Think international Lebanese fashion, and Paris comes to mind: the extravagant couture of Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, the glamorous French-speaking classes of Beirut, the luxe, groomed, immaculate style common to the lunching ladies of both cities.
Ostensibly, the womenswear of the Levant designers - all embellishment, lace and yard upon yard of silk chiffon - is anathema to the understated style of the US. Yet many years ago, Beirut-born Reem Acra nailed her colours to New York's mast, convinced that the city was a good match for her own designs.
"I've been in New York since 1983. I first came to school here and then went to Paris and studied there and I felt some affinity to New York," she says backstage at Lincoln Center, half an hour before her Autumn/Winter catwalk show begins. "I felt it blended with my personality much more, although I speak French and I have a very French-cultured background; I decided New York was my way of thinking."
In the past few years, with celebrities from Jennifer Lopez to Halle Berry wearing her gowns on the red carpet, she has been proved correct, and the 2012 Golden Globe awards saw a phalanx of Acra-wearers, including Madonna and Lopez. "Red-carpet is hard work, but it pays off at the end," she says. "Dressing Madonna on her award day was just something else."
It's not only in her choice of international forum that she is a pioneer within Lebanese fashion: she's also the only really established female designer from Beirut (though there are young designers in waiting, thanks to the city's vibrant fashion scene), and it's clear that, hidden beneath a tiny figure and gentle manner, she is a woman with grit.
"I came on my own to New York, not knowing anyone and decided I was going to make it. And I did," she says. If that sounds boastful, it certainly doesn't come across as such in person: she's simply stating a fact, perhaps revealing the straight-speaking personality that chimes so well with the East Coast attitude, and softening her words with an excited smile. "You never know your future, but I had a big feeling about New York."
It's no surprise, then, to hear her describe her new collection as being "about power in a feminine way; it's about empowering women with their careers. It's a celebration of all women."
Yet character aside, it takes something more to run a successful fashion business in one of the most competitive markets in the world, and her willingness to modernise her home-city's high-octane glamour is what stands her in such good stead for red-carpet events in the US. "New York showed me that simplicity is part of the game," she says. "I brought some things from my culture, of course - that oomph, that sensuality - but I also made it simple by understanding how another culture works."
The collection Acra revealed on Monday encapsulates that approach, beginning with streamlined, body-fitting leather dresses, with contoured waistlines, wandering through chic little suits and frivolous flapper dresses in beaded chiffon, and ending with the fabulous evening gowns she is known for, all gold sequins, ruffled silk satin and sultry silhouettes.
Most importantly, it is exquisitely proportioned: after all, no one wants to look chunky, droopy, bulgy or stocky in red-carpet photos that could appear around the world. "This collection gives amazing shape, cinching the waist to the extreme, and giving the hips some room, giving a beautiful shape that makes a woman powerful yet sexy," she explains.
This is stuff that will work from LA to Abu Dhabi, and indeed she has what she calls "a huge market in the Middle East", besides her large Lebanon store. For all that she is now, in essence, a New York designer, she regularly visits the region and absorbs its cosmopolitan influences.
"I am from downtown Beirut, and I have a house there; I love it, and of course it's such a powerful country in fashion and in lifestyle and in the nightlife as well, so that does influence me. I go back often, and I keep and eye on lots of customers and lots of friends down there."
The Acra empire, in fact, is beginning to look beyond occasion dressing and beyond America and the East, with a recent initiative to sponsor equestrian dressage events, not only bringing the designer closer to a European audience but also helping to make the name synonymous with something more than beautiful gowns.
Nevertheless, for a designer who barely covers daywear, let alone sportswear, it seems a peculiar match. What could have prompted it?
"Before I came to New York I started to take equestrian classes, and then it all got cut off abruptly and I had to come here," she says. "Since then I thought one day I'm going to do something with it, and I figured out a way of being part of this world."
One of her clients, Princess Haya of Dubai, is president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) - "she's just amazing", says Acra with a warm smile - but it is the elegance of dressage (a sort of equestrian choreography) that appeals to the designer.
"Dressage blends with me; I love to dance, I love ballroom dancing and dressage blends with my personality. It's beautiful," she says.
Keep an open mind: Acra has proved her instincts should not be dismissed lightly.
artslife@thenational.ae
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
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3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
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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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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
