Giorgio Armani could claim some big wins at the Oscars the designer dressed Jessica Chastain and Quvenzhane Wallis.
Chastain, in a glistening copper-tone strapless gown with mermaid hem, looked like an old-world glamorous movie star, especially with her oversized vintage Harry Winston diamond earrings and bright red lipstick. "I chose it because to me it was a throwback to old Hollywood," she said.
Meanwhile, she told E!: "It's a very `Happy birthday, Mr. President' dress."
Naomi Watts wore a gunmetal beaded gown with a geometric cutout on the bodice, also by Armani. She and Chastain were both considered fashion "gets" for the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Quvenzhane, with a silver headband in her hair and carrying her puppy purse, wore an Armani Junior navy-blue dress with black, navy and silver jewels scattered on the skirt and a big bow on the back. She supposedly has another Armani dress, a pink one, ready for the afterparty. "I liked it because it was sparkly and puffy."
Dior Haute Couture dressed Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron - both are spokesmodels - and they both hit it right in white. Lawrence was the belle of the ball in a white-and-pale pink strapless gown with fitted bustier and poufy hemline, sophisticated pulled-back hair, diamond-ball earrings and a delicate long necklace that hung down in the back. Theron was sleek in an angular strapless dress with a fashion-right peplum and a buzz-cut hairdo.
Christos Garkinos, longtime red-carpet watcher and owner of Decades vintage store in Los Angeles, predicted the "Who wore Dior best?" battle will be a big part of the next-day Oscars buzz. Also worth mentioning, he said, were the post-50s actresses such as Jane Fonda and Sally Field not shying away from bold dress choices. Fonda wore a taxicab yellow Versace, and Field was in bright red.
Jennifer Aniston kept up the tradition of Valentino's special brand of Hollywood red, wearing a strapless princess gown. Amanda Seyfried's metallic halter dress by Alexander McQueen with a keyhole opening was three months in the making, and Halle Berry said she trusted Donatella Versace to dress her like the Bond girl that she has been on the big screen. She ended up in a silver beaded-and-black gown with long sleeves and V neck.
Stacy Keibler's Naeem Khan silver-and-black gown had a flapper vibe. Jennifer Hudson's shiny, second-skin blue Roberto Cavalli almost looked like an animal print.
Anne Hathaway's blush pink Prada dress, seemingly sweet but with a strategically open back and sexy sides, said she made her choice only a few hours earlier. "It fit my mood and place where I'm at right now," she said.
Kristen Stewart had on an even paler blush gown; hers a hand-beaded strapless with tulle inserts by Reem Acra.
Jennifer Garner chose a violet-colored Gucci with cascading ruffles in the back. She said on ABC, "I save up all my fashion for red-carpet events." Her 200-carat diamond-and-dark platinum necklace from the Neil Lane archives was a big statement.
Beaded gowns had a strong presence, worn by Sandra Bullock, in a fully embroidered Elie Saab; Renee Zellweger, in sleek Carolina Herrera; and Adele in Jenny Packham. Catherine Zeta-Jones was statuesque in an all-gold Zuhair Muhad. Queen Latifah's white V-neck tank dress by Badgley Mischka had a lot of sparkle on the straps.
Salma Hayek's midnight-blue velvet Alexander McQueen gown had a gold embellished collar, and she carried a gold skull box clutch.
Helen Hunt wore a little bit of her conscious along with her blue column gown. It was from fast-fashion retailer H&M. She chose it because it was both accessible and because the company has launched a substantial green initiative. She did wear it, however, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of borrowed jewels.
For the men, the trend was beards, with George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones, among them.
FROM THE BLOGS
• From our Fashion blog All Dressed Up find out who we thought were the Oscars 2013: best and worst dressed
• From our Lifestyle blog Scene&Heard recap how Alex Ritman witnessed the night's events with our Academy Awards live blog
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
A Round of Applause
Director: Berkun Oya
Starring: Aslihan Gürbüz, Fatih Artman, Cihat Suvarioglu
Rating: 4/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
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
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
Results:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 (PA) | Group 1 US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
Winner: Goshawke, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) | Listed $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Silva, Oisin Murphy, Pia Brendt
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) | Conditions $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
Winner: Golden Jaguar, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) | Group 3 $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Oasis Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Escalator, Christopher Hayes, Charlie Fellowes
Age 26
Born May 17, 1991
Height 1.80 metres
Birthplace Sydney, Australia
Residence Eastbourne, England
Plays Right-handed
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$5,761,870 (Dh21,162,343.75)
Wins / losses 312 / 181
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
The specs
Powertrain: Single electric motor
Power: 201hp
Torque: 310Nm
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Battery: 53kWh lithium-ion battery pack (GS base model); 70kWh battery pack (GF)
Touring range: 350km (GS); 480km (GF)
Price: From Dh129,900 (GS); Dh149,000 (GF)
On sale: Now
Specs: 2024 McLaren Artura Spider
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
WE NO LONGER PREFER MOUNTAINS
Director: Inas Halabi
Starring: Nijmeh Hamdan, Kamal Kayouf, Sheikh Najib Alou
Rating: 4/5
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
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