It is possible that I'm alone in this, but the fashion at the 2021 Golden Globes left me a little ... unenthused.
It was a night that held much promise, almost a return to normality. Yes, much of it was taking place in the stars' living rooms via Zoom, but there was also a flock of A-list names attending ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City. We had something akin to a red carpet for the first time in almost a year.
But what we were served was a series of sub-par prom dresses, some of which looked like they were plucked from a 1999 sale rack, not the finest haute couture created for Hollywood's A-list, in my humble opinion.
There was a saving grace, however – the men. Boy, oh boy, did the boys bring it, style-wise.
Schitt's Creek's Dan Levy was a ray of sunshine in yellow Valentino. Styled by Erica Cloud, we had texture, colour blocking and sparkle, care of his sequins and metallic shoes. Ever the professional, Levy, a vision in chartreuse, set up a photoshoot backdrop in his home for the ceremony.
Golden Globes ambassador Jackson Lee, the son of director Spike Lee, wore Gucci to walk the NYC red carpet. The statement look consisted of a double breasted robe-like jacket, decorated with the brand's Grottesco jacquard, a satin lapel and a Time's Up badge.
As with Levy's look, there was plenty of texture to enjoy, as it was styled over a wool mohair vest. It managed to feel timeless and vintage, but incredibly modern all at once.
Also in Gucci was Jared Leto, who is known for a far-from-conventional approach to red-carpet dressing. Appearing from home, the Oscar winner wore a camel-coloured suit, complemented with an orchid brooch and grey shirt.
The oversized flower brooch and flared trousers could have veered into clown territory on many, but Leto's indubitable sartorial confidence ensured he pulled it off without looking like a court jester.
Josh O'Connor, who plays a young Prince Charles in The Crown, also brought some fun and games to the ceremony with a striking custom Loewe look, designed by Jonathan Anderson.
O'Connor seems to be attending the Harry Styles School of Red Carpet Fashion, and I am delighted to see it. With a cravat, statement collar and wide-fit trousers, the look is a debonair departure from a top-to-toe black tux.
That is not to say that all-black is always boring, as Sacha Baron Cohen proved. The award winner was styled by Ilaria Urbinati, wearing a custom three-piece suit with a black shirt by Dolce & Gabbana.
Keeping it similarly sharp but simple, Justin Theroux wore his trademark skinny-fit trousers and Chelsea boots, paired with a velvet tuxedo jacket to attend the awards in person from New York.
We were treated to colour from One Night in Miami ... and Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr, who threw the rulebook out the window with a list of contrasting shades. Somehow he made a chocolate brown Valentino suit, neon-green turtleneck and pale pink shirt work effortlessly.
There were numerous stars sat at home whose full looks we did not get a chance to see, sadly.
Four guys who would have been looking sharp from head to toe are Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega, Eugene Levy and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, all of whom were only seen sitting.
Winning Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, Kaluuya was sat in front of a bookshelf, wearing a navy jacket with contrast stitching, but his bottom half was left a mystery. Best Supporting Actor in a TV role winner Boyega wore cream colour-blocked Givenchy up top and Abdul-Mateen II looked sharp in a powder-blue Paul Smith jacket. Levy kept it characteristically sharp in a well-tailored grey suit and shirt.
My style MVP on the night had to be Riz Ahmed. The Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama-nominated actor had the balance between at-home slouch wear and sharp tailoring perfected, care of a relaxed, pinstriped Celine suit, styled with bright white high-tops.
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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