If you were one of the 1.2 million people who visited the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition during its sell-out runs in London and New York, you will have seen – perhaps unknowingly – the work of Shaun Leane.
A close friend and long-time collaborator of McQueen, Leane worked alongside him on every fashion show from 1996 to 2010. As a trained jeweller, it was Leane who created bespoke pieces of adornment for the runway, helping to bring the fashion designer’s vision of twisted, gothic splendour to life.
Now, for the first time, Leane is auctioning more than 45 pieces from his own collection. The sale, entitled Couture Fashion Jewellery – The Personal Archive of Shaun Leane, is being held in conjunction with Sotheby's in New York on December 4, with prices ranging from US$2,000 to $400,000 (Dh7,346 to Dh1.5 million).
With this sale comes the unique opportunity, from November 30, to get an up-close look at the craftsmanship of the pieces that have graced runways, fashion magazines and the arms and necks of figures such as Isabella Blow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss and "The Honourable" Daphne Guinness. For any historian of fashion, these jewellery pieces are truly deserving of the accolade "iconic", coming as they do from a unique period in British fashion history, where creativity was inextricably wedded to impeccable execution, from the cut of the clothes, to the precise curve of the jewellery.
In a unique partnership, Leane and McQueen, with Sarah Burton, worked side by side for 17 years, each helping to push the others to achieve more. It started in 1992, when Leane met the then young fashion student born Lee McQueen, who was doing his master's in fashion design at Central Saint Martins. At the time, Leane was working as a high-end jeweller – having served an apprenticeship as a goldsmith, before progressing to making tiaras and necklaces for the royal heads of Europe.
Joined by a shared attention to detail and having started work young (both at 16, Leane as an apprentice, McQueen in Saville Row), the two struck up a bond. The following year, when McQueen graduated, he visited Leane in his studio, and asked him to make some pieces for his fashion show. Confronted by McQueen's uncompromising vision, Leane found himself far outside his comfort zone. Used to working in precious metals and diamonds for monied clients, Leane was instead tasked with producing avant-garde designs for free.
Lacking funds to buy the gold Leane was used to working in, McQueen suggested he find alternative materials. From this sprang Leane's experimentation with brass, silver and aluminium, which were cast, cut, moulded and soldered. The resulting headpieces, jewellery and body pieces were a total reimagining of jewellery, what it represented and how it interacted with the body.
In turn, Leane declared to Dezeen magazine in 2015 that "Alexander McQueen changed fashion and I changed jewellery".
Their first collaboration was for McQueen's Hunger spring/summer 1996 show. Leane created the Tusk Earring, comprising a single, elegant curve from the ear – a shape he would reference many times. For McQueen's Overlook autumn/winter 1999 show, Leane created the Coiled Corset, a sculptural body piece of bands of aluminium wrapped around the female torso. Encasing sensual curves in rigid metal, it stretched from jaw to hip, sealing the wearer inside a rigid sarcophagus that was fastened closed with screws. Seemingly light and airy, it carried all the contradictions McQueen was drawn to, and his obsession with the underbelly of life. Leane has included this piece as part of Sotheby's sale, and it is engraved with the date and names of both designers. It has an estimate sale price of between $250,000 and $350,000.
Another piece in the sale is Skeleton from the Untitled spring/summer 1998 collection. Leane constructed this as a skeletal, metallic spine, casting it from aluminium; its ribs encase the body, while the vertebrae continue down and swing out as a tail. Featured on the runway, in American Vogue and the touring exhibition, the body piece also has an estimated sale price of between $250,000 and $350,000.
Impressed by his work with McQueen, stylist Blow asked Leane to create a piece that encapsulated his aesthetic. As the woman who discovered McQueen, Blow is known to have a keen eye for talent, and she encouraged Leane to blend traditional jewellery techniques with creativity. The resulting Tusk Anklet in silver, made in 1997, has a reserve price of between $10,000 and $15,000.
In keeping with McQueen's recurring themes of beauty and aggression, Leane also began working with fashion doyenne Guinness on a bespoke metallic glove. Muse to John Galliano and then Karl Lagerfeld, Guinness has been intrinsically linked to the world of fashion for many years, so when she asked Leane to create her a piece, he agreed. Taking more than five years to complete, the Contra Mundum evening glove (Latin for "against the world") is an armour-inspired arm piece, set with about 5,000 pavé white diamonds shaped into birds, on chain mail made from a thousand grams of 18K white gold. It extends almost to the elbow, and features silver-clawed fingertips, inlaid with diamond nails.
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Read more:
A global guide to 2017’s best fashion exhibitions
Alexander McQueen’s Box Bag draws inspiration from antique luggage cases
From Vuitton to Dior: a history of art collaborating with fashion
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Also included in the sale is the Crown of Thorns, a headpiece from the Dante autumn/winter 1996 collection. A coil of spiked metal that wraps around the head, it is estimated to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000. A matching arm piece, which snakes up the arm and appears to piece the ear, is estimated at between $30,000 and $50,000.
It is fair to say that this is not just a body of work going under the hammer; rather, it is perhaps a way to pay tribute to the man Leane described as his mentor. “I believe that the collection represents a level of creative freedom that has no parallel today,” Leane says, “and a time when jewellery, performance art and fashion fused as one. I see the auction as answering the questions these objects put forward when I began creating them: is it art? Is it fashion? Is it jewellery? Its destiny now is to do the job it was designed to do: to inspire and provoke.”
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30:
- UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
- Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
- Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
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.”
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
