• The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August
    The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August
  • Sandra Mansour
    Sandra Mansour
  • The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores
    The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores
  • The jewellery in the collection: Sandra Mansour names each of her collections, and the Sandra Mansour x H&M collaboration is entitled “Fleur du Soleil” after the way a sunflower follows the sun from day into night
    The jewellery in the collection: Sandra Mansour names each of her collections, and the Sandra Mansour x H&M collaboration is entitled “Fleur du Soleil” after the way a sunflower follows the sun from day into night
  • The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August
    The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection features muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August
  • The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection is made up of muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August
    The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection is made up of muted and earthy tones and will be available at ae.hm.com as well as in selected stores from 6 August

Fashion

Beirut-based Sandra Mansour creates line with H&M: the first Arab designer to do so

'I want to talk to women around the world by sending a message of hope, something we really need right now'

Nyree McFarlane

July 17, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Beirut-based designer Sandra Mansour is producing a diffusion collection with Swedish high-street powerhouse H&M, making her the first Arab designer ever to do so.

In the past two decades, H&M have produced lines with Stella McCartney, Lanvin, Sonia Rykiel, Erdem, Versace, Alexander Wang and more. But it has never worked with one of the many prominent Arab designers that are regulars on international runways, until now.

Masour's range will be in selected stores from Thursday, August 6 (it will also be available at ae.hm.com).

The range traverses a strictly muted palette of mushroom greys, ivory and black. Expect dresses enhanced with ruffles and layers, blouses and skirts, as well as a tailored blazer and a printed T-shirt and hoodie.

Mansour named the collection Fleur du Soleil after she became fascinated with the way a sunflower follows the sun from day into night. That inspiration can be seen in dot, floral and sunflower motifs throughout the designs.

"Poetry and painters inspired the selection of fabric – the dark laces, jacquards, and embroidered organza," Mansour adds of her inspiration. "With the Fleur du Soleil collection, I want to talk to women around the world by sending a message of hope, something we really need right now."

A design from Sandra Mansour's main label (not the H&M collaboration):

Female artists such as Toyen, Dorothea Tanning, Lena Leclercq and Bibi Zogbé are said to have been of particular inspiration to her for the collection. Zogbé is a Lebanese artist known for her paintings of florals.

Mansour started her eponymous label in 2010 (having worked with Elie Saab in the past). And while the designs are available internationally from Farfetch to Harrods, every piece from her high-end collection is made in her atelier in Beirut.

She is incredibly inspired by painters (that was her original career goal), and is known for her hand and thread embroidery. This craftsmanship is particularly apparent in her bridal line, which produces both collections and custom pieces. Princess Ekaterina of Hanover wore one of her bespoke dresses at her wedding in 2017.

The gown took 10 months to create, and honed in on Ekaterina's Russian heritage:

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Saudi National Day
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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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