The great and good of the fashion world will turn out dressed to the nines on Monday night for the Met Gala, one of the industry's biggest events.
Designers have been on overdrive, creating one-of-a-kind pieces for the event, while stylists pull in every favour to secure the “it” look for their celebrity clients.
The annual event is essentially a fund-raiser for the Costume Institute – the fashion and textiles arm of the Metropolitan Museum in New York – and is themed around the corresponding exhibition, for which the gala acts as the opening night.
This year, it's called The Garden of Time.
The exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, is far from being about the Disney fairy tale – it is a more oblique discussion of the fragility of clothes, nature and ultimately life itself.
Drawing from the institute's huge archive, curator Andrew Boltan has unearthed pieces that stretch back decades, some even centuries, to map the passage of time.
Pieces on show will include an Elizabethan bodice from the early 1600s – almost too fragile to be handled – and an evening cape by Charles Frederick Worth from 1889, which has tulips woven into the fabric.
This year's show will be split into sections – Land, Sea and Sky – which will journey through delicate, historical items to contemporary pieces.
The burning question is, what will people wear? The most obvious route is for guests to dress for a garden party – decked in florals and trailing foliage.
The last haute couture shows in Paris revealed many gala-apt pieces. Case in point is Valentino, which referenced florals as a giant ruffle top with a simple tweed pencil skirt; and Simone Rocha, the guest designer at Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture, who created an all-black look covered in tiny flowers at the end of long stems.
Elsewhere, the haute couture offering from Maison Margiela offers a darker take, with a collection that is almost troubling yet utterly beautiful – perfect, then, for this theme. Built around the undesirables of 1950s Paris nightlife, the collection is filled with vintage-looking pieces that are artfully distressed and undone, for a fragile, human feel.
For guests who want to explore the darker side of the exhibition, vintage Alexander McQueen, designed by the man himself, would also be a good place to start. With an exquisite fascination with the macabre, Lee McQueen often referenced death and decay, such as in his autumn/winter 2006 collection that featured headpieces made from dead birds.
For a prettier, more light-hearted take, the spring/summer 2009 collection by Dolce & Gabbana ended with a parade of pastel gowns smothered in fabric flowers, while the recent spring 2024 haute couture by Giambattista Valli also focused on flowers – now realised as great puffs of floral taffeta.
Those able to source vintage Christian Lacroix will be on to a winner, with the brand's rich references to historical figures such as Marie Antoinette – and her violent demise. Vivienne Westwood, too, has reworked the corsetry of old, turning it from a symbol of female restriction into a powerful statement of emancipation.
Joining fashion editor Anna Wintour as co-chairs this year will be Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth. With Zendaya already well known for her daring dress sense, we can expect a sartorial showdown with that other fearless style maven Rihanna.
With the Diamonds singer also boasting a reputation for bringing the drama, and for making late, spectacular entrances, we are in for a treat, roses or otherwise.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
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“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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Rating: 2/5
Movie: Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster 3
Producer: JAR Films
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangda Singh, Kabir Bedi
Rating: 3 star
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