haute couture for men. Nobody is doing that yet!"
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Spec%20sheet
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Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
Company%20profile
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
