This year may have shattered plans for many, including would-be brides, but one of the region's couturiers is channelling a message of optimism through his newest designs.
Michael Cinco, the Filipino designer who lives in Dubai, has unveiled his latest bridal collection, entitled The Impalpable Dream of Hope.
The designer, who has dressed the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce, has crafted an exquisitely embroidered line of gowns for autumn / winter 2020, with many employing his signature use of volume and detail.
Scroll through the gallery above to see more of Michael Cinco's bridal collection.
From dramatic ruffled trains to the most delicate of embroidery, each dress is set against a backdrop of fiery orange florals, like an ethereal phoenix rising from the flames.
In the shoot photographed by Rozen Antonio, Cinco gave a nod to the times we live in, teaming up with Perla Bridal to create an embellished, couture face mask.
The accessory, however, was only crafted for the photo shoot, and is not available as part of the collection.
Cinco is known for his ornate wedding dresses, including the bespoke bridal gown he created for crystal heiress Victoria Swarovski in 2017.
The gemstone-speckled design, complete with a six-metre train and lace embellishments, weighed in at 46 kilograms, with a value of more than $1 million (Dh3.67 million).
"It's more expensive than the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress," Cinco told The National last year.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
