James Ferragamo is understandably proud. The product director for men's and women's leather at luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo is the third generation of the family working at the company started by – and named after – his grandfather, who changed Hollywood's relationship with shoes.
James Ferragamo is sitting in the reopened flagship store in Dubai Mall, amid the creamy marble walls, shot through with seams of caramel and pistachio rugs on the floor. With its calm, peaceful lighting, the space feels luxurious and expensive.
“It's an interpretation of what Maximilian Davis, our young creative director, has been creating with Ferragamo,” James explains.
Appointed in March 2022, Davis has been brought in to rework the house codes through a fresh lens. Practically a Gen Z (“He missed it by one year,” says James with a laugh), Davis is translating Ferragamo's storied history into a language that chimes with a younger audience. Crucially, he is doing so without alienating established clients.
“The objective was to find somebody who could find the right balance within a company with such an important tradition and find a youthful interpretation while not losing its identity,” says James.
Davis's vision is clear in the new space, skilfully linking know-how with the easy elegance the house is famous for. “You have the concept of craftsmanship that you can see in this amazing marble. It's beautiful. ”
Designer Salvatore Ferragamo left Italy over a century ago for Hollywood, where his skill and artistic flair made him the shoemaker for stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. His name quickly became synonymous with expertise and quality, and his eye for innovation – he invented the platform wedge for Judy Garland, for example – coupled with supreme craftsmanship and comfort kept the stars coming back, year after year.
Today the house has grown to encompass bags and ready-to-wear, yet this fundamental truth remains – everything Ferragamo creates must be comfortable and built to last.
Case in point, the Vara ballerina pump, very much an essential in many a woman's “forever” wardrobe since 1978. Featuring a low, chunky heel, rounded toe and finished with a grosgrain ribbon and metal hardware, the style has been subtly reworked by Davis in inky velvet for a dash of indulgence. The new T-Strap Pump – already a bestseller – is in blood red, and with an architectural cigarette heel, that mixes sensuality and power without compromising comfort.
“This is a 9cm heel, but because of the study of the anatomy of the foot and the way weight distributes between the front and the back, it's actually very comfortable,” explains James. “You can walk on it all day.”
With decades of know-how, the company can make subtle adjustments before the manufacturing stage to make all the difference between a shoe that restricts the foot to one that cups it to perfection. This stems from knowledge built up by the founder and his nephew, Jerry, over decades.
“Jerry Ferragamo worked for 10 years with Salvatore and retired just a couple of years ago, at the age of 93,” says James. “He dedicated his life to the study of the foot and the last.” The last – a carved wooden facsimile of the foot – is the basis of every shoe and, as such, must be anatomically exact, or the resulting shoes will never fit properly.
With the new boutique lined with shelves holding delicate pumps, sandals, flats and boots, the expertise is there to see. “The shoes you see here have about one hundred different fits. We have 18 different lengths, and four different widths,” explains James.
Thanks to this, and the knowledge of how feet tend to differ in proportions around the world – Middle Eastern feet, for example tend to be shorter and wider, while Northern European feet are long and narrow – Ferragamo is able to fine-tune products for each region long before they come to market. With so many variables in construction that must also be addressed before any shoe goes into production, there is a lot for the brand, its designers and its craftspeople to consider.
“It's not easy,” says James. “It is complicated, but it's something we've been doing since the 1930s, so let's say we've passed over the experience curve. But this is why Ferragamo shoes are comfortable.”
Today, the factories combine artisanship and the latest technology that enable a sketch by Davis to be made into a 3D prototype in just three hours, allowing the team to understand how a new idea will work in real time.
Such tech is not just limited to shoes, either. The new Hug bag, for example, is a feat of technical prowess, that is taking the market by storm. Deceptively simple, it appears cut from one piece, with the fastening straps wrapping the bag in a gentle embrace. Clever thinking such as this are not lost on the Middle Eastern market, James notes. “For a brand to be here is to be on the cusp of innovation.”
Regionally, there is a “sensitivity to exclusivity” and an appetite for novelty that makes for a demanding yet dynamic market. “Part of the storytelling of what we do and how we make it relevant to a customer who, as always, wants novelty, wants innovation, is what makes the Middle East so important.”
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
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Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Long Shot
Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan
Four stars
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
if you go
Scores in brief:
Day 1
New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38
Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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SPECS
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Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
