Some of the founders behind Creatives for Lebanon: Sarah Baadarani, Ahmad Ali Swaid, Noor Fares, Carolina Issa, Sabine Getty and Emilie Kareh. Instagram / Creatives for Lebanon
Some of the founders behind Creatives for Lebanon: Sarah Baadarani, Ahmad Ali Swaid, Noor Fares, Carolina Issa, Sabine Getty and Emilie Kareh. Instagram / Creatives for Lebanon
Some of the founders behind Creatives for Lebanon: Sarah Baadarani, Ahmad Ali Swaid, Noor Fares, Carolina Issa, Sabine Getty and Emilie Kareh. Instagram / Creatives for Lebanon
Some of the founders behind Creatives for Lebanon: Sarah Baadarani, Ahmad Ali Swaid, Noor Fares, Carolina Issa, Sabine Getty and Emilie Kareh. Instagram / Creatives for Lebanon

Fashion

Creatives For Lebanon: How Sabine Getty and friends are helping rebuild Beirut's creative community

Some of the country's biggest names in publishing, fashion and design have teamed up on a non-profit initiative

Sarah Maisey

October 15, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

When an explosion ripped through Beirut on August 4, killing more than 190 people, it also laid waste to much of the infrastructure of the city. Whole sectors were reduced to rubble and, with them, the hopes and dreams of countless small business owners that helped give the city its unique energy.

Beirut inhabitants are now facing an uphill struggle to rebuild their shattered lives, able only to rely on one another and NGOs for support. With many designers situated in the downtown region shattered by the blast, the Lebanese creative industry in particular has been left reeling.

Now, a new initiative has been set up to offer support to that industry.

Called Creatives For Lebanon, it is the brainchild of 10 of the country's biggest names in publishing, fashion and design, and aims to spur the wider Lebanese community to lend support.

The list of founders reads like a who's who of the industry, encompassing jewellery designer and Tatler editor-at-large Sabine Getty and Caroline Issa, chief executive and fashion director of Tank magazine.

Also involved is Plastik magazine founder Eli Rezkallah, and fashion designers Sarah Baadarani and Racil Chalhoub. Jewellery designer Noor Fares and curator Petra Palumbo, too, helped establish the platform, together with Dazed magazine's head of content Ahmad Swaid, stylist Emilie Kareh and luxury PR Alissa Kobeissi.

Committed to helping rebuild the shattered creative sector in Beirut, it aims to do so by “launching long-term impact initiatives” to raise funds and awareness.

With a mission to “leverage the power and potential of the Lebanese diaspora to support and rebuild the creative sector in Lebanon", already it has joined forces with Art For Beirut and Sotheby’s for an online sale entitled #DonateCreateParticipate, sending much-needed funds to organisations on the ground.

Another such project already launched is Beirut Re-Store, a virtual shop offering donated works by, among others, designers Craig Green, Martine Rose and Loewe’s creative director, JW Anderson, as well as artwork by Jamie Hawksworth, Harley Weir and Gavin Turk.

All proceeds will go to verified Beirut charities.

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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

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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.”

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

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