Ten facts about tattoos
1) The word ‘tattoo’ is derived from the Tahitian word ‘tatau’, meaning to mark. ‘Tat’ refers to tapping the tattooing instrument into the skin; ‘au’ to the cry of pain from the person being tapped.
Intelligent luxury
Sustainability is the buzzword in luxury today. Blind and wasteful consumption has lost its lustre, with everyone from established fashion designers to important luxury hotel groups making glamour and a good conscience highly compatible. Sustainability has a two-fold significance – it sugg
Staying power
Words are just as much a form of fashion as the latest offerings from Milan or Paris. They’re also just s much prone to being consigned to the dustbin of history or to be reminisced over while sharing a coffee with a friend. Terms like ‘dork’, ‘hip’, ‘rad’, ‘whack’, or ‘groovy’ have fallen
Smoke and Mirrors: Confronting the Middle East's Smoking Epidemic
Smoke and mirrors A recent report has shown that smoking tobacco is the world's leading cause of death and disability the world over, yet here in the Middle East we have the highest rates of smokers of any region in the world. We put forward the motion that smoking is still cool, and then
Cool Hand Tom: Fashion Icon Tom Ford on His First Dubai Store
Tom Ford, far and away the most exciting man in fashion, is opening his first Middle East outlet in Dubai, with venues planned for Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi and Lebanon. The polite Texan talks to Bespoke.
Bella figura
Even though just 50 years ago, Italy had no fashion industry to speak of the country is now the capital of wearable cool. With an unrivalled ability to produce high quality apparel in luxurious fabrics, the Made in Italy label commands an enduring and widely understood cachet.
Vivek Premachandran
Dubai, UAE An award-winning, modern artist Vivek Premachandran, aka UBIK, is a self-taught graphic designer and graffiti-inspired artist currently making waves in Dubai. Where did you get the tag ‘UBIK’ from? Philip K Dick’s novel, UBIK. I love the idea of ubiquity. How did you become an a
Social quandary
Social networking may fast be taking over the Internet but it’s a divisive past time: you either love it or hate it. Have these sites ever been remotely cool, or are they something you just can’t live without - however much you might like to?
Tomorrow’s woman
Asma al Assad of Syria is no ordinary First Lady. Bespoke talked to one of the most influential women in the Arab world: a surprisingly down-to-earth and approachable woman with some very determined ideas.
Illustrations: Gina Abou Hamad
Cool locks [WOMAN on one page] 1940s Inspired by the late 1940s this chic look is perfect for a classy night out. It’s usually styled with an off-center/ side part, which used to be the fundamental aspect of the look. Over the years, however, hair appliances improved, enhancing styles such
Sound Archivist: Walid Itayim and His YouTube Trove of Rare Music
His strongly-held convictions led him to believe that immortalising his music was more important than commercialising it, Walid Itayim has recorded his own brand of blues-based rock that almost sounds like something fresh out of 1973.
Cultural Vanguard
For a person who admits that as a child, she didn’t much care for history, the winner of Bespoke’s Ultimate Legacy Award, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammad al Khalifa has done an outstanding job to ensure the preservation and promotion of her native Bahrain’s cultural heritage.