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The people who make the things, the places and the arguments worth reading about.
Say hello to Gigi Hadid’s kid sister, whose dreams of riding at the Olympics were shattered by Lyme disease. Now she’s following in her sister’s footsteps and fast becoming a belle of the fashion circuit. Sisterhood – not in the feminist sense – has become something of an Instagram fixa…
At last year’s Davos World Economic Forum, John Defterios caught up with the Managing Director and CEO of King Abdullah Economic City, Fahd Al Rasheed, so we could learn more about their 100 billion USD megaproject in Saudi Arabia that’ll one day span an area the size of Washingto…
You could say Yves Saint Laurent started it all in the 1960s with his Le Smoking but Racil, an elegantly honed London-based label launched last year by Lebanese fashion designer, Racil Chalhoub, takes the rebellious female tuxedo as a starting point, and then reinterprets it with a char…
OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), co-founded by Dutch architectural titan and theorist, Rem Koolhaas, has produced as many world-famous architects as it has world-famous buildings. The latest to join the fray is Syrian-born, Iyad Alsaka, partner in charge of the Middle East. I…
Many of us romanticise the lives of writers, that is, until we try being a writer ourselves. It was the Slovenian philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Zizek who said that writing is a form of self-torture, which immediately brings to mind those incredibly frustrating moments of writ…
Balmain’s latest men’s collection is both chic and decidedly sexy, a kind of hip-hop street culture meets high-society sophistication. And, it pulls it all off. With its thoughtful masculine look, it mixes up different styles without losing any of the brand’s signature refinement or att…
When it comes to Arab titans of business, we’re all familiar with the Ghosns, Slims and Hayeks of this world. I would assume you’re also aware of others like Lubna Olayan and Nemir Kirdar. You may even know that Steve Jobs is among our greats given that he was the biological son of a Sy…
Not everyone is fortunate enough to gain access to the inner sanctum of the Patek Philippe world. For those who do, it becomes ever so clear how this prestigious brand has attained its eminent status. Standing in front of the Patek Philippe Manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates in Geneva, I ad…
Collaborating with such designers as Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, The Rug Company, spearheaded by Suzanne and Christopher Sharp, do not make modern rugs per se. Rather, they make beautifully handmade traditional ones that embrace a contemporary aesthetic. It isn’…
His work may divide opinion but there’s no disputing that Richard Rogers is one of the most influential architects of our time. Still, at 81 he admits he “can see an end coming” and has changed the name of his firm from Richard Rogers Partnership to Rogers Stirk Harbour+Partners so that…
Considering it’s only fifteen years younger than Cartier, it’s amazing that the Lebanese, family-owned jewellery house of Tabbah is not more widely recognised. Of course, this has much to do with the nature of their business – quietly creating one-off haute joaillerie, often for interna…
Chopard is a family-run business in the midst of a generational handover. Despite this evolutionary yet also potentially disruptive transition, things are much the same with a steadfast commitment to a long-term vision rather than short-term gains. And with sales hitting an all-time hig…