Beyonce certainly knows how to up the ante, be it in the realm of music or fashion.
For her Renaissance tour, which kicked off in Stockholm in May, the Run the World singer has been taking to the stage in a parade of custom-made outfits.
Far from a standard wardrobe made to survive a gruelling five-month tour, Beyonce's seemingly endless display of show-stopping looks has delighted fans.
Calling on some of the biggest fashion houses in the world, Queen Bey has performed in Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Valentino, Loewe and Schiaparelli.
The French house of Balmain, headed by Olivier Rousteing, has also created multiple looks for the high-octane performer, including a shaggy silver coat and a futuristic corset in quilted red leather, as well as a bodysuit seemingly made from metal.
Dutch designer Iris van Herpen – best known for creating laser-cut pieces that are more sculpture than fashion – created an ethereal look complete with shimmering wings.
Designers in each city she is performing in have also been asked to summon up an outfit. In London the likes of David Koma and Mary Katrantzou stepped up, while in Marseilles, France, it was the turn of Simon Porte Jacquemus.
For the latest leg of the tour, in Detroit, she turned to none other than Pharrell Williams, the newly installed head of menswear for Louis Vuitton. Having created a catsuit made in the Vuitton Damier check for Beyonce, this is William's first major fashion moment since his debut in June.
Beyonce sat front row at the show, which shut down central Paris, used a bridge as the catwalk and had Jay Z perform an impromptu gig.
With each look custom-made for Beyonce, most tap into her signature style of bodysuit with long boots.
But there have been some delightfully unexpected outliers. Jewellery house Tiffany & Co created a look made from draped gold and silver chains, while Hong Kong label Robert Wun made a minidress out of a pinstriped suit jacket, trimmed with flounced ruffles.
Italian designer Del Core's offering came with a long cape covered in thousands of green crystals, while the American house of Carolina Herrera made a bodysuit with a giant red hood. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson reworked a dress from the autumn / winter 2022 collection, by wrapping a crystal-strewn bodysuit in embroidered gloved hands.
Even Elie Saab and Georges Hobeika were asked to conjure up bespoke looks, with Saab opting for fragile, draped beads, while Hobeika crafted a catsuit from silver beading that twisted around Beyonce's legs.
As well as being a musical bonanza, the tour highlights how much Beyonce loves fashion.
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.”
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
