Al Ahsa is often described as an oasis, a place of water, agriculture, and generosity rising from the desert. But for photographers Mohammad Alfaraj and Latifa AlBokhari, it is also a place shaped by time’s quiet pressure, by rituals that soften, traditions that thin, and moments that vanish almost as soon as they appear.

Mohammad describes the emotional atmosphere of the region as one shaped by an awareness of impermanence. “By default, you have that feeling that everything is slowly fading or going away,” he says. “And the people celebrate everything fully because they understand that.” He calls it a kind of “joyful morbidity,” where joy and loss are not opposites but companions, where “the funerals are as celebratory and communal as the weddings.”

Latifa’s connection to Al Ahsa is rooted in return rather than constant presence. Growing up, she visited frequently with her family, forming what she calls “some of my favorite core memories.” What stayed with her was not only the landscape, but the way people inhabit it. “The nature of Hassawi people molded the way I see and interact with others,” she says, recalling elders telling stories and poems, and being surrounded by farms, water, and family. “It makes you appreciate everything around you, and see a story in everything and everyone there.”

Words/Soraya Durand

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Artist, Witness, Archivist

Both photographers resist being defined by a single role. Latifa sees her practice as existing somewhere between presence and preservation. “I feel like I am a little bit of all three,” she says. “I’m witnessing so many changes around me, where traditions and rituals I grew up with are fading away, and as a photographer I’m documenting them fully aware that those will be archives for the future.”

Mohammad frames his role in more tactile terms. “A scavenger,” he says, describing his approach to photography. “Someone who searches, finds, and collects, but in an inclusive way. To document, archive, and bear witness to the land, people, animals, plants, stones, and objects.” His archive is not limited to human life alone. It extends to the entire ecology of Al Ahsa.

For both, the act of photographing is less about capturing a perfect image and more about remaining present long enough for something honest to reveal itself.

The Everyday

Latifa is drawn to what history tends to overlook. “Monumental moments are mostly documented,” she says. “They’re rarely lost. But those quieter, intimate moments are easily forgotten and taken for granted, even though they hold more continuity and feel more real.”

Mohammad’s lens follows a similar logic, but through rhythm rather than stillness. Lately, he has been documenting the daily choreography of the city and surrounding villages. “In the morning, farmers go to the farms, students to schools, people to their jobs,” he says. “Everyone is like a bird, waking up and chattering, looking for what’s theirs in this life. And by the afternoon, everyone goes back to their nest.”

Latifa places these moments within a rapidly changing visual landscape. “Change is happening so fast in Saudi,” she reflects. “It is visually changing right in front of us. The best way to preserve what we see around us is through images or videos.”

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Discover the whole story in JDEED 12..

Few accessories brands have managed to maintain the same sense of excitement season after season, but Amina Muaddi continues to surprise us with each new release.

Perhaps it is because her designs never lose sight of the woman at the centre of the story. They are glamorous without feeling detached, playful without sacrificing sophistication, and always infused with a sense of confidence that has become synonymous with her name.

For Cruise 2026, Muaddi invites us into a world of colour, fantasy and unapologetic femininity. At a moment when fashion often leans towards restraint, the designer chooses joy instead, embracing embellishment, craftsmanship and a touch of escapism.

The collection opens with an electric yellow ombré flower, hand-painted in enamel and featured on the new Vittoria thong sandal. Bright, bold and impossible to ignore, the motif sets the tone for a collection that explores freedom, travel and the emotional shift that comes with stepping away from everyday life. It is a collection built around the feeling of a summer escape, one that reconnects you with your surroundings, your body and yourself.

Named after model and friend of the house Vittoria Ceretti, the Vittoria slipper is adorned with colourful enamel flower charms that feel playful yet refined. Elsewhere, leather flowers bloom across the Janis thong, while the sleek Justine slipper introduces a delicate metal toe ring finished with a Swarovski crystal. The detail is particularly noteworthy, having inspired the custom sandal Muaddi designed for Rihanna's appearance at the 2026 Met Gala.

The designer's signature Camelia motif also returns in a softer, more delicate form. The new Mini Camelia slipper arrives in gingham, coral satin and cappuccino tones, while the Camelia bag is reimagined in seasonal finishes including dramatic mint feathers. The Vittoria clutch, wrapped in pleated satin, continues the collection's romantic spirit.

Among the standout updates are new heel heights for the Juliette and Gigi styles, which now arrive in 70mm and 95mm versions following their popularity last season. Meanwhile, leopard lace and crystal mesh bring a fresh dimension to the Felicia sling, a style named after Muaddi's mother and one that reflects the personal touches woven throughout the collection.

The result is a collection that feels both optimistic and intimate. It celebrates the pleasures of dressing up while remaining deeply connected to craftsmanship. Every flower charm is hand-painted and each new hardware detail has undergone months of development, reinforcing Muaddi's commitment to creating pieces that are as considered as they are desirable.

As Muaddi herself explains, "This season I wanted to let my imagination run free and design a bubble of unabashed joy and femininity. The flower motifs, playful hardware and bold colour palette pay homage to women's sensibility and incredible power of creation."

It is exactly this balance of fantasy and precision that keeps us coming back. Every season, Amina Muaddi reminds us why she remains one of fashion's most exciting voices, and Cruise 2026 is no exception.

More on AminaMuaddi.com

The founder of Skin Deep on why beauty literacy matters more than any routine , and what it means to build a platform that puts science before the scroll.

Amina Lula is not interested in telling you what to buy. Which, in an industry built almost entirely on telling you what to buy, is a fairly radical position. The founder of Skin Deep — a platform dedicated to beauty and wellness literacy — came to this work through curiosity rather than commerce, through Clubhouse rooms during COVID lockdowns and a career in fashion that kept pulling her back to skincare, and through a growing conviction that the beauty industry was generating enormous amounts of noise and very little actual understanding. "There's real fatigue around being told what to do without understanding why," she tells JDEED. "That feedback is what informs how we build Skin Deep."

The platform she has built sits at an unusual intersection: rigorous and warm, scientific and deeply personal. It is the kind of beauty conversation you might have with a knowledgeable friend — one who has actually read the studies, who grew up watching her mother use qasil and black seed and turmeric, and who understands that both of those things matter equally.

How it started

The origin story of Skin Deep is, like a lot of the best ideas, one that emerged from a specific moment in time. During COVID, Lula and her sister found themselves on Clubhouse, drawn naturally into beauty and skincare conversations. What started as informal hosting grew into something more substantive — rooms with dermatologists, doctors, beauty industry leaders, honest discussions about ingredients and skin health and the misinformation quietly circulating through the wellness space.

"Those conversations resonated deeply, and we built a meaningful community around them. That was the moment I realized there was a real appetite for thoughtful, informed dialogue in beauty."

— Amina Lula, Founder of Skin Deep

When COVID ended and Lula found herself reassessing her career, Skin Deep felt, she says, like "the most natural extension of everything I cared about." What she cared about, and still does, is the space where culture, biology, and evidence meet in daily care — and how rarely that space is occupied with any real honesty.

On what the beauty industry keeps getting wrong

Ask Lula what she hears most from her community and the answer is immediate: confusion. Not indifference, not disengagement — confusion. People are overwhelmed, she explains, by conflicting information, product saturation, and routines that have been handed to them without context.

"One of the biggest concerns we hear is simply: what actually works? With constant new ingredients, technologies, changing regulations, and faster trend cycles, people often don't know what to trust. What was considered a 'holy grail' ten years ago may no longer be relevant or effective today."

— Amina Lula

The Skin Deep response to this is not to simplify, but to educate. "Our role isn't to instruct, but to provide clarity so people can make informed decisions that suit their context." It is a distinction that sounds subtle but changes everything about how the platform operates — the difference between being told what to do and being given the tools to decide for yourself.

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Even while building a career in fashion, skincare was never just a surface-level interest. It was something she kept returning to, questioning, testing, trying to understand beyond the usual language of beauty. The turning point came during a moment of global pause.

“My sister and I joined Clubhouse at a time when everyone was creating rooms and having open conversations, and we naturally gravitated toward beauty and skincare discussions,” she explains. “We started hosting rooms, inviting dermatologists, doctors, and beauty industry leaders, and having honest, in-depth conversations about skin health, ingredients, and misinformation in the space.”

Those conversations did not just stay conversations.

“They resonated deeply, and we built a meaningful community around them. That was the moment I realized there was a real appetite for thoughtful, informed dialogue in beauty.”

What followed was not a brand built on aesthetics, but on intention. “Skin Deep exists to advance beauty and wellness literacy,” Lula says. “We focus on understanding how products work, how practices evolve, and where culture, biology, and evidence intersect in daily care.”

It is a philosophy that quietly rejects the speed of the industry.

“We don’t chase novelty or aesthetics for their own sake. We curate products and ideas that earn their place through evidence, relevance, and long-term effectiveness.”

THE POUCH

Skin Deep's first physical product — an insulated beauty bag designed to protect skincare, fragrance, supplements, and makeup from heat and humidity — says a lot about how Lula thinks. It is not a serum or a cream or anything that requires you to trust a new ingredient. It is a functional object that solves a real problem, particularly in the Gulf.
"The design is pared back, the function is precise, and the intelligence is built in. It's about preserving product performance through thoughtful design."

— Amina Lula

To know more, see JDEED 12 in print, out late June and read more info on ThinkSkinDeep.com

There is something somewhat reassuring about brown right now. Not the brown of dated wood-panelled living rooms or that particular shade of 1970s corduroy, no. Something warmer, more considered: espresso and cocoa deepening into chocolate, lifting into caramel and tan, settling finally into the soft amber of walnut.

After years of cool, pale, endlessly grey interiors, brown turns out to be exactly what a lot of us have been craving.

Designers have been noticing the shift for a while. The move away from the icy minimalism that dominated the last decade has been gradual but unmistakable; a growing appetite for spaces that feel grounded and textured. Brown, in all its warm plurality, is one of the answers. It adds depth without heaviness, character without chaos. Layered well, it does something that grey never quite managed: it makes a room feel like somewhere you actually want to stay.

Minotti, whose work has always sat at the intersection of Italian craft and architectural thinking, is leaning fully into this shift across its latest collections. At the Minotti Dubai flagship on Beach Road in Jumeirah, the full palette is on display: warm upholstery, Canaletto walnut finishes, bronze accents and sculptural forms that together make the case for brown as the defining interior tone of this moment. We went through the key pieces.

Start with the sofa

If you are going to commit to warm tones in a room, the sofa is where it begins. The Bézier seating system — designed by Marcio Kogan of Studio MK27 — is one of those pieces that manages to be both quietly architectural and genuinely inviting at the same time. Its fluid, rounded volumes are inspired by the parametric curves developed by French engineer Pierre Bézier, and in warm upholstery tones, it anchors a living space without ever feeling heavy.

Bézier Seating System & Coffee Table

Design: Marcio Kogan / Studio MK27

The modular configuration opens into island-like compositions; generous, relaxed, made for gathering. Paired with the Bézier coffee table in light brown Canaletto walnut veneer, the composition shows exactly how brown can move through both upholstery and natural material without becoming monotonous.

The art of layering

Brown works best when it isn't asked to do everything alone. The most interesting rooms using this palette tend to layer tones — darker shades anchoring the base, caramels and tans lifting the midground, off-white or cream keeping the whole thing from closing in. The Coupé seating system by Giampiero Tagliaferri understands this instinctively. Its overlapping rounded volumes and tone-on-tone stitching are a masterclass in softness — the 1960s and 70s aesthetic reference is clear, but filtered through a lens that feels entirely contemporary.

Coupé Seating System

Design: Giampiero Tagliaferri

Rounded forms, layered volumes, understated craftsmanship, it's the kind of sofa that elevates any room.

Libra Armchair

Design: Giampiero Tagliaferri

A sculptural accent piece in leather or fabric, built from overlapping padded volumes that play with the balance between seat, backrest and headrest. Place it in a corner with good light and it becomes the most interesting thing in the room.

Where structure meets warmth

Not every piece in a warm interior needs to be soft. The contrast between rounded upholstery and more geometric, architectural forms is part of what gives the palette its tension, and its staying power. The Riley seating system by Hannes Peer brings exactly this: precise, structured, with vertical quilting that adds rhythm without decoration.

Riley Seating System

Design: Hannes Peer

Riley introduces structure where the softer pieces introduce warmth. The vertical quilting is the kind of detail you notice gradually, which we love.

Andrée Coffee Table

Design: Hannes Peer

Inspired by the facades of 1970s Milanese architecture, the Andrée pairs glazed ceramic surfaces with chrome-plated brass trims. Against warm upholstery, the reflective quality of the brass introduces just enough contrast to keep the palette from feeling heavy.

Stage Side Table

Available in Canaletto walnut-stained light brown or glossy Moka lacquer, it's a small piece that extends the palette without demanding attention.

On staying power

The question with any colour trend is always: will it last? Brown's return feels different from a passing mood. It is rooted in something more durable; a broader shift toward materiality, toward interiors that feel grounded and considered rather than aspirationally spare. Grey was always a little bit about avoiding commitment. Brown, in the way Minotti is using it, is the opposite: a deliberate choice, a room that knows what it wants to be.

That, ultimately, is what good interior design does. Not just fills space, but creates a feeling of warmth.

More on MinottiDubai.com

With everything going on, rest has quietly become the most radical form of self-care. Here's how to actually reclaim it.

Nobody is sleeping well right now. Not really. You go to bed exhausted and somehow end up wide awake at 2am, brain fully operational, replaying everything from the news to unanswered messages to that one conversation you should have had differently. It's become so common that most of us have stopped noticing it's a problem: we've just accepted this low-grade tiredness as the baseline of modern life.

But it doesn't have to be. Sleep debt is real, and so is the toll it takes; on clarity, on mood, on the body's ability to process stress. During moments when daily life feels overwhelming, quality rest isn't a luxury; it's actually the most useful thing you can do for yourself. Comments from Dr Sophie Bostock, founder of The Sleep Scientist, help us understand what's actually getting in the way — and we're looking into The White Company, whose bedroom edit is among the most thoughtful we've seen, for the objects that help make rest feel possible again.

It Starts With Consistency

Before anything else, even before the linen, the candles, the temperature hacks — Dr Bostock's most foundational advice is also the least glamorous: go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. The science behind it is hard to argue with.

"Our sleep cycle is just one of many 'circadian' or 24-hour rhythms within the body. The greater the consistency of our sleep-wake timing, the better we become at anchoring our internal body clocks so the body functions efficiently."

— Dr Sophie Bostock, The Sleep Scientist

Consistency is the anchor everything else builds on. Once that's in place, the environment aka the room, the fabric, the ritual — starts to do its work.

Dr Bostock is clear on this: a warm bedroom is one of the most underestimated enemies of good sleep (...) the ideal bedroom temperature, she says, sits around 16–18°C.

The Foundation: What You Sleep Beneath

It turns out the fabrics we sleep under matter far more than most of us realise. Natural fibres like cotton and linen regulate body temperature through the night in a way synthetics simply can't; keeping you in the narrow thermal range your body needs to reach deep, restorative sleep rather than the light, restless kind.

Symons Bed Linen Collection

Pillowcases from AED 325 · Duvet Cover from AED 1,245

1000-thread-count Egyptian cotton, finished with a double row of cording, now that's the kind of linen that turns a bed into a proper destination. For warmer sleepers, The White Company's Pure Linen Collection in EUROPEAN FLAX® offers breathable comfort year-round.

Temperature: Cooler Than You Think

Dr Bostock is clear on this: a warm bedroom is one of the most underestimated enemies of good sleep. The body needs to drop roughly 1°C to enter the deep, slow-wave sleep that genuinely restores us — and the ideal bedroom temperature, she says, sits around 16–18°C. Cooler than most of us keep our rooms, particularly in this part of the world.

The practical fix is layering lighter bedding rather than relying on one heavy duvet, so you can adjust through the night without fully waking yourself up.

Colville Matelassé Bedspread

From AED 480

Woven in Portugal from a cool cotton-hemp blend using the traditional French matelassé technique — a quietly beautiful layering piece that earns its place on the bed in every season.

The Wind-Down Ritual

The hour before sleep matters more than most of us give it credit for. Screens keep the nervous system alert — the blue light reads as daylight, the content reads as something to respond to. What the body actually needs in the lead-up to sleep is the opposite: soft light, a slower pace, some signal that the day is genuinely over.

Sleep Candle

AED 130

Lavender, chamomile, clary sage, cedarwood, these notes chosen for their genuinely calming properties. A candle that does exactly what it promises, which is rarer than it sounds.

"Light is the key cue that synchronises our internal rhythms every morning."

— Dr Sophie Bostock. Getting outside early is one of the simplest, highest-impact things you can do for your sleep tonight.

The Details That Actually Add Up

Sleep is, at its core, a sensory experience, and the small things shape it more than we tend to admit. A pillowcase that pulls at your skin, pyjamas that are a degree too warm, hair tucked in a way that creates pressure through the night: none of it is dramatic, but all of it adds up. These aren't indulgences; they're just the actual conditions of rest.

Silk Hair & Skin Beauty Pillowcase

AED 435 · Silk Skinny Sleep Scrunchies AED 130

19-momme silk that reduces friction, supports the skin's moisture balance overnight, and keeps hair intact. The kind of upgrade that, once made, you genuinely won't want to undo.

Cotton Seersucker Drop Shoulder Pyjama Set

AED 460

Lightweight, breathable, easy. The boxy drop-shoulder cut means nothing is pulling or bunching. Getting into bed in these feels like the reward a long day deserves.

Start the Morning Right

One of Dr Bostock's more counterintuitive pieces of advice: the most important thing you can do for tonight's sleep happens tomorrow morning. Get into natural daylight as early as you can. Light is the primary cue that resets the body's internal clock — without it, the whole system drifts, leaving you sluggish through the day and restless at night. Ten minutes outside before the day takes over. We live in a region with no shortage of sun — it's worth using.

None of this is a transformation, really; it's more about consistency, temperature, fabric, a candle, fifteen minutes without a screen. Small things that, together, create the conditions your body has been asking for. Right now, when everything else demands so much, sleep might just be the most worthwhile thing to protect.

The White Company is available at The Dubai Mall, in collaboration with Al Tayer. More on TheWhiteCompany.com

A few weeks ago, creator Jessi Jean who built her following in only 4 months, reportedly generated more than $1.2 million through her "Yap On Camera" challenge.

The story spread quickly online, partly because of the figure attached to it and partly because of what she had built her audience talking about in the first place: career confusion, uncertainty and the feeling that adulthood rarely unfolds according to plan.

The success of that challenge felt strangely symbolic of the moment we are living through.

For years, the internet rewarded certainty. The people who attracted attention appeared to have everything figured out. They had the perfect career trajectory, the perfect morning routine, the perfect five-year plan. Increasingly, however, the people resonating with audiences are the ones willing to admit they are still figuring things out themselves.

That shift says something about the wider culture.

For many millennials and older Gen Zs, adulthood has coincided with an almost uninterrupted period of disruption. A global financial crisis, a pandemic, inflation, rapid technological change, political instability, multiple wars, the rise of artificial intelligence and growing uncertainty about the future of work.

The result is a generation that often feels caught between ambition and unpredictability.

This does not mean people have given up on success. If anything, surveys suggest the opposite. Deloitte's latest global study found that millennials remain deeply invested in professional growth and personal development. Yet nearly half say they do not feel financially secure, while an overwhelming majority say purpose and meaning are essential to job satisfaction. Only a small percentage view reaching senior leadership as their primary career goal. The traditional markers of success are being reassessed in real time.

The Middle East adds another layer to this conversation.

Across the Gulf, there is a palpable sense of momentum. Saudi Arabia continues to transform at extraordinary speed. The UAE remains a magnet for entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals from around the world. New industries are emerging and new opportunities are appearing. Young people are participating in economic and social change on a scale that would have seemed unimaginable a decade ago.

Yet optimism does not necessarily eliminate uncertainty.

Many young professionals in the GCC are navigating rising costs of living, rapidly evolving industries and growing questions around the future impact of AI on employment. Deloitte's 2025 survey found that more than three-quarters of millennials believe artificial intelligence will significantly affect the way they work within the next year, while more than 60% worry it could eliminate jobs altogether.

Across the Levant, the conversation often feels heavier.

Questions around career progression and purpose exist alongside questions of stability, mobility and belonging. For some, uncertainty is not about choosing between two job offers. It is about deciding whether to stay in a city they love, move abroad, or imagine a future somewhere else entirely.

The past two years have only intensified those feelings. The war in Gaza, the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, economic crises across multiple countries and the broader instability affecting the region have created a backdrop that is impossible to ignore. Even for those living far from these events, they arrive daily through family conversations, social media feeds and personal connections.

Perhaps that is why so many people describe feeling exhausted despite functioning perfectly well.

Life continues. People continue to build companies, create art, get married, move cities and make plans. Yet all of it unfolds against a backdrop that often feels profoundly uncertain.

What strikes the most is that people are not responding by lowering their ambitions but they're responding by redefining them. Success is increasingly measured through flexibility rather than permanence. Through purpose rather than prestige and through the ability to adapt rather than the ability to predict.

Maybe that is why Jessi Jean's story resonated so widely. It was never really about a creator making millions of dollars online. It was about someone publicly admitting that uncertainty exists and discovering that millions of people felt exactly the same way.

Perhaps what we are witnessing is not a generation in crisis. Perhaps we are witnessing a generation learning how to build meaningful lives without the guarantees that previous generations once assumed would be there.

London has long been a city that absorbs ambition. This June, it absorbed something else entirely: the creative force of a new generation of designers from the Arab world, gathered under the banner of Fashion Trust Arabia for a week of mentorship, retail, and celebration at the very heart of the British fashion establishment.

The week opened on June 2nd with an intimate cocktail reception co-hosted by Megha Mittal and Tania Fares, co-founder and co-chair of Fashion Trust Arabia. The room at Harrods brought together a constellation of names from across fashion and culture — among them Christopher Kane, Harris Reed, Dilara Findikoglu, Hamish Bowles, Nicky Hilton, and Roksanda Ilinčić — all gathered in support of a mission that goes well beyond glamour.

"Supporting emerging talent goes far beyond visibility — it is about creating real opportunities, fostering mentorship, and helping designers build sustainable businesses."

Tania Fares, Co-Founder, FTA

That mission took on tangible form on June 5th, when Harrods — FTA's longstanding retail partner — hosted a breakfast celebrating the in-store launch of four winning collections. It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Knightsbridge institution has opened its doors to FTA's talent, a partnership that continues to offer something rare: genuine commercial access on a global stage.

This year's winners span the full breadth of fashion: Youssef Drissi's Late For Work took the Ready-to-Wear award, Ziyad Buainain claimed Eveningwear, Leila Roukni's Talel won Accessories, and Farah Radwan's FYR was honoured for Jewelry. Their collections are now available both in-store and on harrods.com, reaching an audience that is by definition international.

But the week's most lasting offering may have been the mentorship programme that ran from June 2nd to 4th — a series of sessions with voices like Emilia Wickstead, Sabrina Elba, and Kenya Hunt, covering everything from retail strategy and branding to wellbeing and creative development.

Poppy Lomax, Head of Buying at Harrods, put it plainly: the collaboration is not a traditional endorsement. "We want to not only provide a stage to showcase these incredibly deserving designers to our global clientele, but to support them through mentorship and advice as they continue to grow and develop."

Founded in 2018 as a non-profit dedicated to supporting emerging MENA designers through financial grants and international exposure, FTA has steadily built one of the most meaningful pipelines between regional fashion talent and global industry infrastructure. London 2026 is not a debut — it is a deepening. And for the designers who walked through Harrods' doors this June, the world that awaits is considerably closer than it was before.

More on Fashiontrustarabia.com

Paris got itself a new concept store, one that approaches retail not as a destination in itself, but as a starting point for cultural exchange. Launching in Le Marais this June, Jihan arrives with a proposition that feels increasingly relevant in a moment when fashion, design and publishing are becoming inseparable from broader conversations around identity, heritage and community.

Founded by Egyptian duo Mariam El Gendy with Youssef El Sayed as Director of Business Development, the project brings together a carefully curated selection of brands from across Africa and West Asia while creating a space for dialogue through film, literature, music and archival practices.

The inaugural edition, titled Chapter I, unfolds as the first installment in what the founders describe as an ongoing city-to-city narrative. Housed in the heart of Paris's Marais district, the space features a mix of established and emerging names spanning fashion, beauty, accessories, jewelry and homeware. Among them are labels including Super Yaya, Renaissance Renaissance, Paria Farzaneh, Rescha, Kotn and Kaia Olive Oil, reflecting a geographic and creative landscape that extends far beyond conventional regional categories.

Photography has always played a central role in shaping cultural memory, and Jihan's visual identity is introduced through a campaign shot by photographer Dexter Navy, whose imagery captures the project's contemporary outlook while remaining grounded in the communities and stories that inspire it.

What distinguishes Jihan from many retail concepts is its commitment to programming. Through Worldly Matters by Jihan, the founders transform the space into an active cultural venue, hosting screenings, reading rooms, listening sessions and conversations that engage with questions of memory, migration, history and creative production. The opening month includes a film screening curated by SHASHA Movies examining political and cultural shifts in Egypt, an interactive reading room with HIKMA dedicated to preserving Mesopotamian histories, a residency with STORM Books, and a listening session hosted by London-based DJ and NTS Radio resident Cheb Mimo.

The project also reflects a growing shift among a new generation of founders who see commerce and cultural stewardship as interconnected rather than separate pursuits. From its inception, Jihan has committed five percent of its profits to organizations supporting women's economic independence. For its first chapter, the platform is partnering with Egypt's Misr El Kheir Foundation, supporting women artisans through training programs and sustainable economic opportunities.

For El Gendy, whose background spans documentary and editorial photography, and El Sayed, who works at the intersection of branding and cultural strategy, Jihan feels like the natural evolution of years spent building relationships across creative communities. Rather than presenting African and West Asian creativity through the lens of trend or novelty, the platform approaches these regions as living ecosystems of ideas, craftsmanship and contemporary cultural production.

In a city filled with concept stores, Jihan's ambition is not simply to sell objects. It is to create a space where objects, stories and people can exist in conversation with one another, offering a more expansive view of what retail can become.

Cover/Mariam El Gendy

The last World Cup changed the conversation around Arab football. When Morocco reached the semi-finals in Qatar, becoming the first Arab and African nation to do so, millions of fans across the region experienced something they had never seen before.

It was more than a sporting achievement. It felt like a shift in perception, proof that Arab teams could compete with the very best on football's biggest stage.

Four years later, the region arrives at the World Cup with even greater representation. Eight Arab nations will compete across the United States, Canada and Mexico, each carrying its own ambitions, challenges and storylines. Some arrive with genuine hopes of reaching the latter stages of the tournament. Others are simply thrilled to be making history. Together, they make this one of the most exciting World Cups Arab fans have ever had the chance to follow.

Morocco: Carrying the Region's Expectations

No Arab team enters the tournament under a brighter spotlight than Morocco.

After their historic run in 2022, the Atlas Lions are no longer viewed as outsiders capable of causing the occasional upset. They are now considered one of the strongest teams outside Europe's traditional powerhouses and South America's elite. Their group stage campaign begins with a blockbuster fixture against Brazil before matches against Haiti and Scotland. While reaching another semi-final remains an enormous challenge, few teams will be eager to face Morocco this summer.

Fixtures

• June 13: Morocco vs Brazil
• June 24: Morocco vs Haiti
• June 27: Morocco vs Scotland

Egypt: Salah's Moment

For many fans, Egypt's campaign revolves around one question: can Mohamed Salah finally deliver a defining World Cup performance?

Egypt arrives at this World Cup with a squad that blends experience, emerging talent and one of the most recognisable names in world football.

While Mohamed Salah will inevitably attract much of the attention, this Egyptian side is no longer defined by a single player. Omar Marmoush has established himself as one of Europe's most exciting attacking talents, while a strong domestic core, led by players from Al Ahly and Zamalek, gives the team a level of cohesion that few national sides can match.

Having reached the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals and navigated a strong qualifying campaign, Egypt arrives in North America with ambitions that extend beyond simply participating. Drawn alongside Belgium, New Zealand and Iran, the Pharaohs will believe they have a genuine opportunity to reach the knockout stages and remind the world why they remain one of African football's most successful nations.

Fixtures

• June 15: Egypt vs Belgium
• June 21: Egypt vs New Zealand
• June 26: Egypt vs Iran

Jordan: The Story Everyone Will Follow

Every World Cup produces a team that captures the imagination of neutral fans and Jordan has all the ingredients to become that team.

Making its first-ever World Cup appearance, Al Nashama arrive after a remarkable rise through Asian football. Led by Mousa Al-Tamari, Jordan enters a group featuring Austria, Algeria and Argentina. The odds may not be in their favour, but history has shown that first-time participants often bring a unique energy to the tournament. If there is one Arab team capable of becoming everyone's second favourite this summer, it might just be Jordan.

Fixtures

• June 16: Jordan vs Austria
• June 22: Jordan vs Algeria
• June 27: Jordan vs Argentina

Algeria: A Team Built for the Big Occasion

Algeria has been handed one of the tournament's most entertaining groups.

A clash against Argentina immediately grabs attention, but the all-Arab encounter against Jordan could prove equally fascinating. The Desert Foxes arrive with a talented squad, plenty of World Cup experience and the type of passionate support that can transform any stadium into home territory. If they can navigate a difficult group, they have the quality to trouble stronger opponents in the knockout rounds.

Fixtures

• June 16: Algeria vs Argentina
• June 22: Algeria vs Jordan
• June 27: Algeria vs Austria

Saudi Arabia: Never Underestimate Them

Saudi Arabia learned in Qatar that one result can become part of football history forever.

Their stunning victory over Argentina remains one of the greatest World Cup upsets ever recorded, and while recreating that moment will not be easy, the Green Falcons have shown they thrive when expectations are low. Drawn alongside Uruguay, Spain and Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia faces a difficult road but remains one of the region's most experienced World Cup nations.

Fixtures

• June 15: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay
• June 21: Saudi Arabia vs Spain
• June 26: Saudi Arabia vs Cape Verde

Qatar: Building on Experience

Qatar returns to the World Cup with a very different perspective than it had in 2022.

Back then, the pressure of hosting weighed heavily on the team. This time, they arrive as experienced participants looking to build on what they learned during that historic tournament. Matches against Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada offer a genuine opportunity to compete for qualification.

Fixtures

• June 13: Qatar vs Switzerland
• June 24: Qatar vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
• June 27: Qatar vs Canada

Tunisia: The Tournament Specialists

Tunisia rarely receives the same attention as some of its neighbours, yet it continues to qualify for major tournaments with remarkable consistency.

The Eagles of Carthage have built a reputation as one of Africa's most resilient sides and will once again look to frustrate more fancied opponents. Their matches against Sweden and the Netherlands could produce some of the tournament's most intriguing surprises.

Fixtures

• June 14: Tunisia vs Sweden
• June 20: Tunisia vs
• June 25: Tunisia vs Netherlands

Iraq: A Long-Awaited Return

Few stories will resonate across the Arab world quite like Iraq's return to football's biggest stage.

Drawn against France, Norway and Senegal, Iraq faces one of the toughest groups in the competition. Yet for many supporters, qualification itself already feels like a victory. The opportunity to see Iraq back among the world's elite after years of challenges gives their campaign a significance that extends far beyond football.

Fixtures

• June 16: Iraq vs Norway
• June 22: Iraq vs France
• June 26: Iraq vs Senegal

The Matches You Shouldn't Miss

While every fixture carries importance, a handful already stand out as must-watch events.

Morocco versus Brazil will provide an early indication of whether the Atlas Lions can repeat their heroics from Qatar. Egypt versus Belgium offers Salah a chance to make a statement against one of Europe's strongest sides. Jordan versus Algeria guarantees an emotional all-Arab encounter, while Saudi Arabia versus Spain promises another opportunity for a giant-killing performance.

And then there is Jordan versus Argentina.

A first-time World Cup participant facing the reigning world champions is exactly the kind of fixture that reminds us why people fall in love with football in the first place.

Whether you're supporting your home nation, following your favourite players or simply looking for an underdog to adopt for the summer, Arab football will have no shortage of stories worth following over the next six weeks.

Some of the most meaningful objects are the ones that come with a story. The kind rooted in real people, real communities and a shared belief that creativity can create opportunity.That's what drew us to Nour Arida's Sorbē's latest collaboration with Creative Space Beirut and Phenomenal Women.

At first glance, it's a pouch: beautifully made, practical and designed to hold your everyday essentials. But spend a little time learning about how it was made, and it quickly becomes clear that it represents something much bigger. The project brings together three organisations that, while operating in different spaces, share a common belief in the power of education, craftsmanship and economic independence.

For many people in Lebanon's creative community, Creative Space Beirut has become one of the country's most inspiring success stories. Founded as a free fashion school, it was built on a simple but powerful idea: talent should never be limited by circumstance, social class or financial means. Over the years, the school has helped launch the careers of some of Lebanon's most promising young designers, creating opportunities that might not otherwise have existed.

The pouch was produced by Creative Space Beirut alumna Aline Seukunian and her team, a detail that feels particularly meaningful. It is a reminder that education has a ripple effect. What begins in a classroom can become a career, a business or a way for someone to support themselves and those around them.

The collaboration also shines a light on the work of Phenomenal Women, an initiative supporting women who have survived violence and sexual violence as they rebuild their lives through employment and financial independence. Their involvement adds another layer to the story, highlighting the importance of creating opportunities that extend beyond immediate support and contribute to long-term stability and empowerment.

For Sorbē, the skincare brand built by Lebanese entrepreneur Nour Arida around the idea of care, the partnership feels like a natural extension of its values.

"We believe financial independence is a right, not a luxury," reads the message accompanying the project. "It means safety, choice and dignity."

It's a sentiment that resonates particularly strongly today. In a region where many women continue to face economic and social barriers, access to education, fair pay and meaningful work remains transformative.

What we love most about this collaboration is that it doesn't position impact as an abstract concept. You can see exactly where the support goes and you can directly see the people involved: there's a clear understanding of the chain of hands behind the final product.

In an era of endless consumption, there is something refreshing about buying an object that carries genuine meaning. As the note tucked inside each pouch explains, "This is a pouch. And it carries a story of women building their own ground to stand on."

That's a story worth carrying.

Every year, Arab Cinema Week arrives as a reminder of just how rich and varied contemporary Arab filmmaking has become. While mainstream conversations around the region often remain dominated by politics and conflict, the films selected by Cinema Akil continue to reveal something far more nuanced: deeply personal stories about family, love, memory, displacement, resilience and the everyday realities that shape life across the Arab world.

Returning to Cinema Akil from June 5 to 11, Arab Cinema Week celebrates its fifth edition with a programme that feels particularly timely. Bringing together nine films from ten Arab countries, this year's selection is united by a common thread: an exploration of memory, both personal and collective, and the ways in which individuals continue to navigate identity and belonging amid social, political and emotional upheaval.

What makes this year's programme especially compelling is its strong focus on Lebanese cinema. Several of the featured films engage directly with questions that have long occupied Lebanese artists and filmmakers: how do we preserve memory in a country shaped by repeated cycles of loss, transformation and reinvention? How do we document stories that risk disappearing? And what role can cinema play in safeguarding fragments of personal and collective history?

Lana Daher's Do You Love Me? offers one answer. Constructed through more than seventy years of found footage, home movies and archival material, the documentary pieces together an intimate portrait of Beirut while simultaneously reflecting on the absence of official archives and the fragile nature of cultural memory itself. Nicolas Khoury's Souraya, Mon Amour approaches remembrance through a more personal lens, following actress and dancer Souraya Baghdadi as she revisits her life with the late filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi, one of Lebanon's most influential cinematic voices. Meanwhile, Cyril Aris' A Sad and Beautiful World brings the conversation into the present, exploring love, uncertainty and the difficult choices facing a generation attempting to build a future in contemporary Beirut.

The programme's interest in memory extends far beyond Lebanon. Across the selection, filmmakers repeatedly return to questions of inheritance, whether political, emotional or cultural. In My Father and Qaddafi, director Jihan K. transforms her search for answers surrounding her father's disappearance under Muammar Qaddafi's regime into a deeply personal investigation into grief, justice and intergenerational trauma. Zain Duraie's Sink examines the emotional strain placed on a family confronting mental illness, while Calle Malaga, directed by Maryam Touzani, reflects on ageing, autonomy and the emotional ties that bind people to places they have called home for decades.

One of the most significant aspects of this year's edition is its spotlight on Sudanese storytelling. At a time when Sudan's cultural production deserves greater visibility, both Khartoum and Cotton Queen offer audiences an opportunity to engage with stories emerging directly from Sudanese experiences. While Khartoum presents a portrait of a city navigating revolution, conflict and uncertainty through the lives of its residents, Cotton Queen follows a young girl confronting questions of tradition, development and self-determination within a rural community. Together, the films reflect the diversity of Sudanese narratives and the growing strength of its cinematic voice.

The festival's visual identity also deserves attention. Created by Lebanese artist Adra Kandil, this year's artwork feels almost cinematic in itself. Built around fragments of Beirut's past and viewed through the windshield of a moving car, the image weaves together archival references, vintage photography and urban landscapes to create a meditation on longing, displacement and return. The iconic Rivoli Cinema anchors the composition, transforming the poster into both a tribute to Beirut's cinematic history and a reflection on the role cinema continues to play in preserving collective memory.

Five years after its launch, Arab Cinema Week has evolved into far more than a film programme. It has become an important meeting point for filmmakers, artists and audiences interested in the stories shaping the region today. As Cinema Akil founder Butheina Kazim notes, it has grown into "a living archive of the region's cinematic voice," creating a space where conversations can continue long after the credits roll.

At a moment when so many filmmakers across the Arab world are interrogating questions of identity, memory and belonging, this year's programme feels particularly resonant. These are films that ask audiences to look closely, to listen carefully and to engage with the complexities of lived experience. More importantly, they remind us that some of the region's most powerful stories are often found not in grand narratives, but in the intimate details of everyday life.

More on CinemaAkil.com

To understand AMER’s latest collection, you first have to understand where it was created. Designed in Lebanon during a period marked by war, displacement and uncertainty, Bittersweet is deeply rooted in the emotional realities of everyday life.

The Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection reflects a country living between grief and hope, exhaustion and resilience, asking what it means to continue creating, dreaming and preserving identity when everything around you feels fragile.

Created by Lebanese designer Ahmed Amer, the collection explores bitterness as an honest reflection of lived experience. Fear, loss, anger and emotional weight are all present throughout the work. Yet sweetness remains there too, appearing in quieter ways through memory, connection, beauty and the determination to keep moving forward. As the designer describes it, the collection exists in the space between voice and echo, mourning and hope, erasure and remembrance.

Rather than offering escapism, Bittersweet feels like a reflection of contemporary Lebanon itself.

The collection draws from the visual language of daily life. Cigarette smoke lingering outside cafés, the ritual of coffee, olives shared around a table, rusted architecture, dark nights, shadows, tattoos and dreams all become references woven into the garments. The colour palette mirrors that emotional landscape, moving through earthy tones, deep reds, ash-like hues and shades inspired by Beirut’s streets and skies.

At the centre of the collection are poppy flowers, a symbol that carries particular significance throughout the work. Blooming across the landscapes of South Lebanon, they represent remembrance, fragility, healing and the persistence of beauty despite loss.

The motif extends beyond the clothes themselves into the accompanying imagery, developed in collaboration with Lebanese photographer and visual artist Nasri Sayegh. Together, the two creatives built a poetic visual narrative around the collection, allowing the flowers to take on multiple emotional meanings.

“Through these images, Nasri expressed his own position and emotions, playing around with poppy flowers as symbols of loss, anger, love, bitterness and sweetness,” Amer explains.

Their collaboration is rooted in a shared history that predates the collection itself. The pair first met during the Beirut revolution in 2019, a moment that shaped an entire generation of Lebanese artists, designers and photographers.

“Looking back now, I feel it was the beginning of a beautiful connection and understanding between us,” says Amer.

That mutual understanding is visible throughout the campaign. The images feel intimate and deeply personal, capturing the emotional tension that runs through the collection while leaving room for interpretation. Rather than illustrating the garments, they expand the story behind them.

Craftsmanship also plays a central role in Bittersweet. Levantine straight-stitch embroidery, patchwork and colour blocking are used throughout the collection as tools for storytelling. Layering becomes a metaphor for preservation and reconstruction, reflecting the fragmented realities that inspired the work while celebrating regional techniques that continue to be passed down through generations.

The collection itself unfolds in two chapters.

The first was developed before the war intensified, shaped by a quieter form of bitterness that had already become embedded within daily life. It speaks to emotional numbness, unanswered questions and the routines people create to navigate uncertainty. The second chapter emerged after the escalation of conflict, when displacement, loss and collective grief transformed the emotional framework of the collection entirely. What began as a personal reflection evolved into something much broader, carrying the weight of shared experience and collective memory.

What makes Bittersweet resonate is its refusal to simplify those emotions.

The collection acknowledges contradiction as part of everyday life. It understands that grief and hope often coexist. That resilience can exist alongside exhaustion. That preserving culture and identity sometimes begins with something as simple as continuing to create.

In a fashion landscape increasingly driven by speed and spectacle, Bittersweet feels refreshingly sincere. It documents a moment, a place and an emotional reality with honesty, creating space for reflection rather than distraction.

For AMER, fashion becomes more than clothing. It becomes a way of remembering, preserving and bearing witness.

More on Amer.co.lb

For years, wellness was marketed as a destination. A number on a scale. A before-and-after photo. A challenge completed in 30 days. Today, the conversation feels very different.

People are talking about nervous system regulation, recovery, sleep quality and longevity with the same enthusiasm they once reserved for calorie counts and cardio sessions. Wellness is becoming less about chasing an aesthetic and more about building a life that feels sustainable.

Among them is The Burn Room, the design-led wellness studio founded by Emirati entrepreneurs Meerah Al Matrooshi and Alia Al Mazrouei. Since opening in late 2025, the concept has introduced a new approach to boutique fitness in the UAE, combining Lagree, Hot Pilates, Hot Yoga and integrated red light therapy under one roof.

"Abu Dhabi has evolved tremendously over the past few years," the founders tell JDEED. "There is a much deeper awareness around wellness now, not just aesthetically, but holistically. People are becoming more intentional about how they move, recover and take care of themselves long term."

That evolution is impossible to ignore.

Across the UAE, wellness has become one of the fastest-growing sectors, with new concepts emerging almost weekly. Yet many continue to focus primarily on intensity, pushing harder, sweating more and chasing visible results as quickly as possible.

The Burn Room takes a different approach. "We felt there was space for a concept that blended high-performance training with recovery in a way that felt elevated, immersive and sustainable," the founders explain. "The Burn Room was created for people who want to challenge themselves, but also understand the importance of restoration and balance."

What makes the concept particularly interesting is that recovery isn't treated as something separate from the workout itself. It's built directly into the experience.

While red light therapy has become increasingly popular among beauty enthusiasts, athletes and wellness insiders for its potential benefits on circulation, recovery and skin health, The Burn Room integrates it into the training environment rather than positioning it as a standalone treatment.

For the founders, that decision was intentional.

"Recovery is often treated as an afterthought in the fitness industry, but we saw it as something equally important to performance itself," they say. "We wanted people to experience intensity and restoration simultaneously."

It's a philosophy that reflects a wider shift happening throughout the wellness world. The most forward-thinking concepts are no longer asking people to choose between performance and recovery. They're recognising that one cannot exist sustainably without the other.

"Modern wellness is becoming more intelligent, more intentional and more sustainable," the founders explain. "Red light therapy aligned naturally with our philosophy because it supports recovery, circulation, muscle repair and overall wellbeing."

For beauty enthusiasts in particular, the overlap feels especially relevant. The growing conversation around wellness increasingly recognises that healthy skin, energy levels, recovery, stress management and movement are deeply interconnected rather than existing as separate categories.

Yet perhaps the most interesting thing about The Burn Room has little to do with technology.

It has to do with mindset.

"Modern wellness is becoming more intelligent, more intentional and more sustainable,"

From the beginning, the founders never intended to create another boutique fitness studio focused solely on physical transformation: "the Burn Room was never meant to be just another fitness studio," they say. "We wanted to create a space that people emotionally connected to."

That emotional connection sits at the centre of the experience. "Movement impacts confidence, mental clarity, discipline and energy just as much as it impacts the body physically," they explain. "There is something incredibly powerful about walking into a space that shifts your mindset the moment you enter."

It's a perspective that resonates strongly with how wellness is evolving globally. Increasingly, people are seeking spaces that support their mental wellbeing alongside their physical health. "The emotional aspect of wellness was always central to the vision because we believe strength starts internally before it becomes visible externally."

That philosophy extends to the community they are building; while many fitness concepts focus heavily on performance metrics, The Burn Room's founders speak just as passionately about connection: "community and connection were always at the core of what we were building," they say. "We wanted to create a space where people feel supported, motivated and genuinely connected to one another through movement and shared experience."

They describe a culture built around consistency rather than competition. "There is something very powerful about walking into a room where everyone is pushing themselves together, encouraging each other and showing up consistently, not just for fitness, but for themselves."

Perhaps that's why concepts like The Burn Room feel particularly relevant right now: the future of wellness isn't necessarily harder workouts, stricter routines or more extreme transformations but it may simply be a more balanced relationship with movement itself.

One where recovery matters as much as performance, where strength includes resilience and where wellness becomes about creating a lifestyle people can actually sustain.

More info on Instagram, @burnroom.ae

For many Lebanese living abroad, home rarely exists as a single place. It lives in fragments, in a family photograph or perhaps in a scent that instantly transports you back to childhood.

Sometimes it exists through a familiar song playing unexpectedly in another city. A conversation, a recipe, a building, a memory. Pieces collected over time and carried across borders.

That idea sits at the heart of Moments for Lebanon, the Paris-based art and humanitarian initiative returning this June for its second edition. Bringing together artists, collectors and members of the Lebanese diaspora, the event uses art as a way to support communities in Lebanon while creating space for reflection on memory, identity and belonging.

Following a successful first edition in 2024, which welcomed around 1,000 visitors and raised €73,000 for Lebanese charities, Moments for Lebanon is once again transforming creativity into collective action. This year's edition will take place from June 5 to 7 at Galerie Au Roi in Paris' 11th arrondissement.

The exhibition, titled Fragments of Memorabilia, explores the ways in which memory shapes our understanding of home. For those living between countries, cultures and identities, belonging is often fluid rather than fixed. It can be found in objects, rituals, language, architecture, photographs and emotions that remain long after physical distance has set in.

It's a theme that feels particularly resonant for Lebanon and its global diaspora.

More than 90 artists from around the world will participate in this year's exhibition, contributing over 140 works spanning photography, painting, illustration, installation and mixed media.

Among the participating artists are names including Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Dima Srouji, Zena Assi, Tom Young, Diana Bou Salman, Yasmina Hilal and many others whose practices explore questions of place, memory and cultural identity.

The sale will also feature works by acclaimed photographers Fouad El Khoury and Rania Matar, whose work has long documented the complexity, beauty and emotional landscape of Lebanon and its people.

At the centre of the exhibition is a collective installation titled Fragments, bringing together more than 100 small-scale works into a single composition. Individually, each piece tells its own story. Together, they create a visual conversation about memory, displacement, resilience and home.

Visitors will also be able to purchase larger works, with the exhibition extending beyond the gallery through live programming and performances throughout the weekend. Following the event, the catalogue will remain available online for two additional months, allowing supporters around the world to continue contributing to the initiative.

What makes Moments for Lebanon particularly meaningful is that every artwork sold carries an impact beyond the gallery walls. All proceeds from the exhibition will support four organisations providing essential humanitarian assistance across Lebanon: Beit El Baraka, Lebanese Red Cross, arcenciel and Offrejoie.

Together, these organisations provide food assistance, healthcare, shelter, disability support, education and emergency relief to vulnerable communities affected by displacement and ongoing instability throughout the country.

At a time when headlines move quickly and attention often shifts elsewhere, initiatives like Moments for Lebanon serve as a reminder that solidarity can take many forms. Sometimes it looks like a donation, sometimes ike a photograph and sometimes it looks like a room filled with people who may live thousands of kilometres away from Lebanon but continue to carry pieces of it with them every day.

That is what we believe makes this exhibition so moving: it reminds us that memory is not passive but is something we preserve, share and pass on. Through art, those fragments become stories. Through community, those stories become action. And through collective effort, they become hope.

More on Instagram, @Moments_____forlebanon

At some point over the last few years, nail appointments stopped being simple beauty maintenance and became an entire personality trait.

Girls are planning vacation nails months in advance. Pinterest boards are filled with chrome finishes, Japanese manicures and hyper-specific shades described as things like “espresso martini brown” or “rich girl nude.” Entire TikTok feeds are now dedicated to close-up videos of hands holding matcha lattes purely to show off nail art.

And let's be real, Dubai might be one of the cities taking nails the most seriously right now...which explains why March14 Residence has developed such a loyal following among beauty obsessives in the city.

Founded by celebrity beauty expert Ruby Barreau, the space feels less like a traditional salon and more like entering the beauty girl version of a concept store. The energy inside is very “girls who save nail inspiration at 2am.”

The first thing you notice is the colour selection. There are more than 1,900 shades inside the Nail Art Theatre, which honestly feels slightly dangerous for anyone who struggles making decisions.

You walk in wanting a simple nude manicure and suddenly find yourself debating between five different versions of translucent pink while holding up your hands under three separate lighting angles.

But beyond the visual overload, what actually makes March14 interesting is the focus on healthier formulations. Every single colour inside the salon is non-toxic and created around cleaner ingredients without sacrificing performance or longevity.

And in a city where girls are getting their nails done almost religiously, that matters. The nail art itself is where things become slightly insane.

The technicians at March14 are doing the kind of detailed work that genuinely makes you question how human hands are physically capable of creating it. Tiny sculptural flowers, 3D textures, chrome finishes, delicate illustrations, dramatic extensions, Russian manicures so precise they almost don’t look real.

Some sets honestly belong framed in a gallery somewhere. And what’s refreshing is that the salon doesn’t push one aesthetic. Whether you’re the type of girl who wants barely-there soap nails or full maximalist nail art that can be seen from across the table at dinner, both somehow make sense here.

Then there’s the Catseye manicure, which has basically become the beauty equivalent of an “it girl” bag online.

If your algorithm currently consists of glossy magnetic nails moving dramatically under flash photography, March14 is probably already somewhere on your saved list. The salon has become particularly known for the trend because the technique is actually done properly. The magnetic finish looks dimensional and reflective instead of flat, which, surprisingly, a lot of salons still get wrong.

It’s the kind of manicure people immediately grab your hand to inspect halfway through dinner.

What also makes the space stand out is that underneath all the aesthetics and TikTok-worthy nail art, there’s still a genuine focus on nail health. The salon works with systems designed to minimise long-term damage and protect the natural nail, even with more dramatic sets and extensions.

Because realistically, beauty girls want both: the insane nails and healthy nail beds underneath them.

Spread across two floors, March14 Residence also includes hair, tanning, lashes and brows, alongside a private VIP level catering to high-profile clients.

But what makes the space resonate goes beyond luxury. It understands something beauty culture has become increasingly centred around: people don’t just want services anymore: they want experiences and places that feel inspiring, social and slightly escapist for a few hours.

And right now in Dubai, few places understand beauty girl culture better than this one.

More info on March14-beauty.com

At this point, most people in creative industries spend more time talking through screens than in actual rooms together, ideas happen in voice notes, networking happens on Instagram stories.

Entire friendships somehow exist only through reactions, reposts and “we should grab coffee soon” messages that never actually happen (hmmmm...guilty!) Which is exactly why OFFLINE EDITIONS_01 feels so timely right now.

Launching at gooder in Alserkal Avenue, the new Dubai-based platform is essentially asking one simple question: what happens when the region’s creatives finally put their phones down and meet in real life again?

Well the answer sounds pretty good.

Created by Sosai Events, ECHO Agency and gooder, OFFLINE EDITIONS brought together creatives, media people, founders, marketers, hospitality figures and cultural voices for a full day built around conversation, workshops and community. But unlike the overly corporate networking events everyone secretly dreads attending, this was much more plugged into how Dubai’s creative scene actually exists today.

A little chaotic, a little overstimulated, very online, slightly burnt out..and very hungry for real connection again.

“Collectively as an industry, we’ve all turned to each other in these unpredictable times in an attempt to understand how the other one is coping,” said Helena Devincenti, founder and CEO of ECHO Agency. “It was through all of these offline conversations that we ultimately realized the impact we could have by creating a common space for these conversations to be shared openly and honestly.”

That idea of honesty sits at the centre of the event. We're not talking performative networking or LinkedIn energy but actual conversations.

The programming itself reads like a who’s who of Dubai’s media and creative industries right now. Panels ranged from conversations about responsible communication and storytelling during uncertain times to discussions around hospitality, community culture and content creation in the algorithm era.

Speakers included names from GQ Middle East, Snapchat, Adidas, AB Talks, AD Middle East and more, alongside creatives and founders helping shape culture across the region right now.

What made the line-up interesting is that it feels less focused on polished success stories and more interested in the realities of building creative careers today. Between pressure, uncertainty, oversaturation and the constant need to stay visible online, it can be a lot.

All the things nobody really admits publicly but everyone discusses privately over coffee. Then there were the workshops, which felt very “cool creative girl in Dubai who owns too many Pinterest boards.”

Cake decorating with Groovy Bakes, tiled planter-making with Artful, creative direction and set design workshops with Studio Limbo, visual storytelling sessions with Rice Middle East or hosting workshops by Sosai and Yellowblock...basically, the kind of programming that makes you suddenly consider becoming “more artistic” for approximately 48 hours. The all-day activations and F&B line-up also felt dangerously tempting, with concepts including Yellowblock, Snoopy Circle, DRVN Coffee and Fynd all part of the experience.

So even if you arrived “just for one panel,” chances are you’ somehow were still there six hours later holding an iced coffee and discussing branding trauma with strangers you now consider friends.

What also made OFFLINE EDITIONS stand out is that it understands something many industries are currently struggling with. People are exhausted by constant visibility.

Everyone is producing content, everyone is building personal brands, everyone is online all the time. Somewhere in the middle of that, creativity itself can start feeling transactional instead of human. OFFLINE EDITIONS felt like an attempt to bring some humanity back into the room.

Or at the very least, remind people what eye contact feels like again.

If your ideal weekend involves iced matcha, charm bracelets, cool girl brands, ceramics, candles, Sephora touch-ups and spending way too much money on things you absolutely convinced yourself you “needed,” then clear your schedule immediately.

Because Curated Playlist is basically turning Eid shopping into a full-blown lifestyle experience this weekend.

Running from May 22 to 24 at Mihbash in Jumeirah, the latest edition of Curated Community Pop-Ins feels less like a traditional market and more like the kind of Pinterest-coded gathering every Dubai girl secretly wishes existed year-round.

Think garden pop-up meets creative sleepover energy.

Set across Mihbash’s intimate glasshouse and outdoor garden spaces, the three-day event brings together a seriously good mix of regional fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands alongside immersive workshops and community experiences designed around Eid gifting, creativity and discovery. And yes, Sephora is officially part of it this year.

Which honestly makes perfect sense considering the event already feels like a physical manifestation of every beauty girl’s saved Instagram folder.

Visitors can browse brands including Peach Jam, Naya, Little Olives, Amyrilli, Stardust, Zoyeh Studio, Anjus Fine Jewelry, Rai, Common Kin, Ethereal PJ’s and Taraash Maison among others, making it the perfect excuse to discover smaller regional brands before everybody else inevitably does.

But honestly, the workshops are where things get dangerously tempting.

There’s Palestinian ceramic painting with Crystal Cottage for the artsy girls, candle-making and live candle bars with Studio Kinza for the girls romanticising their apartments, embroidery personalisation with Lunaloom, charm workshops with Black Pearl Studio, plus Stardust’s summer pieces workshop for anyone currently trying to become “that girl” before summer officially starts.

Basically, every corner sounds like content waiting to happen.

What also makes Curated Playlist feel different from typical pop-ups is that it genuinely understands community culture in Dubai right now.

People aren’t only looking to shop anymore. They want experiences. Spaces to meet people. Things that feel personal, creative and slightly offline for a few hours. Somewhere between a market, a social gathering and a creative hangout is exactly where this event lands.

Founded by Ghalia Gharbawi and Ingy Mansour, Curated Playlist has built a reputation around supporting local creatives and emerging brands while creating experiences that feel warm, social and aesthetically addictive all at once.

In a city where everything can sometimes feel overly polished or transactional, that softer community-focused energy is probably why people keep coming back.

So whether you’re hunting for last-minute Eid gifts, looking for your next hyperfixation hobby, planning a girls’ day out or simply wanting somewhere cute to spend the weekend, this might genuinely be one of Dubai’s coolest Eid plans. Just don’t expect to leave empty-handed.

More info on Instagram, here

For a long time, conversations around Arab fashion and design were often reduced to trends, aesthetics or spectacle. Today, a new generation of Emirati founders is shifting that narrative entirely.

What makes these women interesting is not simply what they create, but the way they think. Across jewellery, wellness, floral design and lifestyle, they are building brands rooted in emotion, identity and storytelling rather than chasing formulas. Their work feels personal and layered, deeply connected to the realities of modern life in the Gulf while still speaking to a global audience.

That’s exactly why they matter right now.

Teel Floral Studio

Founded by Emirati entrepreneurs Noora Al Suwaidi and Mahra Al Balghouni, Teel Floral Studio approaches floristry less as decoration and more as emotional storytelling. Their arrangements feel sculptural, soft and highly intentional, balancing colour, texture and movement in a way that transforms flowers into something almost cinematic. In a region where luxury often leans maximalist, Teel’s quieter and more thoughtful aesthetic immediately stands out. The duo have quickly become names to watch for the way they bring intimacy and emotion into design.

More on their website, here

Gigi

There’s a reason Gigi Dubai has become one of Dubai’s most talked-about wellness spaces. Founded by Emirati entrepreneur Ghaliya Ahli, Gigi reflects the new direction wellness is taking across the Gulf, one where movement, community and design exist together. Bringing the Lagree method to Dubai, the studio feels less like a traditional fitness concept and more like a cultural space where aesthetics, energy and connection matter equally. It captures a broader shift happening across the region, where women-led wellness brands are redefining what luxury lifestyle means for a younger generation.

Discover more on their Instagram, here

LAKI by Dalia

Abu Dhabi-based designer Dalia Jeiroudi approaches jewellery with a sense of playfulness that feels refreshing within fine jewellery today. Through LAKI by Dalia, she creates highly expressive pieces built around colour, individuality and storytelling. Vibrant gemstones, bespoke details and emotionally driven designs sit at the centre of her work, reflecting a more personal approach to luxury that younger consumers increasingly gravitate toward. Her jewellery feels celebratory without losing sophistication.

Discover more on their website, here

Mariyeh Ghelichkhani

For Emirati designer Mariyeh Ghelichkhani, jewellery carries memory as much as beauty. Raised around rare gems and craftsmanship through her father’s legacy, her work feels deeply introspective and emotionally layered. Spirituality, travel and cultural immersion all shape her creative language, resulting in pieces that move beyond traditional forms into something much more fluid and soulful. At a moment where consumers increasingly seek emotional connection in what they buy, her work resonates because it feels genuinely personal.

More on their website, here

House Janolo

Living between Abu Dhabi and New York, sisters Oloof and Dujanah Jarrar bring a beautifully dual perspective to House Janolo. Their work balances boldness with restraint, softness with precision, creating jewellery that feels modern while still emotionally rich. There’s an instinctive confidence to their designs that mirrors the new generation of Middle Eastern women themselves, globally aware yet deeply connected to identity and heritage. House Janolo feels particularly exciting because it avoids overexplaining itself. The pieces speak for themselves.

More on their website, here

Kayaa Jewels

As a fifth-generation diamantaire, Aashna Sanghvi grew up inside the world of fine jewellery. But with UAE-based Kayaa Jewels, she is reshaping what that world can look like for a younger audience through her focus on lab-grown diamonds and conscious luxury. Sustainability, accessibility and modern storytelling sit at the centre of the brand, reflecting how significantly luxury consumption is shifting globally. Kayaa understands that today’s consumers still want beauty and craftsmanship, but they also want transparency and intention.

More on their website, here

TOi Fine Jewelry

With TOi Fine Jewelry, Aisha Bin Hendi is exploring what jewellery looks like in a generation increasingly shaped by wellness, technology and hyper-personalisation. Her recent fine jewellery covers for WHOOP and OURA rings perfectly capture that intersection, transforming wearable tech into pieces of personal style. Handcrafted with enamel, diamonds and precious materials, the concept feels particularly relevant in today’s world where fashion and technology continue collapsing into each other. Through TOi, Aisha is creating a distinctly modern Emirati perspective on luxury.

More on their Instagram, here

LYLA K.

There’s an architectural quality to the work of Layla Kubba that makes LYLA K. instantly recognisable. Drawing inspiration from celestial forms, Middle Eastern heritage and sculptural design, her jewellery balances strength and softness beautifully. Each piece feels intentional and emotionally charged without becoming overly sentimental. In many ways, LYLA K. reflects the broader evolution of contemporary regional jewellery itself, elegant, self-assured and increasingly global in its design language.

More on their website, here

Rosetta Fine Jewellery

Under the vision of Pooja Chordia, Rosetta Fine Jewellery has cultivated an aesthetic built around quiet elegance and timeless craftsmanship. The brand draws from both Eastern and Western influences, creating pieces that feel refined without becoming trend-driven. What stands out most is the emotional quality behind the work. These are pieces designed to hold memory and meaning rather than exist purely as status symbols, which perhaps explains why Rosetta feels particularly aligned with where luxury is moving today.

More on their website, here

Charmaleena

Saudi sisters Hala and Leena El Khereiji have built Charmaleena around emotion, storytelling and lived experience. Their designs feel intimate and deeply human, often inspired by moments of love, growth and personal transformation. At a time when consumers increasingly crave authenticity from the brands they support, Charmaleena’s emotional honesty feels powerful. The sisters are part of a wider movement of female founders across the region proving that luxury can carry both craftsmanship and vulnerability at the same time.

More on their website, here

Together, these founders represent far more than beautiful products. They reflect a generation of women reshaping the creative identity of the Gulf itself, one that feels more nuanced, emotionally intelligent and globally influential than ever before.

At this point, skincare has become exhausting. Every week seems to introduce a new acid, a stronger active, a more complicated routine, another product promising “glass skin” while somehow leaving people’s skin barriers completely destroyed in the process.

Beauty today often feels less like self-care and more like a full-time commitment. Which is probably why 'Good again' feels interesting right now. Instead of encouraging people to do more to their skin, the Lebanese-founded brand is built around a surprisingly simple idea: maybe healthier skin starts with less chaos.

Created by award-winning Creative Director Pia Haddad after more than 15 years in advertising, 'Good again' was born from observing just how overwhelmed people had become, especially in beauty. Too many products. Too many steps. Too many promises. And honestly, she’s not wrong.

As someone constantly surrounded by beauty launches, trending ingredients and endless skincare routines online, it’s hard not to notice how complicated skincare culture has become. People are layering exfoliants, serums, treatments and actives almost aggressively, often while still struggling with breakouts, inflammation and sensitivity anyway.

Pia’s perspective came from somewhere much more practical.

As a weight lifter constantly moving between gyms, long work days, stress, sweat and daily exposure to bacteria, she began paying closer attention to how overlooked hygiene and skin inflammation actually were within skincare conversations.

“We’re layering acids, serums and treatments on inflamed skin while completely ignoring one of the most obvious triggers around us,” Pia says. “Good again started from this idea that maybe better skin isn’t about doing more. Maybe it starts with keeping skin clean.”

And honestly, that feels surprisingly refreshing in today’s skincare landscape. At the centre of the brand is hypochlorous acid, an ingredient that has quietly existed for years within hospitals, wound care and dermatology clinics. Naturally produced by the human body to fight bacteria and calm inflammation, the molecule has recently started gaining traction within beauty circles, particularly among people dealing with acne-prone or reactive skin.

Pia saw an obvious gap.

“Why are we spending fortunes on skincare while ignoring the bacteria we come into contact with every single day?” she says.

Phones. Gym equipment. Keyboards. Airplanes. Hands touching faces constantly without thinking. The concept behind Good again became straightforward: good skin starts clean. Minimal formulas. Acne-safe ingredients. No unnecessary fragrance. No overloaded routines designed to overwhelm consumers into buying more products they probably don’t need.

Instead, the brand focuses on skincare that fits into actual everyday life.

The hero product, Worth the Hype, is a purifying facial spray formulated with hypochlorous acid and designed to be used throughout the day, after workouts, during travel, over makeup or whenever skin feels irritated and inflamed.

From there, the brand expanded into a full “skincare-on-the-go” system. Take the Plunge focuses on hydration through hyaluronic acid and ceramides, while Tone It Down introduces salicylic acid and PHA in a gentler, more simplified format. The entire philosophy feels intentionally anti-overcomplication.

Not skincare designed around perfection but skincare designed around functionality.

What also makes 'Good again' stand out is the tone of the brand itself. It feels self-aware, direct and refreshingly human at a time when beauty marketing often swings between sterile clinical language and impossible perfection.

Pia was very intentional about that: “I didn’t want to create another aspirational beauty brand that makes people feel bad about themselves,” she says. “I wanted to create products people genuinely use. Products that become part of their day. Products that make skin, and people, feel good again.”

Built in Lebanon by a female founder with a background in storytelling and branding, Good again feels representative of a wider shift currently happening in beauty, one where consumers are becoming less interested in excess and more interested in trust, simplicity and products that genuinely fit into real life.

And honestly, after years of skincare becoming increasingly complicated, that mindset almost feels revolutionary.

More on ItsGoodAgain.com

Living in the Gulf means accepting a few universal truths. Your hair will lose the battle against humidity. Your iced coffee will melt in approximately four minutes. And your makeup? Unless it’s genuinely built for this region, it probably won’t survive the day.

For years, beauty products marketed as “long-wear” rarely understood what women in the Middle East were actually dealing with. Forty-degree heat, endless humidity, weddings that last until 3am, outdoor events, workdays that turn into dinners, and makeup routines expected to survive all of it.

Middle Eastern women adapted because they had to. Now, beauty brands from the region are finally building products around real life here instead of expecting women to adapt to formulas created somewhere else.

And honestly, that’s what makes Asteri Beauty feel so relevant right now.

Three years after launching in Saudi Arabia, the brand has grown from an online beauty platform into one of the Gulf’s fastest-growing beauty names, with 13 retail locations across the GCC and launches inside Ulta Beauty in the UAE and Kuwait.

But beyond the expansion, Asteri feels part of something much bigger happening in beauty right now: the rise of A-Beauty. If K-Beauty became known for skincare innovation and French beauty mastered effortless chic, A-Beauty feels built around endurance.

Asteri describes it as beauty created specifically for the realities of the Middle East, products developed for diverse skin tones, extreme climates and women who need makeup to genuinely perform.

As someone who has experienced foundation sliding off her face halfway through a Dubai summer lunch, I immediately understood the assignment. The brand’s “desert-proof” philosophy might sound dramatic until you realise the products are literally tested in heat, humidity and even sauna conditions. And honestly? That feels less like marketing and more like a public service for Gulf women.

Because surviving a humid August wedding in Dubai deserves its own category of cosmetic science.

Founded by Saudi entrepreneur Sara Al Rashed, Asteri was inspired by sisterhood and a desire to create a beauty brand reflecting modern Arab women outside tired stereotypes. You can feel that perspective throughout the brand.

The aesthetic feels elevated but approachable. The formulas lean high-performance while still feeling skin-friendly. And perhaps most importantly, there’s an understanding that beauty in this region isn’t just about looking polished. It’s cultural. Emotional. Social. Sometimes even survival.

Beauty here happens at family gatherings, late dinners, weddings, airports, beach clubs, office meetings and during summer heat that honestly feels personally offensive. Your makeup needs range.

What also makes Asteri interesting is how strongly it reflects the direction Gulf beauty consumers are moving toward overall. People are asking more questions now. Ingredients matter, sustainability matter, longevity matters. Consumers want products that work, but they also want brands that feel aligned with their values.

Asteri becoming a certified B Corporation feels particularly important within that shift.

The brand focuses on vegan formulas, cruelty-free standards, microplastic-free ingredients and more conscious production without sacrificing the thing Middle Eastern women care about most: performance. Because no matter how sustainable a lipstick is, if it disappears after one iced latte, we're simply not interested.

Over the past few years, beauty trends have slowly stopped flowing in only one direction.For a long time, the region consumed global beauty trends without really seeing itself reflected in them. Now, brands born in Riyadh, Dubai and across the GCC are beginning to shape the conversation internationally too.

And really, it was only a matter of time.Because if there’s one thing Middle Eastern women understand better than almost anyone else, it’s how to make beauty last.

More on AsteriBeauty.Com

Across the SWANA music scene, there’s no shortage of talent. The region has spent the last few years producing some of the most exciting independent artists globally, musicians building loyal audiences from Beirut to Berlin, Cairo to Paris, often without the machinery traditionally associated with the music industry.

What’s been missing, however, is infrastructure. Behind the streams, sold-out shows, and viral moments sits a less glamorous reality that many artists struggle with: publishing rights, royalty collection, intellectual property, and the complicated business of actually getting paid for the music they create.

For a long time, most independent artists in the region simply learned to survive without it. Songs travelled worldwide while the people behind them often had little understanding of how publishing worked or what revenue they were entitled to collect. That’s the gap Tiny House Music is trying to close.

Founded by Lebanese artist and producer Etyen, also known as Samer Etienne El Chami, Tiny House Music began in 2019 under Thawra Records before gradually expanding into publishing, licensing, distribution, neighbouring rights, and release management.

Today, the company works with artists including Bu Kolthoum, Khansa, Blu Fiefer, Mayssa Jallad, and SANAM, while continuing to support emerging voices across the region.

This May, THM takes things a step further with the launch of its new publishing administration platform, described as the first initiative of its kind in the region specifically designed for independent music creators.

The idea is simple, although long overdue: Give artists the tools to properly register, manage, protect, and monetise their compositions while maintaining ownership of their work. The platform allows musicians and songwriters to track royalties globally, better understand where their income comes from, and navigate publishing rights without needing to decode an industry that often feels intentionally inaccessible.

This project is deeply personal;  El Chami speaks openly about spending years trying to understand intellectual property on his own after starting out independently in 2012, describing publishing as a steep learning curve that ultimately led to lost income and missed opportunities. Tiny House Music, in many ways, grew directly from that frustration.

And honestly, that experience is familiar to almost every independent artist in the region.

The SWANA scene has always had creativity and it always has always had audiences. What it hasn’t always had is the kind of support system that allows artists to build sustainable careers instead of constantly operating in survival mode.

Publishing may not sound particularly glamorous compared to touring, visuals, or releasing music, but anyone who works in the industry knows it quietly shapes everything. Ownership, infrastructure and long-term sustainability all matter and especially now, as artists from the region continue to establish themselves globally on their own terms.

Tiny House Music understands that empowering artists isn’t only about helping them release music but about making sure they can actually build a future from it.

More on TinyHouse-Music.com

There’s a specific kind of comment many Arab women grow up hearing so often that it almost becomes background noise.

“You gained weight.”
“You looked better before.”
“You should lose a few kilos before the wedding.”
“Watch what you eat.”

Sometimes it comes from relatives, sometimes from strangers. Increasingly, women say it’s even coming from doctors.

And now, with the rise of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro becoming culturally normalised online, that pressure is taking a new shape, one that many women say is quietly affecting their relationship with food, health, self-worth and even their bodies themselves.

By Cynthia Jreige

What’s perhaps most alarming is how casual these conversations have become.

Tala Fakhouri, a fitness coach who openly spoke to JDEED with permission to use her name, says the current glorification of rapid weight loss within wellness culture has started crossing dangerous lines.

“As fitness trainers, we’re supposed to represent discipline, health, balance and realistic standards,” she explains. “Not contribute to the pressure and unhealthy expectations people already struggle with every day.”

She pauses before adding something many people in the industry privately admit but rarely say publicly.

“Lately, it’s honestly disappointing to see trainers and fitness influencers jumping on GLP-1 medications as a shortcut, and it very obviously shows. Even worse, recommending or giving them to clients without proper medical supervision.”

For Tala, the issue isn’t the medication itself.

“There’s nothing wrong with it being taken as medically supervised treatment when it’s truly needed,” she says. “But as trainers, we need to stay in our lane, act responsibly and remember why we’re here. People trust us. We should be helping them build healthy lifestyles, not selling them more insecurities.”

For one woman who preferred to remain anonymous, the pressure around weight became deeply tied to her experience living with PCOS.

“Ever since I was diagnosed with PCOS and gained weight in 2021, I’ve constantly been told by my family that I’ve gotten bigger,” she says.

Initially, GLP-1 medication was prescribed medically through her endocrinologist after gaining 10 kilos due to hormonal changes linked to PCOS. But over time, she says things shifted psychologically.

“I felt pressured to maintain a certain physique. Despite working out, I always felt like I needed an extra push to stay around a size 36, which honestly isn’t realistic.”

What hurt most, she explains, was realising how much praise became tied to thinness.

“My mother praises me when I’m thinner, and it almost feels like the most important quality about me,” she says. “In our society, one of the worst things you can be isn’t a horrible person, it’s fat.”

Years later, she found herself turning back to Mounjaro before her wedding.

“I took it to lose five kilos and look slimmer, despite my husband constantly reassuring me and me actually feeling fine,” she admits. “But I still felt like I needed to be skinny for my wedding.”

And that feeling, the idea that women must minimise themselves before major life moments, feels painfully familiar across generations of Arab women. Another woman who spoke anonymously described how conversations around her body became so normalised growing up that criticism almost felt expected.

“In Arab culture, and honestly most cultures when you’re a woman, discussions about your body happen very casually,” she says. “I’ve always been criticised for my body, even when I was 58 kilos, which is 25 kilos ago.”

Despite living with PCOS and taking antidepressants that made weight loss more difficult, she says both relatives and doctors repeatedly focused on her appearance rather than her wellbeing.

“My parents constantly told me to watch what I eat, work out and lose weight,” she explains. “Doctors used to suggest Glucophage for weight loss, but over the last two years, that shifted into suggesting, or more accurately pushing, GLP-1s.”

What shocked her most was who those recommendations were coming from.

“My psychiatrist of a year and a half suggested it to me, which led me to file a complaint and change doctors,” she says. “A dermatologist once suggested it when I went in for eczema. I had literally gone there for a cream.”

At one point, she admits she seriously considered taking the medication out of desperation.

“About a year ago, I fell into a really dark place where I convinced myself I should take it because I was so unhappy with my body,” she says. “But I snapped out of it pretty quickly once I realised the side effects would probably make me feel even worse.”

What stayed with her wasn’t just the pressure to lose weight, but what that pressure implied about her value.

“The way it manifested in my head was this fear that if I didn’t lose weight, I’d be undesirable to romantic partners,” she says. “And that’s very tied to the pressure that exists in Arab families.”

Part of what makes the GLP-1 conversation so emotionally complex is that these medications can genuinely be life-changing for people with insulin resistance, diabetes or serious health conditions. Many women interviewed for this piece were careful to make that distinction.

The issue is what happens when medication slowly shifts from medical treatment into cultural expectation.

When “Have you tried Ozempic?” replaces “How are you?” When thinness becomes positioned as discipline, desirability, success and self-control all at once. And when women begin feeling guilty for existing naturally in bodies that fluctuate, soften, change or simply refuse to shrink.

Both women ultimately returned to the same message: autonomy.

“Your body is your own,” one says. “You should be able to decide for yourself, without pressure or bias, what you need and what you don’t.”

She pauses before adding something that feels radical precisely because of how simple it is.

“I’ve been trying to practice neutrality with my body. This is my body. It functions well. It’s carried me through so many experiences. How I look in a swimsuit or tight dress should not determine my worth as a daughter, friend or partner.”

And honestly, maybe that’s the conversation Arab families need to start having more often. Not how women can become smaller, but why so many grew up believing they had to.

There are very few places in the world louder than Times Square..which is exactly why Gucci choosing it as the backdrop for its latest Cruise presentation felt so interesting. Because indeed, what a challenge. How do you create intimacy, elegance, and identity in one of the most visually overwhelming places on earth?

Somehow, Gucci managed to do exactly that.

Staged directly in the middle of Times Square, GucciCore transformed the city’s endless screens and flashing billboards into part runway, part cinematic installation, part love letter to New York itself. Before the show even began, massive digital displays across the square flickered with fictional Gucci worlds: Gucci Gym, Gucci Automobili, Gucci Pets, Palazzo Gucci, Gucci Life. It felt playful, surreal and slightly chaotic in the best possible way, like stepping inside a luxury fever dream shaped by decades of pop culture and city mythology.

And honestly, it worked because New York has always been part of Gucci’s story.

The House opened its first store outside Italy there back in 1953, and according to Demna, bringing the show to the city felt like “a homecoming for the brand.”

But this wasn’t a nostalgic recreation of old New York glamour. It felt more observational than that. More human.

What made the collection compelling was the way it approached the idea of a “Gucci person.”

Instead of building fantasy characters entirely detached from reality, Demna imagined the kinds of people you’d actually pass walking through Manhattan. Stockbrokers in sharp pinstripes. Women wrapped in oversized shearling coats worn with studied indifference. Downtown skaters in slouchy denim and soft tailoring. Philanthropists in sculptural gowns. People from Madison Avenue, Harlem, Soho and Brooklyn all colliding visually the same way they do in the city itself.

“There’s a plurality of styles that intersect like the streets of the city,” Demna explained in his show notes.

That idea translated beautifully on the runway. The collection moved between sharp businesswear, dramatic outerwear, glamorous evening pieces and stripped-back wardrobe staples without feeling disconnected. Instead, it felt like watching fragments of New York life stitched together through Gucci’s lens.

And underneath all the maximalism, there was something surprisingly pragmatic happening too.

Demna described GucciCore as an attempt to create “a core wardrobe of staple pieces that form the foundation of the House’s stylistic language.”

The perfect trench. The classic business suit. The pencil skirt. The peacoat.

But of course, this is still Gucci, so practicality came layered with extravagance. Technical outerwear lined in shearling. Circular duvet stoles in monogrammed leather. Croc-effect sequins, feather embroidery, crystal fringes extending into menswear.

Even the accessories carried that tension between functionality and fantasy.

The iconic Horsebit transformed into stirrup-shaped heels on severe leather boots, while handbags arrived in rich jewel tones, worn-in patinas and oversized slouchy silhouettes that felt simultaneously luxurious and lived-in.

The feeling that Gucci wasn’t trying to escape the chaos of New York, but fully immerse itself inside it. The noise, the contradictions, the glamour, the people constantly reinventing themselves while walking the same streets.

In many ways, that’s always been what Gucci does best. It absorbs culture rather than observing it from afar.

More on Gucci.com

There’s something refreshing about speaking to Jacob Kampp Berliner, founder of Soulland, because he talks about fashion the way musicians talk about records or skaters talk about spots.

Less like an industry, more like a world you grow into through instinct, references, and community.

That probably explains why Soulland has always existed slightly outside traditional fashion systems. Since its early beginnings in Copenhagen, the brand has built a loyal following by sitting comfortably between street culture, music, art, skateboarding, and Scandinavian minimalism without ever fully belonging to one category.

“When I started, that intersection felt more instinctive than defined,” Berliner tells JDEED. “It came from where I was spending time, around music, graffiti, skateboarding and people creating things without thinking too much. Fashion was more about what the people I was inspired by were wearing and how you could dress to stand out in your own circles.”

You can still feel that energy in the brand today. Soulland never really chased the polished, inaccessible version of luxury fashion. It always felt tied to real people and subcultures, to scenes that existed before algorithms flattened everything into aesthetics.

Berliner is aware of how much that landscape has changed.

“Today, that intersection has become more visible, but also more fragmented,” he says. “Everything moves faster, and there’s a tendency for culture to become surface-level. For me, it’s still about maintaining a sense of depth. It’s not just referencing music or youth culture visually, but understanding the mindset behind it, the independence, the experimentation, the way communities form around shared ideas.”

That sense of exchange feels particularly relevant as Soulland expands into the Middle East with its first regional store in Dubai, a city Berliner seems genuinely fascinated by, not from a commercial standpoint alone, but culturally.

“Dubai is often described as a melting pot, but what interested me more is that it’s a place where different identities remain visible while still interacting with each other,” he explains. “There’s a tension between global influence and local context that feels very active here. It’s not resolved, and that’s what makes it interesting.”

Fashion brands often approach the region with a preconceived narrative, arriving with the intention of “introducing” themselves to an audience that, in reality, has long been shaping its own creative language. Berliner seems conscious of avoiding that dynamic entirely.

“I think the most important thing is to avoid positioning ourselves as something that needs to be introduced into the region,” he says. “There’s already a strong and evolving creative ecosystem here. For us, it’s about listening and understanding how that ecosystem operates, and finding ways to engage with it that feel natural.”

That openness probably comes from his own background. Before fashion became a business, it was connected to graffiti and youth culture, environments built around experimentation and self-definition rather than approval.

“Graffiti, and youth culture more broadly, is about instinct, about creating without overthinking, and about existing slightly outside established systems by creating your own reality,” Berliner says. “That mindset stays with you. We simply work from the idea of what inspires us. Nothing is impossible, that’s the mindset we start with every morning.”

And maybe that’s ultimately why Soulland still resonates after all these years. Even as the brand grows globally, there’s still a sense that it’s being shaped from inside the studio rather than inside a boardroom.

“As things grow, we’ve actually become even more focused on being in the studio, creating, and having fun,” Berliner says. “We create for ourselves, and if people connect with it, that’s great.”

He pauses before adding something that feels increasingly rare in fashion today: “Not every opportunity needs to be pursued. Sometimes it’s more important to protect the integrity of what you’re building than to expand too quickly. We’ve never been in a hurry.”

In an industry obsessed with scale, speed, and constant visibility, that might be the most radical thing of all.

More info on Soulland.com

There are hotels you stay at, and then there are hotels you settle into almost instantly. The kind where, within a few hours, you stop feeling like a guest altogether. That’s exactly what happened to us at Fanaya Hotel Jeddah.

Tucked along Jeddah’s North Corniche, perfectly positioned between the city’s calmer coastal rhythm and its growing creative energy, Fanaya feels less like a conventional hotel and more like the beautifully designed home of someone with impossibly good taste. The kind of place where every object feels considered, every corner intentional, every detail quietly curated without trying too hard.

From the moment we arrived, there was a softness to the experience. Warm lighting, earthy textures, neutral tones inspired by sand and sea, spaces that immediately slow you down after the intensity of the city outside. Even with its modern design language, the hotel still feels deeply tied to Jeddah itself. We totally fell in love with the custom carpets too - would have been a bit hard to pack one in our bags but we wouldn't have said no.

The name “Fanaya” comes from the Arabic concept of the fana’, a traditional courtyard designed for gathering, conversation, and exchange. That spirit runs through the entire property. Rather than feeling cold or overly polished, the hotel feels lived in, creative, and deeply human, a place built around connection as much as aesthetics.

Location-wise, it’s difficult to do better. The hotel sits just steps from the Red Sea and minutes from some of Jeddah’s key addresses, while still maintaining a sense of calm that feels increasingly rare.

The suites lean into apartment-style living, complete with kitchens and spacious layouts, which only reinforces that home-away-from-home feeling.  But what truly stayed with us was the atmosphere. Mornings by the water, slow coffees, evenings returning to a space that somehow managed to feel both design-led and comforting at once.

There’s also something refreshing about the fact that Fanaya is homegrown. In a region where luxury hospitality often leans heavily international, the hotel feels proudly connected to Saudi culture and Jeddah’s evolving creative landscape: art, design, architecture, community, it all comes together naturally and we're here for it.

At a time when many boutique hotels can feel interchangeable, Fanaya has personality. It has warmth. It has soul.

And honestly,  leaving was difficult; and that's how you know you'll be back.

More on FanayaHotels.com

This collab seemed meant to be. With L’Atelier Nawbar and L’Alingi, the connection feels natural, two brands with distinct visual languages meeting somewhere between object, adornment, and art.

The result is a capsule collection that treats handbags less like accessories and more like collectible pieces. Jewellery escapes the body, handbags become sculptural, and the boundary between the two begins to dissolve.

At the centre of the collaboration are the Atom Bag and Ray Bag, playful yet precise designs inspired by chemistry and the cosmos. Curved metallic handles echo the permanence of fine jewellery, transforming what could have been a simple evening bag into something far more tactile and expressive.

There’s also a strong sense of duality running through the collection. Beirut meets London. Heritage meets experimentation. Craftsmanship meets colour and irreverence.

What makes the collaboration particularly compelling is that neither brand loses itself within the other. L’Atelier Nawbar’s storytelling rooted in fine jewellery remains intact, while L’Alingi’s playful approach to bags and occasion dressing continues to shape the collection’s energy.

Instead of merging aesthetics completely, the collaboration explores transformation: jwellery becomes structural handbags take on the delicacy of precious objects meant to be worn, held, and remembered.

The colour palette reinforces that sense of escapism, bold turquoise, deep crimson, reflective metallics, shades that feel optimistic, almost cinematic.

In a moment where accessories increasingly sit at the intersection of fashion and object design, L’Atelier Nawbar x L’Alingi understands something important: people no longer just want pieces they can wear but they want pieces that set them apart.

More on Lalingi.com and LatelierNawbar.com

For Spring/Summer 2026, Sacoor Brothers approaches menswear through something more instinctive than trend forecasting: Earth. Water. Air. Fire.

Titled The Essence of the Elements, the collection unfolds through four distinct chapters, each exploring a different rhythm of dressing, from grounded tailoring and natural textures to lighter silhouettes designed for movement, travel, and warmer climates.

But beneath the concept sits a more relevant conversation about how men actually want to dress today.

Luxury, here, is less about excess and more about ease. The collection leans heavily into natural fibres, cotton, linen, refined blends, fabrics chosen not just for appearance, but for the way they behave on the body. Jackets soften, trousers loosen slightly, shirts are designed to breathe rather than constrain.

The strongest chapter might be Earth, where earthy neutrals, soft greens, indigo, and chocolate tones ground the collection in something understated but confident. Tailoring feels intentional rather than formal, reflecting the broader shift happening in menswear right now, away from strict codes and toward versatility.

Elsewhere, Water introduces fluidity through lighter constructions and nautical-inspired stripes, while Air strips things back further, leaning into pale tones, pure linens, and silhouettes that feel almost weightless.

Then comes Fire.

The collection’s Resort capsule closes the season with a more expressive energy, relaxed coordinated sets, sun-faded tones, beachwear, and tailoring designed less for the office and more for movement. There’s a noticeable ease running through it all, but the precision remains.

What Sacoor Brothers has always understand particularly well remains there this season: modern masculinity no longer exists within one setting. Today’s wardrobe moves between cities, climates, meetings, travel, and downtime often within the same day, and clothing has to adapt accordingly.

With The Essence of the Elements, Sacoor Brothers responds to that shift not through reinvention, but refinement, creating a collection that feels wearable, considered, and quietly confident without trying too hard.

More on SacoorBrothers.com

This June, Miu Miu brings back Tales & Tellers for a third iteration, this time landing in Shanghai after previous editions in Paris and New York. But calling it an “event” barely captures what it actually is.

Envisioned by Miuccia Prada and conceived by interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga, the project exists somewhere between installation, performance, cinema, and fashion. It doesn’t sit within one discipline, which is precisely the point.

Presented at the Shanghai Exhibition Center on June 6 and 7, Tales & Tellers continues Miu Miu’s ongoing fascination with storytelling, particularly the stories women tell, inhabit, perform, and reconstruct.

At its core are the films from Miu Miu Women’s Tales, the House’s long-running cinematic platform that has, over the years, invited female directors to explore femininity through their own lens. Around them orbit artistic interventions drawn from Miu Miu runway shows spanning Spring/Summer 2022 to Spring/Summer 2025, creating a layered dialogue between fashion image, moving image, and physical space.

The result feels intentionally fluid and nothing is entirely fixed. The installation evolves depending on the city, the architecture, the audience moving through it. In Shanghai, that conversation takes on another dimension entirely, unfolding within one of the city’s most historic cultural landmarks while engaging with a generation increasingly shaping global conversations around art, fashion, and identity.

There’s also a strong curatorial voice behind the project. Convened by Elvira Dyangani Ose, curator and artistic director of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, and developed alongside theatre and opera director Fabio Cherstich, Tales & Tellers approaches fashion less as product and more as cultural language.

And perhaps that’s what makes Miu Miu feel particularly relevant right now; at a time when so much of fashion is reduced to speed, virality, and endless imagery, Tales & Tellers insists on something slower. More immersive and more intellectual, even emotional.

Not just clothes to consume, but stories to step inside.

More on MiuMiu.com

I kept waking up hoping reality would feel… real again.

But every morning, the second I opened my eyes, the fear was already there. It started from minute zero of the day.

It’s hard to explain, but the world around me felt separated from me by some kind of invisible veil. Things in my surroundings almost looked artificial, like cardboard sets rather than real life. My feelings became distant too. I knew who and what I loved, but in those moments, that love felt far away, almost unreachable. I wasn’t emotionless, just numb in a way that made everything feel muted.

By Cynthia Jreige

DPDR, short for Depersonalisation and Derealisation Disorder, is a dissociative condition usually triggered by intense anxiety, chronic stress, panic attacks, or trauma. Depersonalisation creates a sense of detachment from yourself, as though you are observing your own thoughts, body, or emotions from the outside. Derealisation, on the other hand, affects the way you perceive the world around you, making places, people, and situations feel dreamlike, distant, foggy, or unreal. The terrifying part is that you still know logically that reality is real, but emotionally and physically, your brain struggles to connect to it.

It’s nearly impossible to explain DPDR to someone who has never experienced it, even to many of the psychologists and psychiatrists I turned to for help. You are inside your mind, but at the same time, you don’t fully feel there. You look in the mirror and you recognise your reflection, you know logically that it’s you, but you don’t connect to it. You look at your hands knowing they are your hands, yet they suddenly feel like nothing more than moving flesh and bones that could belong to anyone.

I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever lived through anything more isolating than depersonalisation and derealisation. Even growing up as the only obese child throughout all my school years, not a chubby kid in sight besides me, did not compare to the loneliness of DPDR. You want to scream, cry, disappear, because nothing around you feels like it could possibly make you feel better again.

What many people don’t realise is that DPDR is often the brain’s way of protecting itself after trauma. It disconnects you from the outside world because everything has become too overwhelming to process. The problem is that while your brain thinks it’s protecting you, you end up feeling trapped inside yourself.

And then comes the exhausting part: pretending. Because how do you explain to someone that you are physically present, yet mentally feel absent? That you know you are a human being, but your own identity suddenly feels abstract and unfamiliar?

Now imagine trying to run a business, attend meetings, build an empire, and continue showing up every day while deep down you feel completely detached from reality. Imagine feeling like you’re living on a movie set while anxiety paralyses you so intensely that too much noise, too much light, or too many people can make you feel like you’re about to die.

For me, it built up over years, but one major traumatic event in 2015 triggered the beginning of my DPDR experience. Today, I can thankfully say I’m almost on the other side of it, but I also know something in me changed forever after understanding what this kind of mental illness feels like. Healing took time, patience, grounding techniques, forcing myself to reconnect with reality over and over again, and above all, acceptance. Because acceptance is such a huge part of overcoming anything.

But grieving who I was and looking forward to who I am and am becoming didn't come easy; some days I still wish I was able to go back to a place where these feelings didn't exist. Because the truth is, they do come back, sometimes when something identified or unidentified triggers me. I just learnt to tell my brain that we're safe. During Mental Health Month, I wanted to share my story because God knows I prayed for answer and a community to turn to when I was in the thick of my troubles. And please no matter what you do, do NOT believe these forums that will tell you you're stuck forever. You're not.

Twenty years in, the region's most important art fair is doing something it has never done before. And entry is free.

Art Dubai turns 20 this year. And while the milestone alone would be reason enough to pay attention, what is happening at Madinat Jumeirah from 15 to 17 May isn't just a celebration but ab actual statement.

This is a special edition, modified in format, but in no way diminished in ambition. Around 75 presentations from commercial galleries, institutional participants and partners, 60% of which are drawn from the region. Free entry for everyone. And a programme that reads like a greatest hits of everything Dubai's cultural scene has quietly been building towards for two decades.

Executive Director Benedetta Ghione put it plainly: "Art Dubai's story is Dubai's story." This edition, she says, is about demonstrating the resilience of the UAE's cultural scene and the power of what happens when galleries, artists and institutions come together. Especially right now, when that role of convening feels more important than ever.

The galleries

Over 45 gallery presentations spanning contemporary, modern and digital practices, bringing together international names who have been committed to this region for decades alongside first-time exhibitors stepping into the Art Dubai family for the first time. In a move that signals genuine care for the ecosystem, this edition also introduces an innovative risk-sharing model where gallery booth costs are payable based on success. In a challenging climate for the art market globally, that matters.

The programme

This is where it gets genuinely exciting. Alongside the gallery presentations, the special edition is packed with large-scale installations, commissions, performances, screenings and daily talks. Here is what to know:

Made Forward, a major presentation from the Dubai Collection, the city's first institutional collection of modern and contemporary art, will be one of the anchors of the fair. Alongside it, the Barjeel Art Foundation brings an exhibition of modern Arab art from its collection, and the Sharjah Art Foundation contributes a performance-led programme that is worth planning your visit around.

The 20th edition of Art Dubai's flagship Global Art Forum, commissioned by Shumon Basar and titled Before and After Everything, promises to be one of the most compelling conversations of the year.

Site-responsive artworks and large-scale installations will be integrated across the entire fair, with works by Khalid Al Banna, Hashel Al Lamki, Rashid Bin Shabib and Ahmed Bin Shabib, Rami Farook, Kevork Mourad, Yaw Owusu, Neda Razavipour and Sudarshan Shetty. A moving image programme co-curated with Alserkal Avenue will be screened across both venues.

Further collaborations with Art Jameel, National Pavilion UAE at La Biennale di Venezia, Ministry of Culture and House of Arts round out what is already a remarkably full programme for three days.

Curatorial Director Alexie Glass-Kantor described the guiding thread behind the programming as "things we do together," and that spirit comes through in every part of this edition. The focus is on connection, on encounter, on spending time with work in ways that feel open rather than prescribed.

The details

Art Dubai Special Edition runs 15 to 17 May at Madinat Jumeirah, with a VIP preview on 14 May. Entry is free for all visitors. For the full participant list and programme, head to artdubai.ae.

The new limited-edition collection from HINDAMME and AlUla's Madrasat Addeera is a collaboration that feels it was always meant to exist.

Saudi fashion label HINDAMME, led by designer Mohammed Khoja, has joined forces with more than 26 artisans from Madrasat Addeera, the Arts AlUla creative centre housed in what was once the region's very first girls' school. The result is a collection of abayas and shirts that does not just reference heritage, it carries it forward in the most literal, handmade, deeply intentional way possible.

Each piece took between one and two months to complete. Let that sit for a moment in a world of fast fashion and overnight drops.

The collection draws from AlUla's more than 7,000 years of continuous human heritage, and it shows in every detail. Petroglyphs from Jabal Ikmah, AlUla's open-air library of ancient inscriptions, appear as motifs alongside illustrations of indigenous flora and fauna including the moringa plant and the Arabian oryx. The techniques are just as considered: block printing, hand embroidery, silk-screen printing and metalwork, all developed directly with the artisans whose knowledge and hands brought each design to life.

Khoja, who has been drawing from AlUla as a source of inspiration since a 2019 collection exhibited at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, describes the place as somewhere history feels alive, layered and deeply present. This collection is his way of proving that heritage is not something to preserve behind glass but something to evolve, wear and carry forward. The building itself added a layer of emotional depth he did not anticipate: knowing that Madrasat Addeera was once the region's first girls' school made the act of creating there feel charged with something bigger than fashion.

Textiles artisan Mona Al Joud, who worked on the collection, put it simply: "This collection is a letter from the people of AlUla to Saudi and the world. A lot of love, precision and intention go into each stitch and cut."

That comes through. This is slow fashion in the truest sense, not as a trend or a marketing angle, but as a genuine commitment to craft, community and the kind of beauty that cannot be rushed.

The collection is available now at Madrasat Addeera and online at madrasataddeerastore.com.

Dubai's favourite independent cinema is having a moment and the May lineup is proof. If you have not made Cinema Akil part of your regular rotation yet, this is your sign.

May's programme is the kind of lineup that reminds you why independent cinema exists in the first place: to show you the films that actually have something to say.

Here is everything happening this month.

The big screens

Michael (2026), directed by Antoine Fuqua, traces the life of Michael Jackson from his early days in the Jackson 5 all the way to his ascent as the most iconic entertainer the world has ever seen. The ambition, the artistry, the complexity behind the legend. This is the kind of film that demands to be seen in a cinema.

And yes, Miranda Priestly is back. The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026), directed by David Frankel, picks up with fashion's most formidable force navigating the collapse of the magazine industry. Former assistant Emily Charlton, now running her own luxury brand, re-enters the picture. The power dynamics have shifted. The drama has not.

The films that will stay with you

Sirat (2024), directed by Oliver Laxe, follows a father and son searching for a missing daughter across Morocco, their journey cutting through rave culture and turning slowly into something much more elemental. A test of endurance, of hope, of what love actually looks like when it has nowhere left to go.

Palestine 36 (2025), directed by Annemarie Jacir, is set in 1936 British Mandate Palestine and follows a young man navigating identity and resistance as unrest builds around him. Essential, urgent, and exactly the kind of film that Cinema Akil was built to platform.

Sentimental Value (2024), directed by Joachim Trier, reunites two sisters with their estranged filmmaker father. A quiet, aching film about memory, distance, and everything that gets inherited without being chosen.

All That's Left of You (2024), directed by Cherien Dabis, follows a mother recounting generations of displacement and trauma leading to her son's confrontation at a West Bank protest. One of the most important films on this list.

Yard Screenings for Art Month at Alserkal Avenue

Cinema Akil is also bringing three extraordinary films outdoors for Art Month at Alserkal Avenue, and this selection alone is worth clearing your schedule for.

Adnan: Being and Time (2025), directed by Marie Valentine Regan, is an expressionistic portrait of the incomparable Etel Adnan, exploring her life, art, and reflections on time and what it means to truly endure.

Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV (2023), directed by Amanda Kim, is a vibrant, joyful chronicle of the visionary artist widely regarded as the father of video art. If you have ever been moved by an installation, this is the origin story.

And then there is The Color of Pomegranates (1969), directed by Sergei Parajanov. A film that does not tell so much as conjure. A poetic, visually intoxicating retelling of the life of Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, built entirely from symbolic dreamlike tableaux. One of cinema's great works, under the open sky.

Coming soon

Arab Cinema Week returns for its 5th edition in early June 2026. Details on the programme, the souk and all activities are dropping soon. Watch this space.

All screenings and tickets at cinemaakil.com

If you have been following nour for a while, you know she does not do anything halfway. She is the kind of artist who makes you feel seen in the most uncomfortably specific way, the one whose songs you send to people without explanation because the explanation is already in the lyrics.

Her recent run of releases has been exactly that: emotionally raw and deeply honest.

So "Alo?!" hits differently. Not because it is a departure from who she is, but because it shows you a side of her that feels just as true and a whole lot more fun.

The new single is a breakup song that has absolutely no interest in being sad about it. The production is electric and playful, light in the best possible way, and carries the same carefree energy that made early nour hit "Wana" so infectious. But this is a sharper, louder, more self-assured version of that. She has grown into her confidence and it shows in every layer of the track.

The standout line says it all: "هو انت مشيت؟ طب طز فيك". Not a question or a plea but just clarity. The kind of clarity that only comes when you have genuinely stopped caring, and it feels like freedom rather than loss. Isn't that the best feeling?

That is what makes this record work. nour has always been defined by her honesty, her ability to say exactly what she feels without softening the edges for anyone. On previous releases that honesty looked like vulnerability. On "Alo?!" it looks like indifference, and she wears it just as well.

As an artist she has always existed in multiple worlds at once: the dreamy synth-pop songwriter and the high-energy DJ performing under her alias R4wlight, fusing Arabic melodies with funk, soul and dream-pop in a way that feels both nostalgic and completely of this moment. "Alo?!" lives in that same duality. It is the song for the girl who cried to the last album and is now absolutely fine, thank you very much, and dancing about it.

Not every ending needs to be heavy. Sometimes you close the chapter, put on something loud, and just move. nour just gave you the soundtrack for that.

"Alo?!" is out now, listen to it, here

The 2026 mentorship program is open for applications, and if you are a woman in music in the MENA region, this one is worth your full attention.

There is a version of the music industry in this region that looks very different from the one that exists today. More women behind the decks, at the mixing boards, in the boardrooms, in the booking conversations. HUNNA has been working towards that version since day one and in 2026, it is moving faster than ever.

The MDLBEAST Foundation has officially opened applications for the HUNNA 2026 Mentorship Program, and this year the initiative is entering what feels like its most ambitious chapter yet. Not just a mentorship program anymore, but a full platform for education, advocacy, and structural change across the regional music ecosystem. Applications are open for both mentees and mentors, which means whether you are just finding your footing or you have been in the industry long enough to bring someone else up with you, there is a place for you here.

Since launching, HUNNA has supported over 100 women across the region through mentorship, leadership courses, and industry programming. The numbers matter, but what matters more is what those women are doing now. Alumni like Haya AlHejailan, now working as both an artist and a live booking manager, Nazli Reda who went on to become a live sound engineer, and Soumaya Laghiti, artist and songwriter, are not just success stories. They are proof that the program's model actually works and that when you give talented women in this region the right access and the right people in their corner, they go on to build careers that did not previously exist here.

The 2026 edition is also introducing something new: an educational hub designed to expand access to learning, mentorship and professional opportunities at every stage of a career. Think of it as a living resource that grows with its community, where this year's mentees become next year's mentors, and the network compounds over time.

Beyond the individual, HUNNA is also stepping into an advocacy role, working directly with organisations and industry stakeholders to push for better gender balance across events, teams and the broader music landscape. This is not just about creating opportunities for women within the existing system. It is about changing the system itself.

The program's core offer includes a mentorship program, masterclasses and workshops, exchange programs and residencies, and access to a growing regional network of artists and professionals. Past mentors have included Sarah El Miniawy, cultural strategist and founder of Simsara Music, Christina Lazic, DJ and producer, Salam Kmeid, senior executive at Anghami, and Celine Hitti, Head of Artist Services MENA at Believe, the kind of people who can actually open doors, not just talk about what is behind them.

The MENA music scene is at an inflection point. The infrastructure is being built in real time, and the decisions being made right now about who gets access, who gets credited, and who gets a seat at the table will shape what this industry looks like for the next decade. HUNNA understands that, and it is one of the few initiatives in the region doing something concrete about it.

If that sounds like something you want to be part of, applications are open now.

Apply at mdlbeastfoundation.com or follow the MDLBEAST Foundation on Instagram for updates.

There’s something shifting in the way we talk about mental health. It’s no longer just about reacting when things fall apart.

It’s about building small, intentional moments into everyday life, moments to pause, to breathe, to recalibrate before reaching that breaking point; and especially in times like now when everything feels uncertain.

This May, that shift takes a more tangible form. With Mental Health Awareness Month as its backdrop, KAYALI has partnered with Calm on a global, thoughtful initiative that doesn't scream campaign.

For every purchase made on KAYALI.com throughout the month, customers receive three months of Calm Premium access, opening the door to guided meditations, sleep stories, and tools designed to support emotional wellbeing, no minimum spend, no barrier to entry.

For Mona Kattan, this collaboration feels personal. Long before it became part of a broader conversation, mental health was something she openly navigated, integrating mindfulness and self-care into her daily life.

That philosophy has always been embedded in KAYALI. Fragrance, here, isn’t just about how you smell, it’s about how you feel. It's a ritual, a mood, a moment of connection with yourself.

This initiative extends that idea further.

It's giving you permission to slow down in a world that constantly pushes you forward; to step away, even briefly, without feeling like you’re falling behind. Permission to take your mental health seriously, not just when things become overwhelming, but as part of your everyday rhythm.

And especially now: the expectation to always be available, productive, connected...leaves very little room to simply exist without purpose.

Through KAYALI Cares, the brand’s broader initiative around community and wellbeing, this partnership becomes part of a larger conversation, one that moves beyond beauty and into something more lasting.

At JDEED, this is something we believe in deeply. Mental health isn’t separate from creativity, from work, from how we show up in the world. It’s the foundation of it. And while there’s no single way to care for it, there is value in the small things, the moments of pause, the rituals we return to.

This is your reminder to let yourself breathe.

Twelve editions in, the founder of Egypt's most respected electronic music festival talks about protecting energy, building trust, and why the Arab world is only just getting started. If you have ever been to Sandbox Festival, you already know it feels different from everything else.

If you have not, you have almost certainly heard someone who has try and fail to explain exactly why. Tito El Khachab, the Egyptian producer, entrepreneur and DJ who built it from scratch in 2012, has a way of describing it that makes the whole thing feel inevitable in retrospect.

By Cynthia Jreige

"Egypt chose us as much as we chose Egypt,"

"Looking back it felt inevitable," he says. "But it was very much one step at a time. There was no grand plan. There was just a belief that if you build something real, the right people will find it and will want to connect with it."

That belief became a one-day event, then a series, then the first three-day edition in 2015, and then something that now draws over 7,000 attendees from more than 50 countries each year to El Gouna on Egypt's Red Sea coast. Twelve consecutive editions later, Sandbox is one of the most respected independent festival platforms in the world, programming artists who headline Berghain, Fabric and De School, all while maintaining full editorial and financial independence.

The way Tito tells it, none of that was accidental.

"I noted that electronic music had not found its crowd and space in this region, and that festivals with strong human connections are rare," he explains. "I wanted to build a curated, boutique gathering that grows slowly and selectively, where the crowd is as important as the lineup."

That last line is the key to understanding everything Sandbox is. In a festival landscape that often prioritises spectacle and scale, Tito has built something closer to a community, and he protects it fiercely.

"We've never grown faster than the experience could sustain," he says. "The discipline starts before anyone arrives, in the pricing, the early-bird structure, how we communicate, who from the talents we invite back, the pre-selection process. None of it is accidental. When you consistently make decisions that signal what Sandbox is about, you naturally attract people who believe in those same things, and gradually filter out people who aren't. The trust between a festival and its community is built through years of consistent choices, most of which nobody outside the team ever sees."

Part of that trust is built on what Sandbox refuses to do. No VIP sections. And on brand partnerships, Tito is equally deliberate.

"VIP sections break the thing that makes a great night possible, the communication between everyone in the room. When you separate people into tiers, you kill the energy," he says. "In this region, festivals with strong human connections are rare. If a festival is simply programmed to draw, it becomes the equivalent of a social media feed, run by algorithms. Sandbox was built as the opposite of that from day one, and that's not something we're willing to trade away."

Then there is the setting itself. El Gouna is not just a backdrop. It is part of the experience in a way that cannot be replicated.

"Egypt chose us as much as we chose Egypt," Tito says. "El Gouna gave us something no other location could, the desert, the water, and a natural, open-air environment that becomes part of the experience itself. Guests don't just attend the festival, they inhabit a place for three days. That changes everything about how people experience it."

The sound design is built around that environment too. "The stages are separated by purpose-built sandbanks, thousands of truckloads of sand sculpted each year, and so each one has its own sonic world. You can stand between two stages and hear neither bleed into the other. That level of care is what distinguishes the experience for both guests attending and also talent who look for an infrastructure that honors their craft."

On the bigger picture, Tito is measured but quietly excited about what is happening across the region right now.

"I think we are at the beginning of something rather than the middle of it," he says. "The European calendar is saturated. Artists and audiences are looking for experiences that offer something with new energy. North Africa, and Egypt specifically, offers that. The setting, the crowd, the music culture that has grown here, all of it is distinct and all of it travels internationally in a way that people are only now starting to understand. Sandbox has tried to be part of nurturing that and reflecting it back to the world. The world definitely notices."

Earlier this year, Sandbox expanded beyond Egypt with the launch of Sandbox Selects in Dubai. It is a one-day showcase format, intimate by design, and the first step in a careful global expansion that Tito insists will follow the same rules as everything else he has built.

"We are growing carefully, and we are selective," he says. "The same philosophy that has guided every decision at Sandbox applies to how we expand, gradually, on our own terms, never faster than the experience can sustain. The moment we start making decisions based on what the market wants rather than what we believe in, it's over. We're aware of that line."

Twelve editions in, that line is holding.

“It was an incredible experience. It left me inspired, energized and connected,” this is what Mariam Hattab said after Shams Club's Creative Retreat in Mexico City just earlier this year. “It was a magical time with true attention to detail. The insights were personalized, smart and intuitive.”

Mariam had come in as an entrepreneur; she began her membership with Shams Club seeking connections with other creative entrepreneur and creator founders and that's exactly what she found. 

By Halluma Seklani

As creatives, we’ve all had those aha moments. They can be small ones that accumulate over time or sometimes they come as a single revelation that reorientates everything and sets the track to all of your creative endeavours. Those moments matter and can be crucial especially in the beginning of growing something real. Kindling that spark is exactly what Shams Club Creative Retreats are all about.

"A membership to Shams Club opens the door to a community built specifically for creatives from the SWANA region and Arab diaspora, wherever they’re based"

Shams Club is a SWANA based cultural and global hub for creative entrepreneurs and creator founders. It was Co-Founded by Lena Kouri from Between East, Yasmine Rasool from WAASTAA, and Anousha from Joy Culture. The platform is a gathering ground for creatives in all stages of their careers from makers, thinkers, story tellers, artists, etc. 

A membership to Shams Club opens the door to a community built specifically for creatives from the SWANA region and Arab diaspora, wherever they’re based. Members get access to: IRL meetups where members get to meet and connect in person; creative sessions offer direct access to established entrepreneurs or founders where they can learn from the hard-won experience; Announcement feeds give the community a chance to share their work, opportunities or events; job opportunities connect members with roles and projects that actually fit a creative career; Special member discounts for brands, and so much more. With global group chats and direct DM’s where you can reach members one-to-one.

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"We built Shams Club because we wanted to fill a room of creative entrepreneurs that were similar to us. One where we can grow alongside other founders and help guide new opportunities for our new members and community. Mexico City showed us what's possible when you put the right people together, Palm Springs is us doing that again. It's somewhere our members can slow down, share their work, and leave with something real." — Lena Khouri & Yasmine Rasool, Co-Founders, Shams Club and Anousha, Founder of Joy Culture.

‍What to expect 

Here’s the rundown of everything you need to know. Running from Sunday May 31st to Wednesday June 3rd, the retreat draws 6 creative entrepreneurs from pivotal stages of their journeys to Palm Springs, California. The theme (because, let’s be real, we all love a theme) is Creative Recharge. What does that mean? This retreat is all about dialling it down, taking a step back, moving with intention and pairing that slowness with productivity and, of course, community.

You’ll begin every morning with wellness practitioner Anousha guiding the group through fascial movement and meditation. This acts as a deliberate uncrutching from the urge to doomscroll, check emails and jump straight into the day's work. Communal breakfasts follow, prepared by a private chef, to ensure you're fueled and ready to start the day. By the time the first workshop starts, the retreat has already done the most important work of turning creative strangers into colleagues and colleagues into collaborators.

The programming itself moves between learning and application. By setting a 30-60-90 day business plan, attendees can leave the retreat with a concrete roadmap that gives them clarity to actually execute when they’re back at their desks. A session on pitching led by Shams Club Co-Founder Lena Khouri, breaks down what actually makes a bid land whether for brand partnerships, investors or creative collaboration. Then an open portfolio evening where attendees can present their work to the room, to showcase their work and receive real feedback, in real time from people who get it. One to one peer sessions, pre-matched by values and goals, ran concurrently along other discussions on brand voice, operations, scaling, and so much more. The retreat closes on Wednesday with a farewell session  before an optional exploring of Joshua Tree and the wider Palm Springs area. The Shams Club crew will have staggered 30 day, 60 day, and 90 day post-retreat catch up calls with all the attendees to keep the momentum going and offer further support if needed. 

“Personally, this retreat truly shifted something for me. It gave me the chance to connect and share my art with people I truly admire and respect in such a supportive, uplifting space. The thoughtful structure and one-on-ones with each organizer offered real, tangible guidance, and time to explore Mexico City added another layer of inspiration,” says Yasmin Souza about how impactful the first Shams Club retreat was. “I’m deeply grateful for the genuine relationships that grew from this retreat. Being surrounded by creatives with shared goals and encouragement didn’t just motivate me, it shifted my perspective and how I see my own work and path forward." 

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If you are building something and you have been waiting for the right room to walk into, this is it. To find out more or apply visit the Shams Club website here: www.joinshamsclub.com/palmsprings.

A luxury jewellery house just opened its boutique doors to Emirati designers, and all you need to apply is an Instagram DM.

If you've been sketching jewellery designs in your notes app, layering your own pieces for photoshoots, or quietly building a collection that nobody outside your inner circle has seen yet... this one's for you.

House of Samra, one of the UAE's most recognisable fine jewellery brands, just announced the Emirati Talent Showcase, a proper, curated programme designed to give Emirati jewellery designers a real platform. Not a competition. Not a mood board collab. An actual vitrine inside their flagship boutiques.

"Supporting local talent is not a gesture — it is a responsibility."— Katia Samra, Creative Director, House of Samra

So, What Does This Actually Mean for You?

Selected designers get their collections showcased inside Samra's boutiques; that's Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Hills Mall, and Dubai Festival City Mall. We're talking prime retail real estate, in front of a high-end, international clientele. The kind of exposure that usually takes years to build.

The initiative is happening in collaboration with Dubai SME (Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises), which means this isn't just a feel-good campaign, there's institutional weight behind it. Think of it as a launchpad with the right people already paying attention.

This all matters now:  the UAE's creative scene has been building momentum for years, but access to premium retail space has always been the bottleneck. A luxury brand like Samra opening its vitrines to emerging Emirati talent is genuinely rare  and it signals a bigger shift in how the region's fashion and jewellery ecosystem is evolving.

For young designers who've been told to "build your following first" or "wait until you have more pieces," this is the opportunity that skips a few steps.

How to Apply

The application process is refreshingly simple: send your portfolio via Instagram DM to @samrajewellery.

That's it. No lengthy forms, no agency middleman. Just you, your work, and a direct line to one of Dubai's most respected jewellery houses.

For more information, visit samra.com or follow @samrajewellery on Instagram.

It all started when Jessica, the very cool Dubai-based Founder of Talent & Strategy Agency Imaginary Friends moved into her own space in Dubai and took us, her followers, along for every step of the decorating process; from her Facebook Marketplace finds to her custom-made furniture. I remember thinking: dang! immaculate taste.

I even subscribed to her channel, where she would share newly listed pieces on the OG Meta platform.

In a world where fishbone dining chairs and Scandi decor feel omnipresent, coming across interiors that are truly individualistic is a visual treat. We wanted to learn more about Jessica’s inspirations, as well as her do’s and don’ts.

Welcome to our first "Taste Lives Here" where we ask the coolest people to show us their interiors

By Cynthia Jreige

Photography: @jullzbek

JESS'S ID

Name: Jessica Cox
Location: Dubai
Job: Influencer Strategy and Management

When did you realize you loved interiors and decorating?

When i moved out of the family home and had a blank canvas to work with. It felt like a new opportunity to express myself.

What’s been the most fun decorating your own place?

Being creative with balancing aesthetic and function.. and also finding ways to create little luxuries for myself even in a small space.

What are mistakes you learned from?

Working with custom builders in Dubai is not for the weak...even some of the most legitimate looking ones can be scammers.
You have to have every design element confirmed in writing, with drawings - never trust that their vision is aligned with yours.  

What are the top places you looked at for furniture?

Facebook Marketplace has been my goldmine! But also La Brocante for vintage and second hand and H&M Home are some of my favourites. The CB2 outlet as well!

What’s a random purchase that you can’t live without?

Probably the waterproof bench in my shower. It has made my showers even longer but sooo much more lush.

What are some regional interior designers / architects whose work you admire?

There’s so many good ones! Omar Al Gurg's style is great. Nada Debs. Super Studio Official!

What makes a house a home?

Displaying your personality in a tasteful medium. Sometimes it’s not about screaming Eat, Pray, Love on your doormat or artwork - but creating a space that exudes hospitality, comfort and spirituality using texture, scent, subtle accessories to communicate a message.

Top 3 favourite designers?

All time is impossible to choose but i’ll give you the 3 at the top of my wishlist:

Lighting designer duo - Loney Abrams and Johnny Stanish (Wretched Flowers)

Katie Kohls' insane pebble mirrors

Whoever is behind @sidequeeste phenomenal steel work

What’s your advice to someone wanting to decorate their own home now and who’s struggling?

Nesting is a primal instinct, embrace the difficulties and use it as an opportunity to learn about yourself on a deeper level. When you make mistakes, don’t under-utilize returning items or reselling them. if you hate something - look at it as an opportunity to reinvent and refine and learn to express yourself again and again.

Follow Jess on Instagram, here

If you have been on the internet at all in the last few summers, you already know Hunza G. The crinkle. The stretch. The way it somehow looks good on every single body. We have been loyal to this brand for a few years now and honestly, we do not see that changing any time soon.

So when Burberry came knocking, our reaction was something between unsurprised and very, very excited.

The two British brands have just dropped a swimwear capsule together and it is exactly what a collaboration should be: two distinct identities that actually make sense together. Hunza G brings the fabric that made it famous, the Original Crinkle™, a textured ultra-stretch material built from more than nine million stitches per garment that manages to sculpt and support every body without ever feeling like it is trying to. Burberry brings the check, the colour palette and that very specific kind of quiet authority that only a heritage house can pull off.

The result is four signature Hunza G silhouettes — the Faye, Tyler, Domino and Devyn — trimmed in Burberry Check and offered in black, white, metallic cocoa and red. Every piece comes with a matching scrunchie, which is exactly the kind of detail that makes something go from a purchase to a whole moment. There is also a multifunctional swim skirt and tube top in the mix, because Hunza G has always understood that the best beach pieces do not stop at the waterline.

What makes this one feel special is that neither brand had to compromise to make it work. Daniel Lee described it as pieces shaped by a relationship to the elements, things you can wear in and out of the water, which is exactly the energy Hunza G has always had. And Georgiana Huddart, Hunza G's founder, put it simply: the goal was always something effortless. That is what they delivered.

To mark the launch, photographer Ryan McGinley shot Simone Ashley and Alva Claire wearing the collection somewhere that looks like a dream. Of course he did.

There is also a new seahorse motif that reimagines the Burberry Knight for the occasion, finished with the B shield and a Hunza G banner. It is on the garment bags too. The kind of thing you keep.

The collection is available now online and in selected stores worldwide. If your summer wardrobe is still missing its anchor piece, you just found it.

Now that's one collab that really makes sense to us. This April, everyone's favourite perfume brand KAYALI and everyone's favourite salon CHALK are coming together in Alserkal Avenue for a limited-time takeover and it's looking iconic.

Two homegrown brands, both rooted in Dubai, both built around community and self-expression, meeting somewhere in the middle.

And that middle space is where things get interesting.

More than a beauty appointment

Running from April 27 to May 3, the collaboration transforms CHALK into something softer, more playful, and entirely sensorial.

Hair becomes just one part of the experience. There’s scent, mood, energy. While you'd usually walk in for a treatment, now you're literally stepping into the KAYALI Eden universe, where everything is designed to feel a little more immersive, a little more personal.

At the centre of it is the layering bar, where guests are invited to explore, mix, and build their own scent identity using KAYALI’s latest launches, Eden Sweet Peach | 35 and Eden Plush Pear | 23.

Spray, layer, play.

A space that moves with you

The CHALKBOOTH, already something of a signature, is reimagined through the Eden lens. It becomes part of the experience rather than an add-on, a place to capture the aftermath of it all, post-glam, post-scent, post-moment.

Even the details feel considered.

From curated coffee by Subko to light bites inspired by the fragrance notes, the collaboration leans into the idea that beauty doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s tied to how you feel, what you smell, what you taste, the environment around you.

Community, but actually

There’s a word that gets used a lot, community. But here, it feels grounded. As Mona Kattan puts it, the intention behind KAYALI has always been about connection and storytelling, and this collaboration is a way of bringing that back to the people who shaped it.

This space was created for people to show up, unwind, experiment, and leave feeling something, whether that’s confidence, ease, or just a small reset in the middle of the week.

Guests leave with more than just a treatment: they'll get a curated goodie bag, samples from the Eden collection, CHALK essentials, small extensions of the experience that carry beyond the space.

KAYALI x CHALK does well is something Dubai doesn’t always get credit for: creating moments that feel personal and not performative, where beauty isn’t just something you book but you truly experience.

When and where

April 27 – May 3, 2026
CHALK, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

I was 12 when The Devil Wears Prada came out. Like so many teenagers of my generation, even though it painted a relatively harsh picture of the fashion world, it did far more than just entertain us for two hours or give us good styling.

It ignited something deeper. It made us dream of this glittering universe where flights to Paris and Chanel boots felt like a fair trade-off for long nights and walking your boss’s dog. New York, Runway, Fashion Week; it all suddenly felt within reach.

I had already decided two years earlier that I would work in a fashion magazine. A strong mind, determination, and, admittedly, a slightly obsessive temperament have always defined me, but that film didn’t create the dream, it validated it. Looking back, it’s interesting because it probably should have scared me. Instead, I saw myself in it. I imagined sitting on a quilted seat overlooking the New York skyline, planning shoots, rushing between meetings, living that fast, chaotic, intoxicating life that seemed both impossible and entirely attainable at once.

Six years later, I walked into my first day at fashion school. Five years after that, I launched my own magazine. Not quite Runway, and I’d like to believe I’m a million times more empathetic than Miranda, but still, the shows, the events, the brands, the intensity: it all happened. In many ways, life did begin to resemble the movie. This industry is home to some of the biggest egos I’ve ever encountered, to moments of pressure, of judgment, of feeling overlooked or underestimated. But it’s also exhilarating, captivating, and, truthfully, quite fun. As my friends like to say, “it’s PR, not ER.”

And yet, somewhere along the way, something shifted. Because what I was really chasing wasn’t just the career, it was the feeling the movie gave me; that sense that everything was possible. While I still believe that, reality has a way of reshaping it. You grow up, you adjust, you compromise, and things don’t quite look the way they did in your head.

The truth is, the people who grew up with The Devil Wears Prada are now in their thirties. We’ve lived through a pandemic, inflation, instability, things we never quite saw coming. The version of life we imagined back then — the glossy, effortless one — feels further away than we expected. The dream of a life à la Andy Sachs didn’t disappear; it just became something we quietly put aside, something we folded away while figuring out how to navigate the version of adulthood we were actually given.

We’re doing our best. Building careers, making choices, sometimes loving what we do, sometimes simply doing what we need to. But if we’re honest, life in 2026 looks very different from the version we imagined in 2006. And maybe that’s why the idea of The Devil Wears Prada 2 feels so significant.

It’s not really about the sequel. It’s about what it represents. A return, however brief, to a time when dreaming big felt natural, when hope wasn’t something you had to negotiate with, and when the future still felt wide open. The promo tour alone already gave us something dazzling to look at in some on the most grim, awful period of time we were given to live: the looks, the smiles and a Meryl Streep looking so good we can't wait to be in our 60s. Whether the film is good or not almost doesn’t matter. If it's mid, I don't think I'll even care.

Like so many of us, I’ll be watching because I want to feel something again; because, deep down, I think we’re all still holding on to the idea that things can be a little bit dreamy even in the unperfection of it all.

Style is rarely just about what you wear, but how you wear it. The attitude, the instinct, the way pieces come together without feeling overthought.

The Way She Wears (TWSW) is our way of spotlighting women whose style feels personal, intuitive, and entirely their own. Not trends, not formulas, just a point of view.

Our fourth guests are Oloof and Dujanah, Abu Dhabi born jewelry designers, founders of upcoming label House Janolo. We love their quirky approach to fashion that is so well informed, mixing classic pieces with contemporary ones, always with style. We love their seemingly effortless way to put it all together.

Meet Oloof and Dujanah.

Oloof’s IDs:

Oloof Jarrar , born and raised Abu Dhabi, originally Palestinian -

Co founder of House Janolo and jewelry designer and creative director

When did you know you’d be working in fashion/creative industries?

I’ve always been creative, so it never felt like a big decision, it felt more like following something that was already there. As I got older, I started to understand how to shape that into something real, and fashion just made sense.

I’ve always had an eye for design but also a natural sense of taste and strong instinct across interiors, art, fashion, branding or jewelry. It’s all connected, just different ways of expressing the same perspective.

Who are you fashion icons?

Kate moss, Carrie Bradshaw, Anna Dello Russo, Jane birkin, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

What are 3 brands you could wear forever?

Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, Khaite

Your favorite gem stone?

It’s hard to choose just one, but I’m especially drawn to Paraiba tourmalines, spinels, and aquamarines. Paraibas have that almost electric glow, aquamarines feel very calm and clear, and spinels are interesting because of their range. It reminds me that the same stone can take on completely different personalities.

It’s similar to how I approach style! I don’t fit into one category. It changes with how I feel, there’s always a different vibe.

4 staples everyone should own?

1.Invest in a Great Leather Jacket (Toteme , Khaite , YSL and Nour Hammour all have great ones that will last a long time )

2.Staple sunglasses I love  Jacques Marie Mage , Celine , Toteme and Tom Ford  for sunnies

3.Fun cashmere sweater : Elder Statesman , Adrian Cashmere, Guest In Residence

4.A crisp well tailored tee I love re-done , from Frame and Khaite

⁠A piece worth investing in?

A archival piece from your favorite designer (another version of collecting art)

Your current favourite song, book or tv show?

Song : Pearls - Sade

Tv Show - Outlander

Dujnah's ID:

Palestinian, Abu Dhabi–raised, Co-Founder of House Janolo, Jewelry Designer & Stylist

When did you know you’d be working in fashion/creative industries?

It’s something I always knew, even if I didn’t know exactly what it would look like. From around 14, when my sister and I started a small streetwear project, to deciding to study at Parsons, it was always clear I’d end up doing something creative.

Who are you fashion icons?

Peggy Gugenheim, Diana Vreeland, Miles Davis, Brad Pitt, Elsa Peretti

What are 3 brands you could wear forever?

Saint Laurent, Phoebe Philo, Dries Van Noten

Your favorite gem stone?

It always changes, so I’ll give three for different reasons. My long-time favorite, even before House Janolo, is Paraiba. A stone that constantly inspires my design process are Bi-colour Tourmalines. And more recently, I’ve been drawn to citrines due to their range.

4 staples everyone should own?

1.Colored cashmere socks – my number one styling trick. Even with the most basic outfit, they add something.

Especially on days you don’t feel like trying.

2. A “ludicrously capacious bag”

– something you can throw everything into. I always need a hundred things on me, so this is essential for work, travel, or just daily life.

3. The perfect pair of jeans – harder to find than it sounds. I’m always searching. Vintage is usually the trick beacuse

they stretch and mold to your body. What Goes Around Comes Around in New York has an incredible selection. I’m

also waiting for the Bode x Levi’s drop.

4. A pair of Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses

What are the regional brands you love right now? (joint answer)

There are so many strong designers coming out of the region right now.

In clothing, Espace Meld – 2 incredible friends of mine that do up-cycled, playful couture that’s incredibly creative and unlike anything out there. And Funky Fahad is a classic. A must-visit in Marrakech that has colorful, collectible pieces (don't overlook the headwear). For homeware, Sometimes Studio and Catfish Objects – both Egyptian brands founded by female duos. They play with timeless forms but add this layer of modern eccentricity and maximalism.

A piece worth investing in?

It would be silly not to say House Janolo. But beyond that, a great leather jacket or an everyday black bag – both are

things I find myself reaching for constantly, year-round.

Your current favorite song or tv show?

Song: Right now, Lotus Flower by Radiohead

TV Show: Always Freaks and Geek

Discover House Janolo, here

Beyond just a Design Fair, Milan during Salone feels like a literal takeover, and designers aren't the only one participating.

Fashion houses are reshaping what design week looks like, and more importantly, what their role within it can be. This year, the shift is even clearer. The focus is on the perspective even more than the product iteself; these brands are literally staging a new world.

Here's a tour of nine Maisons that adding their zest to the world of Mobile.

Dior Maison

At Dior, the starting point is heritage, and it evolves from there.

Installed inside Palazzo Landriani, the House presents its Corolle lamps, designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, a subtle nod to the iconic New Look silhouette introduced in 1947. The reference unfolds through form rather than nostalgia, soft, structured, almost botanical.

The scenography draws from the gardens of Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, reinterpreted through a layered installation that moves between organic and graphic. It doesn’t feel like a display. It feels like stepping into a memory, reconstructed with precision.

More on Dior.com

Hermès

With Hermès, the installation becomes a study in rhythm. Designed by Charlotte Macaux Perelman and Alexis Fabry, the space is structured through thirty rectangular columns, arranged in a way that creates both order and movement. You don’t just look at it, you move through it, following lines, pauses, and shifts in perspective.

There’s a subtle repetition to it, echoing the gesture of the artisan. The same movement, refined over time. The same precision, applied again and again.

Objects appear almost incidentally along the way: a cashmere throw, a leather marquetry box, hammered metal pieces catching light at different angles. They’re not isolated but rather sit within the architecture, part of a larger composition of texture, colour, and material.

What emerges is something closer to a landscape than a display.

More on Hermes.com

Loro Piana

At Loro Piana, the focus shifts inward. Presented at the Cortile della Seta, Studies, Chapter I: On the Plaid turns something as familiar as a plaid into a full design language.

Rather than introducing a new object, the House studies one, deeply. Twenty-four plaids are displayed as individual pieces, each exploring a different construction, technique, or material. Together, they form something closer to an index than a collection.

There’s a quiet rigor to it: fibres, yarns, raw materials are shown alongside finished pieces, revealing the process rather than hiding it. Vicuña, baby cashmere, linen, wool, everything sits within the same conversation, not competing, just existing in variation.

More on LoroPiana.com

Ferragamo

Across the city, Ferragamo takes a lighter approach.

At its boutique, silk becomes the medium. The Floating Silk Garden transforms scarves into something almost immaterial, suspended mid-air, drifting through the space like petals.

Rooted in archival prints, florals and references to the Gancini symbol, the installation turns heritage into movement. Material becomes atmosphere.

More on Ferragamo.com

Chloé

With Chloé, the focus isn’t just on re-edition, it’s on what that re-edition represents.

The return of the Tomato Chair, originally designed in 1970, feels less like a nostalgic gesture and more like a statement. Its soft, rounded, almost exaggerated form challenges the idea of structure altogether, inviting a more instinctive, physical relationship with design.

Under Chemena Kamali, the piece finds a natural place within the Maison’s current language. There’s a continuity in the way Chloé approaches softness, fluidity, and ease, not as aesthetic choices, but as a way of thinking about how objects are lived with.

Reworked in naturally tanned leather and produced on a made-to-order basis, the chair retains its original spirit while gaining a new clarity through material and colour.

More on Chloe.com

Bottega Veneta

At Bottega Veneta, the focus stays on material, but pushes it somewhere new. In collaboration with artist Kwangho Lee, the House presents Lightful, a woven light installation that builds on its signature intrecciato language while moving into a more experimental space.

Leather strips are reworked into suspended forms, shaped by hand into organic structures that shift with light and shadow. There’s a sense of tension between control and spontaneity, the precision of craft meeting the unpredictability of material.

What makes it land is the process behind it. Lee worked closely with artisans at the House’s atelier, translating traditional techniques into something more sculptural, almost abstract.

Beyond the object itself, the craft is pushed just far enough to become something else.

More on BottegaVeneta.com

Gucci

With Gucci, it’s less about looking back and more about how memory moves.

Curated by Demna, Gucci Memoria unfolds as a layered narrative rather than a traditional retrospective. At its core are twelve large-scale tapestries, each translating a defining moment in the House’s history into a visual scene, from its Florentine origins to its more recent creative eras. But the exhibition doesn’t sit still.

The iconic Flora motif expands into a full environment, shifting from print into space, while smaller details, like vending machines dispensing drinks tied to fictional personas, introduce an unexpected sense of play.

What comes through is not a fixed identity, but something constantly evolving.

More on Gucci.com

Prada

At Prada, the focus shifts away from objects entirely. Prada Frames returns not as an installation, but as a symposium, this year under the theme In Sight. Curated by Formafantasma, it explores image-making as something far more complex than aesthetics, looking at how images shape perception, politics, and even what we consider to be real.

Across a series of talks and conversations, the programme moves through topics like algorithmic vision, the environmental cost of digital imagery, and the blurred line between truth and representation.

Set within the historic Santa Maria delle Grazie, the experience feels deliberately contrasting, Renaissance architecture meeting contemporary discourse. More than just design as form, it’s about how we see, and what that does.

More on Prada.com

Jil Sander

With Jil Sander, the gesture is quieter.

Reference Library, created with Apartamento, brings together 60 books selected by creatives across disciplines, presented in a minimal, almost ritualistic space. Visitors are invited to slow down, to read, to handle objects with care. In a week somewhat defined by spectacle, it feels almost radical.

More on JilSander.com

There’s a certain image of Bella Hadid that feels fixed. The sharp cheekbones, the runway presence, the ability to shift from vintage Y2K to high-concept couture without losing herself in either. For years, she’s existed at that intersection of fashion and persona, constantly seen, rarely fully known.

Between Us changes that.

A story told from the inside

Released this October by Rizzoli, Between Us isn’t structured like a typical fashion memoir. It doesn’t move linearly, doesn’t over-explain, doesn’t try to frame Bella’s life into something too polished but instead, will unfold through images.

Shot over years by her childhood best friend Yasmine Diba, alongside Bella’s own archive, the book feels less like a retrospective and more like a collection of moments that were never meant to be public. There’s something slightly raw about it, middle school photos, blurry nights, early shoots that don’t yet carry the weight of a career. You don’t feel like you’re being told a story, you feel like you’re stepping into one.

Before the image, there was the girl

At JDEED we love a contrast: the book promises to move between two timelines without forcing a distinction. One is the Bella we know, runways in Paris, campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi, global covers, the kind of visibility that rarely allows for privacy.

The other is much quieter: childhood in Malibu, time with Gigi Hadid and Yolanda Hadid, inside jokes, awkward teenage years, long flights, the in-between moments that usually get edited out.

It presents a raw Bella, nostalgic and real.

What happens when the image drops

There’s an honesty here that doesn’t feel curated. Handwritten notes, fragments of text messages, images that don’t quite “fit” the narrative of a supermodel’s rise. It breaks the illusion without trying to dismantle it entirely.

You see the parts that don’t usually make it through, the loneliness, the repetition, the pressure of being constantly visible. There are references to her ongoing journey with Lyme disease, to mental health etc, but they sit alongside everything else.

But Friendship is here, the real narrative...

If there’s a centre to the book, it’s not fashion but the relationship between Bella and Yasmine.

There’s something grounding about having the same person behind the camera for years. Someone who saw everything before it became something else. The images don’t feel like they’re trying to capture Bella Hadid, the model. They capture Bella, the person, before, during, and after everything else. That continuity is what holds the book together.

What to expect

A large-format hardcover, 288 matte-coated pages, Polaroids layered into the layout, margins filled with notes, everything about it leans into tactility. It feels closer to an archive, something you return to rather than read once and we do love this idea becaue truly, we've had enough of everything being somehow disposable.

JDEED's tale

Now look, there’s no shortage of visibility in fashion, what’s rare is perspective. Between Us doesn’t try to redefine Bella Hadid, it just opens a window into how she got here, and what it felt like along the way. Growing up in public, navigating identity, friendship, health, and work in a space that rarely slows down. Personally? We're very excited to dive in.

Details

Between Us by Bella Hadid and Yasmine Diba
Published by Rizzoli
Release date: October 6, 2026
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Price: $45

Right now, creativity in the region feels different; you see it in the way brands are being built, slower, more intentional, less driven by trends and more by meaning.

This World Creativity and Innovation Day (April 21st), it’s not about celebrating creativity as an idea. It’s about looking at the brands that are actually shaping it: they're all around us, from fitness to jewelry, events to childwear.

here's our round-up of the creatives minds building to last.

Âme Studio

Âme Studio approaches creativity through experience.

Working across events, florals and gifting, the studio creates moments rather than objects. Everything is considered, from the smallest detail to the overall atmosphere. It’s quiet, intentional, and deeply personal, redefining creativity as something you don’t just see, but feel.

More info, here

The Burn Room

The Burn Room shifts how we think about performance.

By integrating red light therapy directly into workouts, recovery becomes part of the process itself. It’s a more balanced approach, one that focuses not just on intensity, but on longevity, energy, and how the body actually responds over time. Everything we love at JDEED, because after all, if you feel good in your body, the rest will follow.

More info, here

SWE ME

With The Sway collection, SWE ME brings movement into something traditionally still.

Jewellery becomes responsive, fluid, designed to follow the body rather than sit against it. Lines shift, forms soften, and pieces feel almost alive in the way they move. It’s a subtle shift, but it changes the entire experience, turning jewellery into something more expressive and instinctive.

More info, here

Cullinan Crown

Cullinan Crown doesn’t chase newness.

Instead, it builds around permanence. Inspired by the symbolism of the Cullinan Diamond, the Emirati brand approaches fine jewellery with a sense of structure and restraint. Pieces feel grounded, almost architectural, designed to last rather than to evolve with seasons. It’s a quieter form of innovation, one that sits in craftsmanship, precision, and the idea that luxury doesn’t need to move quickly to remain relevant.

More info, here

Le Paris Diamonds

Le Paris Diamonds sits comfortably between heritage and evolution.

There’s a clear respect for traditional craftsmanship, but the approach feels more global, more open. Exceptional stones remain at the centre, but the design language is lighter, allowing the brand to move forward without losing the depth of its origins. If you want to stand out, Le Paris Diamonds is definitely your best bet.

More info, here

Liberté Fine Jewels

Liberté feels personal from the start.

Newly launched and quietly distinct, the brand treats jewellery as something tied to identity. Each piece marks a moment, a transition, a version of self. The aesthetic is clean, minimal, but never empty. There’s a sense that what matters isn’t just how it looks, but what it carries. We love that idea and we'll be following closely.

More info, here

SHAMS Fine Jewelry

SHAMS moves in a softer direction.

Inspired by light, stillness and memory, the brand strips things back, allowing simplicity to take the lead. There’s an emotional undercurrent to the pieces, something subtle but present, where design feels less about statement and more about feeling. We're also totally bsessed with this coral collection (above).

More info, here

Karina Choudhrie Jewels

With Karina Choudhrie, the process becomes the focus.

Each piece begins as a painting, translating colour, texture and emotion into form. The result feels layered, expressive, and slightly unexpected. There’s no attempt to fit within traditional ideas of fine jewellery, and that’s exactly where its strength sits.

More info, here

Monart Fine Jewelry

Monart approaches jewellery through movement, but in a quieter way.

Soft forms, thoughtful details, and an artistic sense of ease give each piece a quiet presence. Designed to feel natural, expressive, and effortlessly part of the everyday.

More info, here

Baguette Design

At Baguette Design, everything begins with language.

Founded by Emirati designer Fatma Al Bannai, the brand translates words into form. Stories become shapes, memories become lines, resulting in pieces that feel minimal but deeply personal. It’s a refined approach where design holds meaning without needing to overstate it. If you've been reading JDEED for a while you already know we love the brand and what they stand for.

More info, here

Tilahn

Tilahn brings a couture sensibility into childrenswear.

It’s a space that’s rarely approached with this level of intention. Delicate fabrics, careful construction, and a story-led approach give each piece a sense of depth. It’s not about dressing children, it’s about celebrating individuality from the very beginning. Because the little ones in our lives should also celebrate their personal style, from an early age.

More info, here

A different pace

What connects these brands isn’t how they look; it’s how they think.

Esepcially in our regional climate, we're invited to take a step back: less urgency, more intention.
These brands are focusing on building something that lasts. And in that shift, a different kind of innovation begins to take shape.

Déjà Vu is the new exhibition taking over Concrete at Alserkal you won't want to miss. On paper, it’s a large-scale show, 20 galleries, over 50 artists, the first time something like this has been done in the UAE.

It doesn’t feel like a group show

Usually, with exhibitions like this, you can feel the structure. Different galleries, different voices, everything slightly compartmentalised but here, it all kind of blends.

You move through works that don’t necessarily belong together but somehow sit in the same emotional space. There’s no clean narrative, no obvious entry point. It’s more fragmented, a bit disorienting at times, but in a way that feels intentional.

Things repeat, but not in the same way

The title makes sense once you spend some time with it.

The exhibition builds around this idea of repetition, not literal repetition, but the feeling of things happening again, slightly altered, slightly off. It pulls from Raed Yassin’s Déjà Vu and expands it into three loose directions: the uncanny, the absurdity of history, and the instability of language.

You see it in different ways.

Moments where something feels familiar but doesn’t quite land. Works that reference history but don’t feel anchored in the past. Text and symbols that look like they should make sense, but don’t fully resolve.

It’s not heavy-handed. It just sits there.

You don’t really “understand” it, you recognise it

There are names you know, Larissa Sansour, Nabil Anani, Samira Abbassy, Slavs and Tartars, and others you might not. But the experience isn’t about tracking who’s who.

It’s more about how the works speak to each other. Or sometimes don’t. There’s a tension between them, but also a kind of quiet alignment. Memory, identity, conflict, displacement, it’s all there, but nothing is explained too neatly.

And that’s probably why it works.

It feels very now, without trying too hard to be

There’s context behind the exhibition, the fact that it brings galleries together at a time when the art ecosystem needs it.

But it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to make a point about that.

Instead, it reflects something more subtle. The way things feel right now. Slightly repetitive, slightly unstable, hard to fully grasp but impossible to ignore.

You don’t rush this one

It’s the kind of show you move through slowly. Maybe circle back to a few works. Maybe not fully get everything.

And that’s fine. Because Déjà Vu isn’t really asking you to understand it but maybe just to notice the feeling.

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Style is rarely just about what you wear, but how you wear it. The attitude, the instinct, the way pieces come together without feeling overthought.

The Way She Wears (TWSW) is our way of spotlighting women whose style feels personal, intuitive, and entirely their own. Not trends, not formulas, just a point of view.

Our third guest is Jude Salem, Dubai-based Communications Manager and tastemaker, whose approach to fashion is so inspiring, mixing staples with edgy pieces, always with style. We fell in love with her effortless vibes and looks (most of which we def pinned on our inspo board.)

Meet Jude.

“Jude’s ID”

Jude Salem, Moroccan/Jordanian, Communications Manager

⁠When did you know you’d be working in fashion?

Probably when I watched the opening scene of The Devil Wears Prada and thought ‘yup. That looks about right’. I have no idea why that scene stuck with me for so long but it really did. I think I manifested it subconsciously as a kid and then one day I realized it was my reality.

Who are you fashion icons?

For me, what I love about fashion is that it should be individualistic and really represent you. I feel like Jane Birkin is such a good example of that. She was just being herself and is now a renowned fashion icon, but she wasn’t trying to be. I love when I see someone dressing completely as themselves – it could be a famous actress, a girl I find on Instagram, or a woman I cross in the street. I feel like as long as you’re authentic, you’re killing it.

"I feel like as long as you’re authentic, you’re killing it. "

‍
What are 3 brands you could wear forever?

Valentino of course! Lol. Beside that, I feel like my style is always just changing and really depends what kind of headspace I’m in. To be honest, I do love having just good basics that make me feel comfortable. I do love brands like Khaite, The Row, Celine, Jil Sander – I just feel like you get pieces that you will love and keep wearing over and over again.

‍
4 staples everyone should own?

Of course, a great pair of denim that makes your bum look good (hehe), and then I repeat white and black t-shirts all the time. White and black tank tops are usually the starting point for whatever I wear. I think everyone does need one flattering black dress, and a beautiful timeless coat.

‍
What are the regional brands you love right now?

I love Be Indie, Nafsika Skourti, Zyne and Bil Arabi jewlery.

⁠Your most special fashion possession?

Everything my mom has ever given me (or I’ve taken without her knowing). She has such good taste and going through her wardrobe is just unbelievable because she has all kinds of pieces for any occasion. Even now, all these years laters, whenever I wear something of hers I get a compliment.

‍
A piece worth investing in?

For me I do love a bag. I am a sucker for a huge bag – I have a huge Balenciaga City bag that has been with me through everything the last 10 years. I still carry it and people love that it looks destressed – and I always joke like it really is stressed because it’s had to stick by me through some crazy times. I do love a Bottega Veneta Andiamo too – I am a sucker for a big bag honestly.

Your current favourite song, book or tv show?

Asking a libra their favorite anything immediately sends them into a panic. I love music, books, films, so choosing one is impossible. At the moment, I am re-watching a lot of Wes Anderson films, and listening to a bunch of random music, from The Smiths to Sombr, to the Cranberries, to Kid Cudi. Make it make sense lol.

Nothing extreme this month. Just things that feel good enough to come back to in these mad times.

Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi

This is more of a full-day reset than a quick visit: you go in with no real plan and let the day take shape.

The Bathing Rituals are a good place to start, running every Tuesday (Turkish) and Wednesday (Moroccan), 10am–1pm, at AED 150 per person. It’s simple, but grounding, and you can build on it if you feel like it, with optional hammams or massages.

Then there’s Spring Awakening, running throughout April (so like, hurry up-ish), where you can mix treatments depending on how much time you want to spend, 90 minutes (AED 800), 120 minutes (AED 1,200), or 150 minutes (AED 1,500).

If you don’t want to commit to treatments, the Palace Luxe Pass works just as well, 10am to 6pm, from AED 600 per couple, giving you a room, beach and pool access, and space to just switch off.

More info, here

AWAKEN Spa at Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

This one is more structured, in a way that actually works.

The Fitness & Recovery Daycation, available until 30 April, is AED 380 per person, and includes gym access (indoor and outdoor), a cold plunge session, the lap pool, and a full day at Nobu by the Beach with a sunbed.

If you want something slower, the Spa Day Retreat is AED 1,020, with a 90-minute massage, a 30-minute facial, and full access to the Elements facilities and pools.

It’s one of the few places where recovery, movement and downtime all sit in the same day.

More info, here

The Uncommon Club x Marasi Bay, Dubai

This is less about running and more about building a habit that actually sticks.

Every Saturday morning, the group meets at 6:45am at The Lana, with a 7am start, and runs along the Dubai Canal for about 45 minutes. It’s guided, paced, and split into different groups, so you’re not trying to keep up with anyone, you’re just moving at your own rhythm.

What makes it work is everything around it. The setting is calm, the route is genuinely scenic, and it ends with coffee at the promenade, which turns it into something social rather than something you have to push yourself through.

It’s one of the few things that doesn’t feel like a “wellness commitment,” but still gives you that reset feeling before the weekend really starts.

More info, here

NETTE, Dubai

This month, we’ve also been leaning into small things that make everyday routines feel a bit better, like what you reach for in between everything else.

NETTE just dropped a new line of smoothies, and it’s the kind of launch that makes sense right now. Nothing complicated, just blends that fit into your day depending on how you feel.

They’re built around function, but it’s not in your face. More like you pick what you’re in the mood for and the benefits come with it. Dragon Glow is one of the easiest ones to come back to, with dragon fruit, strawberries, banana, coconut milk, flaxseed and vegan protein, light, but still filling.

If you want something more tropical, Golden Passion mixes passion fruit and mango with hojicha and collagen, while Sunrise Immunity leans more toward a morning reset, orange, pineapple, ginger, carrot, the kind of thing you grab when you feel like you need to rebalance a bit.

There are also heavier options like Morning Fuel, with oats, almond butter, chia seeds and protein, which actually holds you over, and Cacao Dream, which feels more indulgent but still works as an energy boost.

For something lighter, Green Goddess and Ocean Glow sit more on the calming side, greens, spirulina, fruit, simple blends that feel easy to digest and good to come back to when you want something less heavy.

What works is how flexible it all is. You can add collagen, protein, or keep it as it is. It doesn’t feel like a “wellness drink,” it just feels like something that fits into your day without overthinking it.

More info, here

Meliá Desert Palm, Dubai

This is one of those places that feels far from Dubai, even though it’s only about 20 minutes away.

Set on a large polo estate surrounded by greenery, the whole point here is space. You’re not walking into a typical spa environment, you’re stepping into something quieter, slower, and much more open.

The breathwork and sound healing sessions are what draw you in, running every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am, and they’re completely complimentary. You sit in the wellness studio, guided through breathing exercises that help regulate your nervous system, followed by sound healing that uses vibrations and frequencies to bring your body into a calmer state. It’s simple, but it works.

What makes it different is the setting around it. You’re not rushing back into the city straight after. You can stay, walk around the estate, sit by the pool, or even turn it into a proper reset day. There’s also a daycation option (around AED 499) which includes a one-hour massage, pool access overlooking the polo fields, and a meal, so it naturally extends the experience without overcomplicating it.

Beyond that, the space itself is built for longer stays if you want it, with a full spa, yoga and fitness classes, and even horse-related experiences tied to the estate. But honestly, even just going for one session is enough to shift your day.

More info, here

Sohum Wellness Sanctuary, Dubai

This is where wellness slows down properly.

Set in Al Quoz, Sohum feels less like a spa and more like a space you spend time in. It’s open daily from 9am to 9pm, and everything is built around Ayurveda, not as a trend, but as a full system. The idea is balance, mind, body, and energy all working together, not just fixing one thing at a time.

You can go for treatments, but they’re not the kind you rush through. Massages like Abhyanga (warm oil therapy) or Shirodhara are designed to calm the nervous system, improve circulation, and help with sleep, so it’s as much about how you feel after as during.

Pricing sits around AED 500 for a 60-minute aromatherapy massage and AED 700 for a 90-minute treatment

But what really makes Sohum different is everything happening around those treatments.

Throughout the month, they run a mix of sessions that feel more immersive than transactional, sound healing, breathwork, yoga, and full moon ceremonies. A typical full moon session, for example, runs in the evening and is around AED 375, combining breath, sound, and guided reflection.

There are also deeper, longer experiences, workshops and immersive sessions that can go up to around AED 1,900+, depending on the facilitator and format.

The space itself plays a big role. Treatment rooms, steam, sauna, hydrotherapy, and quiet areas all flow into each other, so you don’t feel like you’re just there for one appointment. You stay, move around, take your time.

It’s not quick wellness. It’s the kind you settle into.

More info, here

Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai

The moment that fits perfectly into your routine. The Mandarin Pass gives you a full day from 7am to 8pm, priced at AED 400 per person, fully redeemable on food and drinks, with access to the pool, gym, sauna and steam.

For something more structured, Sunrise Flow runs every Saturday at 7:30am, priced at AED 150, combining yoga with breakfast after.

And if you want a treatment, the 60-minute Reset is AED 475, focused on breath, tension release and bringing everything back into balance.

More info, here

FAINE Journals

This isn’t just about journaling, it’s more about creating a space for yourself that doesn’t require anyone else.

FAINE is a Dubai-based brand built around the idea of intentional living through small, everyday rituals. It sits somewhere between wellness and lifestyle, with products designed to make you slow down, reflect, and reconnect, but in a way that still feels aesthetic and part of your daily life.

The journals are really the core of it. Each one is built around a specific emotional space, not just “wellness” in a general sense. There’s a Wellness Journal for daily habits and routines, but also more specific ones like Heartbreak and Grief journals, designed to help you process things at your own pace.

What makes them different is that they’re not trying to fix you. They’re more like a tool you come back to when you need to. Some days you write, some days you don’t, and that’s fine. There’s also a deeper layer to the brand. It actually started from a very personal place, the founder created the first journals while going through grief, wanting something that felt less clinical than therapy and less overwhelming than talking.

That’s why it feels the way it does. Not overly structured, not too heavy, just something that sits with you when you need it.

In terms of price, journals are around AED 129, with other personalised pieces going up to around AED 190–250, depending on the item.

It’s simple, but it adds something.

More info, here

Haruharu Wonder now at Ulta Beauty

https://www.ulta.com

Keeping skincare simple this month.

The brand focuses on daily consistency, using fermented ingredients like black rice to support long-term skin health. Products are designed to be used every day, without overwhelming your routine.

For A Getaway...RXV Wellness Village, Thailand

And for a trip… this is the one you plan with intention.

Set on a 50-acre heritage estate along the Tha Chin River, about an hour from Bangkok, RXV isn’t built around one idea like detox or weight loss. It’s designed to look at everything together, your lifestyle, your energy levels, your stress, your sleep, and build something around that.

Every stay starts with a full consultation, including a doctor session, fitness assessment, and mineral analysis, which then shapes your entire programme. From there, you move between different zones, a medical clinic for treatments like IV therapy and cryotherapy, a movement space focused on strength and neuromuscular training, and a more restorative area built around traditional therapies like Thai massage, Ayurveda, and sound healing.

Programmes are structured over 3, 5 or 7 nights, starting from around THB 67,000, (USD 2000) depending on the focus, whether it’s stress, detox, physical recovery, or something more personalised.

What stands out is how balanced it feels. It’s clinical, but not cold. Structured, but not rigid. You don’t just go there to switch off, you go to understand what’s actually going on, and leave with something you can carry back into your routine.

More info, here

Zeyne’s AWDA tour was always going to feel bigger than a run of dates. Maybe it’s the album itself, maybe it’s the fact that awda means return, or maybe it’s because her live world already feels built around memory, movement, and the kind of feeling that refuses to stay on record.

This September, that world lands across nine European cities, starting at KOKO in London on September 1, then moving through Dublin, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan, Barcelona, and Istanbul. KOKO’s listing describes her live show as emotionally intense and globally resonant, which tracks.

So if Zeyne is going on tour, we already know where we’re eating. Not just anywhere, and definitely not whatever is closest to the venue. We’re talking Palestinian restaurants, Palestinian-owned kitchens, and in the cities where permanent spots are still scarce, the pop-ups and community tables keeping the culture alive.

By Cynthia Jreige

London

‍London is the easy one, because the scene is rich and varied enough to make the whole trip revolve around food if you let it. Akub is the obvious first stop: Fadi Kattan’s Notting Hill restaurant describes itself as a Palestinian table built around the diversity of ingredients and traditions from the region, with sharing plates rooted in hospitality. It’s the pre-show dinner if you want something elegant without losing the soul of it.

Then there’s Hiba, a family-run spot bringing “the tastes of Palestine & Lebanon,” with a kitchen led by the family matriarch, which makes it exactly the kind of place you want for the after-show comedown. And if the appetite swings more breakfast or lunch, Café Palestina is the softer, more home-style detour. More than a restaurant, this is a community space. Think brunches, supper clubs, and a very homey atmosphere. It genuinely feels like being invited into someone’s house.

Dublin

‍Dublin has more of a community feel to it. Bethlehem calls itself the first restaurant of its kind in the city, serving real homemade Palestinian cuisine in the heart of Dublin, and honestly that’s reason enough to go. Madleen is another one, currently operating as an authentic Palestinian pop-up in Dublin and donating a portion of proceeds to Gaza, which gives it a sense of urgency and care beyond the meal itself. And then there’s Umi Falafel, which may read more casual on paper, but its menu openly names a “Palestinian Falafel,” served in Palestinian bread with hummus, pickles, fried aubergine, parsley, chilli, and tahini, which feels like the sort of thing you eat before doors open and think about again on the flight home.

Brussels

Brussels is where it starts getting very good. Olives Restaurant in Saint-Gilles is explicit about what it is: a tribute to Gaza, to Palestinian culture, and to the dishes of grandmothers’ kitchens. That’s exactly the energy we want. Jerusalem Old City is another strong stop, built around original Palestinian dishes from Jerusalem and served with the kind of generosity that usually means you’ve ordered the right thing. Jaffa sits slightly more in the broad Levantine lane, but it’s still a local favorite for mezze and long, easy meals.

Paris

Paris is trickier, because the Palestinian restaurant landscape is still surprisingly thin, but Ardi remains essential. More than one source calls it the city’s only Palestinian restaurant, and what keeps coming up is the feeling that it’s less a conventional restaurant than a living cultural space, with Rania, its French-Palestinian founder, building it around home cooking, crafts, and a sense of welcome. If we’re in Paris for Zeyne, this is where we’re going before anything else.

After the show, we're running to Dirty Lemon Bar; we have it saved on Instagram since at least a year and have been pre-salivating just reading the menu. It's not strictly Palestinian, but important: chef Ruba Khoury brings Palestinian roots into a modern Paris bistro format. Also there's a Doudou made with mezcal if you needed any more convincing.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is where the itinerary shifts from fixed addresses to the people carrying Palestinian food through workshops, pop-ups, and traveling cafés. Tabaria Café describes itself as a Palestinian cultural pop-up dedicated to helping Palestinians in exile reconnect with their roots and educating others about Palestinian heritage. Sawa48 has positioned itself as a warm gathering space for Palestinians and allies, while collaborating on cooking workshops around dishes like maqluba. Nour Kitchen, through chef Nour Elnono, is also part of that ecosystem, bringing Palestinian food to shared tables across the city. So in Amsterdam, the move is less about a permanent restaurant and more about following the community.

Berlin

‍Berlin has range. Alin Gaza Kitchen is probably the clearest Palestinian address, serving vegan and vegetarian specialties from Gaza based on family recipes near Mauerpark. Casalot, whose own materials note that the owners come from Iksal near Nazareth, is more expansive and all-day, with the kind of broad Arabic menu that works when you’re feeding friends before heading to Säälchen. Simsim rounds it out with a homey Levantine menu that explicitly references Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese kitchens while “bridging the gap between authenticity and modernity,” which feels entirely on theme for Zeyne’s crowd.

Milan

‍Milan is an easy yes, mostly because Street Food Betlemme seems to come up every time anyone asks where Palestinian food lives in the city. It’s widely described as a point of reference for the Palestinian community in Milan, and the reviews are full of the right words: warm hospitality, real flavor, neighborhood favorite. It’s the sort of place you want before a show at Santeria Toscana 31, when all you really need is shawarma, falafel, hummus, and the certainty that you picked the right address.

Barcelona

Barcelona gives us Askadinya, which is luckily all we need. The restaurant calls itself a Palestinian restaurant serving authentic dishes made with fresh, high-quality ingredients in a stylish Gràcia setting, and another listing describes it as Mediterranean food with a Palestinian spirit. That sounds exactly right for a city stop that wants to feel easy, warm, and slightly bohemian before heading to Sala Apolo.

Istanbul

Istanbul might be the city on the route where the options feel most abundant. There’s SEKA in Beyoğlu, described as a Palestinian restaurant near Taksim Square serving classics like falafel, hummus, and fattoush, and there’s Baraka, which identifies itself openly as a Palestinian restaurant in Istanbul, complete with heritage atmosphere and Palestinian breakfast. If London is where you start with a flourish, Istanbul feels like where you end by eating properly.

Maybe that’s the real tour map. Not just venues and dates, but the kitchens around them. The places where return takes a different form each night, through olive oil, musakhan, falafel, pickles, breads, smoke, and all the recipes that keep moving with people long after they’ve crossed borders.

CHEAT SHEET

Zeyne AWDA Tour — Tickets & Where We’re Eating

London — September 1

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.livenation.co.uk/zeyne-tickets-adp1602111
🍽️ Akub Restaurant – https://www.akub-restaurant.com/
🍽️ Hiba Street Food – https://www.hiba-express.co.uk/hiba-street/
🍽️ Café Palestina – http://cafepalestina.co.uk/

Dublin — September 3

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/artist/5586399?venueId=196813
🍽️ Bethlehem Restaurant – https://bethlehemrestaurant.net/
🍽️ Madleen (Pop-up)
🍽️ Umi Falafel – https://umifalafel.ie/

Brussels — September 5

🎟️ Tickets: https://botanique.be/en/concert/zeyne-2026
🍽️ Olive Restaurant – https://olivegaza.be/
🍽️ Jerusalem Old City Restaurant – http://www.jerusalemoldcity.be/
🍽️ Restaurant Jaffa

Paris — September 7

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.livenation.fr/zeyne-tickets-adp1602111
🍽️ Ardi Concept Store – https://ardi-palestine.com/

Amsterdam — September 9

🎟️ Tickets: https://tolhuistuin.nl/en/events/zeyne
🍽️ Tabaria Café (Pop-up) – https://www.tabaria.org/
🍽️ Sawa48
🍽️ Nour Kitchen (Pop-up)

Berlin — September 11

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.de/event/zeyne-awda-eu-tour-2026-01042026-tickets/1140402887
🍽️ Alin Gaza Kitchen
🍽️ Casalot – https://casalot.de/
🍽️ Simsim Restaurant

Milan — September 14

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.ticketone.it/artist/zeyne/
🍽️ Street Food Betlemme
🍽️ Nun Taste of Middle East – https://www.nunmilano.com/

Barcelona — September 16

🎟️ Tickets: https://feverup.com/m/523714
🍽️ Askadinya – https://www.askadinyabarcelona.com/

Istanbul — September 18

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.passo.com.tr/tr/etkinlik/zeyne-salon-iksv-konser-biletleri/10380320
🍽️ SEKA Palestinian Restaurant
🍽️ Baraka Restaurant

Something is shifting, and it’s happening in the most familiar place: the kitchen. Across the region and its diaspora, a new generation of Arab founders — many of them women — are returning to food not to preserve it exactly as it was, but to see what it can become.

What they’re building sits somewhere between memory and intention, where staples we’ve always known are being reintroduced with a new kind of clarity.

Olivié

Olivié belongs to a new wave of brands treating olive oil with the same attention usually reserved for wine or perfume. The focus is on origin, sourcing, and transparency, bringing the product back to its roots while elevating how it’s experienced. It reflects a broader shift in how younger founders are approaching food: not as background, but as something worth understanding. Something worth choosing deliberately.

More info, here

Ya Albi

Ya Albi is deeply personal. Founded by Palestinian-American designer Yasmeen Abouremeleh and her mother, the brand was never just about olive oil. It was about continuity.

Growing up between the US and Palestine, Abouremeleh understood early on that food carried meaning beyond the plate. Olive oil was care, ritual, identity. Today, Ya Albi works directly with farmers in the West Bank, turning each bottle into something that connects land, memory, and diaspora in a tangible way. We're also absolutely obsessed with her merch, ranging from cute tees to keyholders and even the most cutesy (yes we hate this word too) disposable camera you've ever seen.

More info, here

Hayati Goods

Hayati Goods is deeply personal, in a way that feels immediately clear once you understand where it comes from. Founded by Palestinian-American Yasmine Borno, the brand started with a simple but pointed observation: Arabic food was often reduced, mislabelled, or stripped of its identity, especially in Western markets.

After nearly a decade working in the food industry, Borno saw a gap for something that felt both modern and true to its origins. “Hayati,” meaning my life in Arabic, isn’t just a name, it’s a reflection of how the brand was built, around the food she grew up with, from za’atar manakeesh to long, shared breakfasts rooted in family and routine.

The brand launched with a Palestinian-style green za’atar, but the intention goes beyond a single product. It’s about giving Arabic pantry staples the visibility they’ve rarely had, presenting them with care, design, and context, without diluting what they are.

There’s also something quietly assertive in how Hayati positions itself. Not trying to make Arabic food more “accessible,” but insisting on naming it correctly, owning it fully, and letting it exist on its own terms.

In that sense, it sits at the heart of this new wave.

More info, here

Picklini

Picklini starts from something familiar: pickles, the kind that have always been on the table, passed around without much thought. But here, they’re given a new kind of attention. The brand builds around a simple idea, taking something deeply rooted in regional food culture and treating it with the same care, identity, and presence as anything else in the pantry.

There’s a sense of playfulness to it, from the tone to the product itself, but it’s grounded in intention. The pickles are made without sugar, preservatives, or additives, keeping them close to the way they’ve always been prepared, just presented differently.

What stands out is how naturally it sits between nostalgia and now. It doesn’t try to reinvent the product, and it doesn’t over-explain it either. It simply reframes it, turning something everyday into something you notice again.

In the same way as the rest of this list, it’s less about changing tradition.

More info, here

Táche

Táche brings a different kind of product into the conversation, but the intention feels familiar. Founded by Iranian-American Roxana Saidi, the brand started from something deeply personal: pistachios, a staple in her upbringing, both culturally and at the table.

What began as homemade pistachio milk in 2015, during California’s drought, quickly evolved into something more considered. Saidi wasn’t just looking for an alternative to dairy, but for something that felt aligned with both taste and sustainability, pistachios requiring significantly less water than almonds while offering a richer, more distinct flavor.

Launched in 2020, Táche became the first brand to position pistachio milk as a category of its own, moving away from the expected almond and oat landscape.

But beyond that, it reflects something larger.

Like many of the brands in this list, it starts from a cultural reference point and builds outward. Taking something familiar within Middle Eastern and Persian households and reframing it for a global audience, without losing its origin in the process. Now we desperately need a regional point of sale.

More info, here

Good Girl Snacks

Good Girl Snacks isn’t just about pickles, it’s about reframing an entire category. Founded by Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, two best friends with Middle Eastern roots, the brand came out of a simple realization: the snack aisle felt outdated, and no one was speaking to their generation.

What started as an observation quickly turned into something bigger. Both founders, coming from Persian, Egyptian, and Tunisian backgrounds, grew up with pickles as a staple, something present at every table, but rarely given much attention.

With Good Girl Snacks, they decided to change that. Their now-viral “Hot Girl Pickles” take that familiarity and push it forward, through bold flavors like honey harissa or turmeric dill, and a branding language that feels unapologetically current.

But what really defines the brand isn’t just the product, it’s the perspective. It’s about taking something that’s always existed within Middle Eastern food culture and making it visible again, but this time through a lens that speaks to a younger, global audience.

More info, here

Switch Foods

Switch Foods approaches the same conversation from a different angle. Founded in the UAE by Edward Hamod, the brand looks beyond presentation and asks what happens when you rethink the ingredients themselves. By creating plant-based versions of regional staples like kebab and shawarma, it taps into familiar flavors while responding to a growing demand for more sustainable food systems. It’s a shift that doesn’t reject tradition, but adapts it, allowing it to evolve alongside changing habits.

They've also had a collaboration with Al Safadi running for a few years now, and all we can say it's that we've tried and approved. The hummus b lahme with Switch meat is just absolutely phenomenal. Please do yourself a favor and get it for lunch.

More info, here

At a certain level of craftsmanship, a watch stops being about time. With its latest High Watchmaking releases, Gucci measures hours and build worlds: worlds built from memory, from archive, from an almost obsessive attention to detail that feels closer to couture than horology.

Unveiled in Geneva, the new additions to the G-Timeless Métiers d’Art and GUCCI 25H collections move between two distinct ideas of luxury: one rooted in storytelling, the other in precision.

The Métiers d’Art pieces are where Gucci leans fully into its narrative language. Drawing from archival silk scarves, some dating back to the 1960s and 70s, each dial becomes a miniature composition. Micro-painted florals, hand-engraved creatures, layers of onyx, opal, mother-of-pearl: everything is placed with intent, everything built by hand.

One piece revisits the iconic Flora motif, originally illustrated by Vittorio Accornero, but here it feels less like a print and more like a living surface. Flowers don’t just sit still, they literally shift with light. A dragonfly appears mid-motion. Even the tourbillon, placed at twelve, feels like part of the composition rather than a technical interruption.

Elsewhere, the work of feather artist Nelly Saunier introduces a different kind of texture. Each feather is selected, placed, and layered by hand, creating gradients that move between softness and precision.

There’s a sense, across these pieces, that Gucci is less interested in modernising heritage with their archive more than just referenced but beautifully reworked. Pulled apart, translated, and rebuilt through techniques that demand time, patience, and a certain kind of obsession. Then comes the shift.

The GUCCI 25H approaches the same idea of craftsmanship from a completely different angle. Where Métiers d’Art is intricate and narrative, the 25H is architectural. Clean lines, an ultra-thin case, a skeletonised interior that exposes the mechanics rather than conceals them. But even here, Gucci resists restraint.

The latest iteration introduces a frame of rainbow sapphires, each one cut and set by hand, creating a spectrum that moves around the dial like light refracted through glass. might be bold and excessive, yes, but it is controlled.

What ties both collections together is a very specific understanding of luxury. In the end, these pieces don’t just tell time: they hold it.

More on www.Gucci.com

Lebanon has lived through more than its share of hardship in recent years. Economic collapse, political instability, and repeated waves of displacement have placed enormous strain on communities across the country.

Yet amid uncertainty, something remarkable continues to emerge: an unwavering culture of solidarity. Grassroots organizations, volunteers, and everyday citizens are once again stepping forward to support those most affected, particularly as the number of displaced families rises. This is how you can help.

Last Updated April 9th

Community-Led Efforts on the Ground

Across Beirut and beyond, local initiatives are organizing food distribution and emergency aid through volunteer networks and partnerships with local businesses.

One such effort is Humans of Dahieh, a grassroots initiative coordinating aid for vulnerable communities. Those looking to support their work can make a WISH donation to +96181696400.

Meanwhile, Nation Kitchen is working tirelessly to feed displaced individuals across the country. Their work relies heavily on community donations and volunteer support.

Supporters can contribute directly through their fundraising campaigns, HERE

For those specifically wishing to help displaced families, click on this LINK

Feeding the Displaced

Several volunteer groups have also revived emergency food initiatives to address the growing needs of displaced communities.

The Barzakh team has relaunched a large-scale aid initiative aimed at providing daily meals throughout Ramadan. Their work is supported by a network of volunteers and grassroots partners distributing food and essential supplies on the ground.

Their message to the community is direct and urgent:

“We are heartbroken to be right where we were two years ago, but we cannot sit idle. The number of displaced people in Lebanon is increasing daily, so we have started the aid initiative again to provide them with food during the holy month of Ramadan.”

Donations of all kinds are welcomed, from raw food ingredients and blankets to mattresses and financial contributions. Every contribution directly supports the preparation and distribution of meals for families in need.

Those wishing to donate or coordinate support can contact:

Khodor Al Akhdar
Operations Manager
khodor.issa@hotmail.com
+96170053547 (WhatsApp)

Donations can also be sent through Western Union.

Organizations Continuing Long-Term Support

Beyond emergency aid, several Lebanese organizations continue to provide long-term humanitarian support.

Offre Joie, known for its large-scale volunteer mobilization and community rebuilding programs, click HERE for donations

Another key organization continuing its work is Beit El Baraka, which provides direct aid to families affected by economic hardship through food programs, housing support, and social assistance. You can donate through Paypal, HERE

Jeyetna is working on providing reusable and disposable products to accomodate to different shelter situation. (pads, tampons, panties, reusable pads, hot water bottles and Jeyetna informative document)

You can send cash transfers for menstrual products - they also have partnered with Riwaq, Beit Aam, MWA and Multaga El Tullab to 'organise a decentralised community-led response.'

You can support them through:

In-kind donations at Riwaq (cash and products) and Beit 3am (products)

WISH transfer (+961) 76682025

Twint / Revolut +41793167107

The Ghassan Abu Sittah Foundation in partnership with the Chair of Conflict Medecine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) is providing treatment for children and caregivers. To donate: Cash or Bank Transfer, call +961 70 247 145 or on this LINK

LEBANESE FOOD BANK: Donate HERE

LFB’s core mission is to provide food to those in need across Lebanon, without discrimination of any kind, whether based on religion, political affiliation, geography, identity, or nationality. At the same time, the organization works to raise awareness around food waste and promote more responsible ways of managing food resources. LFB is part of the Food Banking Regional Network in Dubai, under the Global Food Banking Network, and has been audited by Deloitte Touche since 2016.

EQUIPPING LEBANON'S FIRST RESPONDERS: GO FUND ME LINK HERE

STOUH BEIRUT: To donate, click HERE

Stouh Beirut is committed to supporting vulnerable communities, with a focus on children, youth, and women, by addressing their most essential needs. Through access to medical care, basic assistance, and continuous advocacy, the organization works to improve well-being and ensure that their rights are protected.

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GIVE ME A PAW, LINK HERE

For donations outside of Lebanon, click here

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USEFUL NUMBERS

Lebanese Ministry Of Health , Full Medical Coverage for Displaced People:

1787: Emergency Cases

1214: Cancer Patients and Crititcal Cases

1564: Mental Health Services

Lebanon’s strength has always been rooted in its people and in the belief that even during moments of crisis, community can prevail. These initiatives remind us that collective action, even through small contributions, can create meaningful change.

Whether through financial support, donations of supplies, or simply spreading awareness, every act of solidarity helps sustain the work of those on the ground.

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Roanne El Alaili’s style is instinctive, expressive, and unapologetically colorful. The Swiss-Lebanese founder of pre-loved fashion app &Again approaches fashion as a form of intuition rather than structure, dressing by feeling rather than following any set rules.

There’s something inherently playful in the way she puts things together, a sense that clothes are less about perfection and more about expression, about wearing what feels right in the moment and letting that guide everything else. Dressing up her Barbies, sketching, cutting fabrics, putting things together before she even knew what that meant: it was never about clothes alone, but about expression.

The Way She Wears (TWSW) is our way of spotlighting women whose style feels personal, intuitive, and entirely their own. Not trends, not formulas, just a point of view.

Roanne’s ID:

Roanne El Alaili, Swiss Lebanese, Fashion Tech founder

When did you know you’d be working in fashion?

Could have been the day I only played with my Barbie’s clothes instead of the actual dolls. I used to make sketched and cut up fabric (my daughter does that too) and I’ve always been quite theatrical, even from a young age. Receipt in the pics. Expressing myself through my outfits is at the core of who I am.  

Who are you fashion icons?

Iris Apfel, Cher, Elsa Schiaparelli

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What are 3 brands you could wear forever?

Moschino (vintage and new), Escada (vintage), Versace (vintage)

Four staples everyone should own?

A vintage denim jacket, some funky conversation piece heels, a bag that doesn’t look like a bag, a perfect little sexy cute summer dress

What are the regional brands you love right now?

Patile (csb graduate), Sanne, Emergency Room

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Your fashion most special possession?

My mother’s pieces. There’s a Moschino cropped blazer that I love. It represents her so completely.

A piece worth investing in?

I don’t see fashion as investments. It should just be fun.

Your current favourite song, book or tv show?

Sunny - Bobby Hebb ( i like oldies and in these times, def need some sun in my brain) Sade / paradise (in stuck on it again, and will never get over it).

Fav jeans?

This is always such a hard question because for the longest time buying jeans was the fear of my life cause I got a bunda and could never find a good waist to badoinkdoink ratio (understand waist-butt ratio). So I stopped looking at sizes and started modifying my denim. But right now my favourite baggies are thrifted Topshop and my overall fave are Agolde.

There’s something about Elusive Territories that doesn’t sit comfortably, and that’s exactly the point.

Opening at Zawyeh Gallery in Alserkal, the exhibition brings together fifteen Palestinian artists, but it doesn’t feel like a group show in the traditional sense. It feels more like fragments of something larger, scattered, unfinished, still searching. Not for answers, but for a way to hold onto something that keeps slipping.

What you notice first isn’t a single narrative, but a repetition of feeling. Memory shows up everywhere, not as nostalgia, but as something heavier, something that lingers. In some works, it’s soft and almost comforting, like Samia Halaby’s landscapes that carry the quiet of a sunset you can almost step into. In others, it’s dense and suffocating, like Bashir Makhoul’s layered compositions that feel like cities built on top of themselves, holding more than they can carry.

And then there’s the absence. Not loud, not declared, but present in the way space is treated. Mohammed Joha’s work, for example, doesn’t just depict displacement, it feels constructed from it. The materials, the layering, the fragility of it all, it mirrors a kind of architecture that was never meant to last but somehow does.

What’s interesting is how often abstraction becomes the language here. Not as a stylistic choice, but almost as necessity. When something can’t be fully said, it gets broken down into color, into texture, into rhythm. Kamal Boullata turns memory into geometry, into something you can almost read like music. Sliman Mansour strips language down to a single letter and lets it exist as form, not just meaning.

There are moments of softness too. Nabil Anani’s landscapes feel almost utopian, like a version of Palestine that exists somewhere between memory and hope. Trees grow freely, colors feel generous, and for a second, you’re allowed to imagine what it would look like if things were simply… normal.

But the exhibition never lets you stay there for too long.

Because just as quickly, it shifts. Into disorientation, into fragmentation, into the quiet reality that runs underneath all of it. Benji Boyadgian’s work, for instance, plays with perception in a way that makes you question what you’re looking at, while Yazan Abu Salameh brings in materials like concrete and everyday objects, grounding everything back into a reality that is far from abstract.

What ties it all together is this constant tension between holding on and letting go. Between imagining a future and being pulled back into a present that doesn’t quite allow it. And maybe that’s what makes Elusive Territories feel so relevant right now.

Because beyond the context of Palestine, the exhibition taps into something broader, something a lot of people in the region are quietly navigating: The idea of home not as a fixed place, but as something carried, reassembled, and sometimes reimagined just to make sense of things.

It’s not an easy exhibition, and it’s not meant to be, but it stays with you, in that quiet, unresolved way.

ZAWYEH GALLERY

Alserkal

opens April 4th

There is a certain kind of creative who doesn’t just tell stories, but finds them where most people would not think to look: in kitchens, in routines, in the quiet gestures that often go unnoticed. For Lebanese creative director and filmmaker Joseph Hanna, those are the moments that matter most.

Based in Lebanon and working across film, fashion, and advertising, Hanna has built a reputation for creating visuals that feel both cinematic and deeply personal. As the founder of C’est Joseph, his work moves fluidly between luxury campaigns and emotionally driven narratives, always grounded in a strong sense of storytelling and a visual language that feels intentional, bold, and unmistakably his.

With more than a decade of experience, his trajectory reflects a balance between imagination and precision. From international campaigns across fashion, jewelry, and lifestyle to award-winning films, Hanna’s projects consistently blur the line between commercial and artistic. His short film Yeprem: The Spark of a Legacy became a global success, telling the story of transformation, resilience, and ambition, earning recognition at Cannes Lions 2025 and beyond.

But beyond the accolades and global recognition, what defines Hanna’s work is something quieter. A sensitivity to detail, and an ability to elevate the ordinary into something worth pausing for; his latest project captures exactly that.

What began as a simple, almost mundane moment at home slowly transformed into a film rooted in memory, culture, and emotion. Like many Lebanese mothers, his mother never lets anything go to waste. Over time, a Jacquemus fabric bag he had gifted her stopped being just a fashion object. It became part of her everyday life, used for groceries, for storing zaatar, keshk, labneh, seamlessly absorbed into the rhythm of her routine.

There is something deeply familiar in that image. The way luxury dissolves into daily life. The way objects are repurposed, reimagined, given new meaning through use. That contrast is what stayed with him.

The tension between the polished world of fashion and the raw, honest way the bag was being used at home felt real in a way that no campaign could replicate. It spoke to something deeply rooted in Lebanese culture, the instinct to find value in everything, to make something out of what is available, to turn even the simplest object into something purposeful.

Hanna chose to approach the project with restraint. The film is cinematic, but never overworked. Emotional, but never forced. It unfolds naturally, allowing the story to speak for itself.

At its core, it is not really about the bag. It is about his mother.

A tribute to Georgina, who, like so many mothers, moves through life with a quiet resourcefulness that rarely seeks recognition. In her hands, the bag becomes something else entirely, not a symbol of fashion, but of care, practicality, and love. A reminder that value is not defined by where something comes from, but by how it is used.

There is also something gently ironic in the fact that she does not know who Jacquemus is. And yet, in many ways, she gives the object more meaning than the brand itself ever could.

The film becomes a reflection of that idea. That beauty does not always live in intention, but often in instinct. That creativity is not always constructed, but lived.

For Hanna, whose work often merges Lebanese identity with a global visual language, this project feels like a return to something essential. A reminder that the most powerful stories are not always the ones that are imagined, but the ones that already exist around us, waiting to be seen.

In a world that constantly looks for the next big idea, there is something refreshing about turning inward instead. About finding inspiration in the everyday, and treating it with the same care and attention as anything else.

Sometimes, the most meaningful stories are the ones that were already there all along.

See the film on Instagram now - click here

There is something quietly powerful about choosing local and to do it not as a trend, not as a moment, but as a mindset. In a city that moves fast and often looks outward, turning your attention inward can feel almost radical.

Cinema Akil has always understood that. Long before “support local” became part of everyday language, the independent cinema built its identity around storytelling, community, and the people behind both. Now, with the launch of the (Imperfect) Homegrown Guide, that same ethos is being extended beyond the screen.

At first glance, the guide reads like a directory, but spend a few minutes with it, and it becomes something else entirely. A living, evolving map of the UAE’s independent spirit, bringing together more than 2,500 homegrown businesses across sectors that range from fashion and retail to wellness, food, and the creative industries.

It is not polished, and that is precisely the point. The word imperfect here feels intentional: it reflects the reality of building something from the ground up, often without the safety nets that larger, established systems provide. It also mirrors the nature of the community itself, one that is constantly growing, shifting, and redefining what it means to create locally.

What makes the guide compelling is not just its scale, but its purpose. It is designed to be returned to, whether you are looking to shop more consciously, discover new creatives, find collaborators, or simply understand the ecosystem that exists around you. It invites participation rather than passive browsing, encouraging users to contribute, connect, and build alongside one another.

In many ways, it captures a broader shift that has been unfolding quietly across the region. A move toward local-first thinking that is less about exclusivity and more about sustainability, not just economically, but culturally. When homegrown supports homegrown, something larger begins to take shape, not just a network, but a sense of shared momentum.

Cinema Akil’s role in this feels natural: since its beginnings as a nomadic cinema, it has positioned itself as more than a venue, acting instead as a platform for stories, conversations, and community. The guide feels like an extension of that vision, a way of turning the spotlight outward and allowing others to take center stage.

And perhaps that is what makes it resonate. It does not try to define what the local scene should look like. It simply creates the space for it to exist, in all its complexity, creativity, and imperfection.

Because in the end, supporting local is not about a single purchase or a passing moment. It is about choosing, again and again, to invest in what is being built around you.

Style is rarely just about what you wear, but how you wear it. The attitude, the instinct, the way pieces come together without feeling overthought.

The Way She Wears (TWSW) is our way of spotlighting women whose style feels personal, intuitive, and entirely their own. Not trends, not formulas, just a point of view.

We begin with Dania Sawedeg, Dubai-based fashion PR and co-founder of jewelry brand Kamushki, whose approach to dressing feels as considered as it is effortless. We fell in love with every single outfit she would post on her stories, and we asked if she could send over her #MirrorSeflies, cause honestly.... just keep reading and you'll understand. We want it all!

WHO ARE YOU?

Dania Sawedeg, Libyan, PR @Z7 & Co founder of Kamushki Studio
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WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU'D BE WORKING IN FASHION?

I've always loved fashion and art, but I never thought they could be a career — I’d always treated them more like hobbies. I started out studying International Relations, but after the revolution in Libya I gradually lost interest in politics and fell in love with communications. That shift led me to change my major after about 2.5 years.

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WHO ARE YOUR FASHION ICONS?

My mother and sisters.

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WHAT ARE 3 BRANDS YOU COULD WEAR FOREVER?

Three is not enough but for sure Alaïa, Khaite, and anything vintage Jean-Paul Gaultier.

FOUR STAPLES EVERYONE SHOULD OWN?

A white T-shirt, a pair of black ballerina or loafers and an oversized blazer.

WHAT ARE REGIONAL BRANDS YOU LOVE RIGHT NOW?

I love these two Libyan brands I recently came across called N.A studio & Mallakä; they both have insane jackets! I love seeing girls from my country succeed, it's very inspiring.

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YOUR MOST SEPECIAL POSSESION?

All my Kamushki pieces .

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A PIECE WORTH INVESTING IN?

Denim, once you buy the right brand that fits you, they truly last. I love Citizens of Humanity and Khaite jeans.

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YOUR CURRENT FAVOURITE SONG, BOOK OR TV SHOW?

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Song: South – Fango, my favorite song to work out too especially at Synkro
Book:  I am currently reading 'The Surrender Experiments' and I am loving it
TV show – Landman

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There’s a certain type of chaos that only happens when something long-awaited finally opens in Dubai: not the overhyped kind, but the real one. People showing up early, walking in with no plan, leaving with more than they intended.That’s exactly what’s happening at Primark’s first UAE store in The Dubai Mall.

Because for all the luxury, the statement pieces, the “investment buys,” Dubai has always been missing something slightly more honest. Clothes you don’t have to overthink, pieces you can wear immediately, without attaching meaning to them. Primark has always understood that.

The space is big, obviously. Over 60,000 square feet, one continuous floor, the kind of layout that doesn’t really guide you anywhere but somehow pulls you through everything.
You go in for basics and end up somewhere else entirely.

There’s something almost nostalgic about it. Not in the sense of looking back, but in the way it reminds you of how shopping used to feel. Less calculated, less curated for the sake of being seen; you pick things because you like them, because they’re easy, because they make sense in your day to day. And that’s where Primark lands differently here.

It doesn’t try to compete with the rest of the mall because frankly it doesn’t need to. It sits in its own lane, somewhere between trend and routine. You’ll find the expected, the collaborations everyone recognises, the slightly more elevated pieces from The Edit, but none of it feels intimidating. Everything feels wearable and if we don't think too far, we could trick ourselves into thinking Marble Arch is around the corner.

This is also just the beginning. Two more stores are already lined up in Dubai in the coming weeks, which says a lot about how confident the brand is about landing here.

But this first one matters, because it quietly shifts the balance. It reminds you that fashion doesn’t always have to be a decision. Sometimes it can just be something you walk into, pick up, and take with you without thinking too much about it.

And in a city like Dubai, that feels new.

Cover/ Ribbon Cutting - Steve Vickerstaff, Ghansham G Pindoria, Her Excellency Alison Milton, Vivien Stewart, John Hadden

There is a quiet habit many of us carry without ever really questioning it, a way of moving through life that feels almost instinctive.

We save the nice things, the dress that feels too special for an ordinary day, the plates that remain untouched in cupboards, the perfume that is only used when something important happens, all carefully set aside as if their value depends on the moment they are attached to. We tell ourselves we are waiting for the right time, for an occasion that will justify using them, for a version of life that feels worthy enough.

But what if that moment never arrives in the way we imagine it?

By Cynthia Jreige

In regions where uncertainty is not an abstract concept but something that quietly shapes the rhythm of everyday life, this habit begins to take on a different meaning. In Lebanon, in Palestine, and increasingly across the Gulf, the future is not always something that stretches out predictably ahead, but something that can shift quickly, sometimes overnight, reshaping plans, expectations, and even the sense of what comes next. What once felt distant can suddenly become immediate, and timelines that once seemed stable can dissolve without warning.

Under these conditions, the idea of a “special occasion” begins to blur, losing its clear edges and its sense of certainty.

Psychological research has long explored how uncertainty reshapes the way we think, feel, and imagine the future. Work on what is known as intolerance of uncertainty, particularly by psychologist Michel Dugas and later synthesized by R. Nicholas Carleton, suggests that when the future feels unpredictable, people experience heightened anxiety and find it increasingly difficult to plan long term or rely on what has not yet happened. Neuroscientific research by researchers such as Alexander Grupe and Jack Nitschke further shows that the brain often reacts more strongly to uncertain threats than to known ones, keeping the mind in a continuous state of anticipation, as if it is always preparing for something just beyond reach.

In that constant state of anticipation, the future becomes harder to hold onto as something stable or guaranteed, and begins instead to feel fragile, conditional, and constantly shifting.

And yet, many of us continue to wait.

We wait for stability, for clarity, for a sense of reassurance that life has settled enough to allow us to fully enjoy it, as though joy itself requires permission from circumstances that may never fully align. In doing so, we quietly push moments of pleasure further away, placing them somewhere in the future, as if they belong to a later version of ourselves rather than the present one.

In places shaped by instability, this kind of waiting carries a different weight, because saving things for later is no longer simply a personal habit or a harmless form of discipline, but begins to resemble a way of living as though the present moment is temporary, incomplete, or somehow not deserving of being fully experienced.

But perhaps the opposite is true.

Perhaps in environments where time feels uncertain and the future cannot always be relied upon, the present becomes the only space that is truly available, the only place where something can actually be lived, worn, used, and felt in its entirety.

Wearing the nice dress on an ordinary day, using the good plates without justification, opening the bottle you were saving for later, these gestures may seem small, almost insignificant at first glance, but within this context they begin to take on a quiet and deeply personal significance. They are not acts of indulgence, but of grounding, small ways of reclaiming the present from the habit of postponement.

Because in regions where the future is not always guaranteed, the most meaningful shift may not lie in resilience or endurance, but in permission, the permission to experience life as it is, rather than waiting for it to become something else.

And perhaps that is what makes something truly special, not the occasion itself, but the decision to stop waiting for one.

Lately, where we choose to eat has started to feel like more than just a casual decision. It’s about showing up, supporting places we love, and returning to the ones that have quietly become part of our routines — especially in moments where everything else feels uncertain.

So this isn’t a list of the “best” restaurants in Dubai. It’s the places we keep going back to; the ones we want to keep full, busy, and alive.

We’ll start with Of The Earth, where the farmer’s breakfast has become something we think about long after we leave. Everything is homemade, deeply comforting, and just done right, from the sourdough to the almond butter. It’s simple, but it stays with you, and it’s exactly the kind of place you want to return to again and again. they also have yummy coffees and juices.

OF THE EARTH

ALSERKAL

@OFTHEEARTHAE

Then there’s Alica Bakery, which feels less like a one-time visit and more like a habit in the making. The morning tray alone - sourdough bun with homemade compote and cheese, - their coffees, their Alica tartine, the cinammon bun, the lemon cake...makes it nearly impossible to choose just one thing. Everything is consistently incredible, and the fact that it’s on Deliveroo just means we’ll be ordering it just as often as we’ll be going.

ALICA

PORT DE LA MER

@ALICABAKERY

We recently discovered Subko, and honestly, it might have the best avocado toast we’ve had in the city. And when a staple like that is done this well, you know everything else will follow. Add smoked salmon and chili crunch, and you’ll understand why we’re already planning our next visit.

SUBKO

ALSERKAL

@SUBKOUAE

Maisan15 has been a favorite for years; the kind of place that feels personal. We always go back for the açaí bowl with homemade granola, peanut butter, and berries, paired with a pistachio latte. It’s still, without question, the best açaí bowl in Dubai. Nothing really comes close. There’s something about Maisan15 that feels like home, and it always has. Don't sleep on the housebread and 'Rami's Breakfast'.

MAISAN 15

AL BARSHA SOUTH

@MAISAN15

For something that instantly takes us back, we go to Akhu Manoushe. One bite and you’re in Lebanon. We keep it simple: the zaatar manoushe, warm, fragrant, and exactly how it should be. It’s the kind of staple that doesn’t need reinventing, just doing right, and here, it is. The kind of breakfast that feels both grounding and a tad nostalgic.

For something more casual but just as satisfying, Taqueria El Primo does exactly what it needs to do: no overthinking, just really good, authentic food. The taco de camarones is a clear standout, but the soft shell tacos followed by churros and a vanilla softie make for the kind of meal you don’t want to end.

When we’re craving something that feels closer to home, we head to Em Sherif Deli for a sourdough tartine topped with hindbeh and Bulgarian cheese. It’s simple, but it carries so much flavor, the kind that immediately takes you back to Lebanon.

EM SHERIF DELI

ONE CENTRAL AND GALLERIA MALL, BARSHA

@EMSHERIFDELI

For coffee, Stir Coffee has become a go-to, especially post-workout. It’s tucked into a gym, which makes it feel like a reward, and the beans are some of the most carefully sourced in the UAE. The flat white never misses.

STIR

THE IVY, JVT

@stircoffee.ae

We’ll always go back to One Life Kitchen and Café, across all its locations. It’s one of those places that just works, every time. An iced latte with homemade almond milk is non-negotiable, followed by a build-your-own salad from the counter — always fresh, always packed with flavor.

ONE LIFE

D3, ALSERKAL, JVC

onelifedxb.com

Then there’s Chom Chom, a Vietnamese spot that somehow gets everything right. The summer rolls are unreal, the coconut ice cream is the perfect finish, and the whole place has that laid-back energy that makes you want to stay — or take it home and do the same.

CHOM CHOM

GALLERIA MALL, BARSHA

@chomchomdxb

For pizza, Blu Pizzeria is hard to beat. Their sourdough base alone is worth the visit, and the rotating menu keeps things interesting without overcomplicating anything. It’s straightforward, and it’s really, really good.

BLU PIZZERIA

UMM SUQUEIM

@blupizzeria

SEVA Table is where we go when we want something plant-based that still feels indulgent. The chickpea omelet and banana pancakes are favorites, but what makes it stand out is how nourishing everything feels — full of superfoods, adaptogens, and ingredients that actually leave you feeling good.

SEVA TABLE

JUMEIRAH 1

@SEVATABLE

For something more classic, Scalini Dubai does what it does exceptionally well. The parmigiana is easily one of the best we’ve had, the truffle pasta never disappoints, and the atmosphere makes it the kind of place you stay a little longer than planned.

SCALINI

FOUR SEASONS JUMEIRAH

www.scalini-dubai.com

We also love Brix Café — calm, minimal, and quietly perfect. It’s where we go for a good coffee, a few light bites, and a moment to slow down. The kind of place that doesn’t try too hard, but gets everything right.

BRIX CAFE

JUMEIRAH FISHING PORT

@BRIXCAFE.AE

We’ll also be going to Amongst Few Cafe, which is one of those places we keep coming back to without really thinking about it. It’s amongst few where we love basically everything on the menu, is a great place to work from, have great vegan options and some copies of JDEED to read through. It just feels easy — the kind of spot you settle into and end up staying longer than planned.

AMONGST FEW

UMM SUQUEIM

@AMONGSTFEWCAFE

More than anything, these are the places we’ll keep choosing, not just for the food, but for what they represent. Familiarity, consistency, and a sense of community, especially when it matters most.

Because sometimes, showing up is enough.

This season doesn’t ask for reinvention, it leans into instinct, into pieces that feel immediate, a little nostalgic, and quietly self-assured.

There’s a clear dialogue between play and restraint running through this edit. Miu Miu’s animal-print pouch and Amina Muaddi’s zebra slingbacks introduce a sense of irreverence, a kind of offbeat energy that feels intentionally out of place, yet entirely right. It’s not about statement for the sake of it, but about disruption  just enough to keep things from settling.

That tension is softened by pieces that ground the wardrobe. Ramla’s natural leather flats bring a tactile simplicity, the kind that doesn’t compete but anchors everything around it, while ALEMAIS dresses carry movement and ease, their prints suggesting escape without ever feeling disconnected from the everyday.

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From top left:

SHRUNKEN WOOL-BLEND POLO SHIRT, COS - $129

FLEURS BLANCHES EARRINGS , VANINA - $150

COLT ZEBRA-PRINT CALF HAIR MULES, KHAITE - $1320

BARREL-LEG JEANS, &OTHER STORIES - $139

DASHA PRINTED HALTERNECK LINEN MAXI DRESS, CALA DE LA CRUZ - $495

What’s striking is how these elements coexist without hierarchy. A crisp shirt from ESSENTIEL Antwerp sits as comfortably within the mix as a more expressive piece like Maram’s degrade-toned, crystal-detailed top, which adds a distinctly regional perspective, one that feels current without trying too hard to define itself.

The palette follows the same logic. Nothing overly coordinated, yet nothing accidental either: warm neutrals, sun-faded pinks, saturated reds and blues all slipping into one another, echoing a season that feels less about precision and more about rhythm.

Ultimately, this is not a wardrobe built on occasion, but on feeling. On knowing when something works without needing to explain why. On allowing contrast to exist without resolving it.

Because summer, at its best, isn’t curated. It’s assembled piece by piece, moment by moment.

FROM TOP LEFT:

FITTED ASSYMETRIC TOP , LEMAIRE - $395

LA LUNE MAXI DRESS, SHONA JOY - $360

DENIM FLARE SKIRT. EMERGENCY ROOM BEIRUT - $120

CONTRAST BIKINI, &OTHER STORIES - $45 TOP AND $45 BOTTOM

FROM TOP LEFT

CABLE-KNIT MATCHING SHORT AND SWEATER, MAGDA BUTRYM - $668 and $1608

COPACABANA LINEN SHIRT DRESS, FARMRIO - $350

FROM TOP LEFT:

MILKY SKIRT, NICKLAS SKOVGAARD - $177

STRASS EARRINGS, ESSENTIEL - $125

ANIMAL PRINTED LEATHER POUCH, MIU MIU - $1906

LAYAIN IN TAN BROWN, RAMLA - $188

LA PISTE ENCHANTÉE SILK SCARF, COCCELLATO - $150,60

FROM TOP LEFT:

OVERSIZED LINEN SHIRT, LIME - $105

COTTON MINI DRESS, ALEMAIS X MOKSHINI TOUCAN TANGO - $460

DUNES LUMIERE MULES, VANINA - $400

MONUMENT TOTE, COS - $290

PINK SHIRT WITH UNEVER BUTTONS, ESSENTIEL - $195

YING YANG CRYSTAL CROP TOP, MARAM - $148,10

ZEBRA PRINTED SLINGBACK, AMINA MUADDI - $658

GRADIENT LEATHER BIKER, MARAM - $866

RED HEART EMBROIDERED T-SHIRT, LIRIKA MATOSHI - $130

It’s ironic—perhaps even telling—that a generation which prides itself so deeply on the idea of freedom now finds itself increasingly quick to judge how others choose to navigate it.

Since February 28th, as attacks escalated across our region, people have responded in vastly different ways—some choosing to stay, others deciding to leave, sometimes by choice and sometimes out of necessity, some carrying on as if life remained unchanged while others openly acknowledging that nothing feels normal at all, each reaction shaped by personal circumstance, emotional capacity, and an instinct to cope in whatever way feels most bearable.

By Cynthia Jreige

The truth, however, is that every single one of these responses is valid, because we are living through something that is not only unprecedented but deeply disorienting, something that reshapes not just our physical realities but our sense of safety, belonging, and control, leaving each of us to navigate uncertainty without a clear roadmap or shared understanding of what the “right” response might look like.

Leaving, in this context, is not a sign of weakness, nor does it imply abandoning one’s home, one’s identity, or one’s connection to place; rather, it can often be an act of preservation—of mental health, of family stability, of self—just as staying is not a badge of honor or a moral high ground that makes someone inherently stronger, more loyal, or more resilient, but instead a decision that can be equally complex, equally constrained, and equally personal.

And yet, despite this, the question remains: why the judgment?

Across social media, the noise has become impossible to ignore, with statements ranging from “life here is completely normal, I don’t know what people are talking about” to “I chose to leave for a few weeks until things calm down,” each one quickly met with a wave of criticism, as though there were a universally accepted way to exist within instability, as though deviation from that imagined norm somehow warrants explanation or condemnation.

But there isn’t, and there never has been.

What we are witnessing is not simply a difference in choices, but a difference in capacity; an intersection of personal history, emotional threshold, lived experience, and available resources that shapes how each individual processes fear, uncertainty, and disruption, meaning that what feels manageable to one person may feel overwhelming to another, and both realities can coexist without invalidating each other.

Some people have lived through repeated cycles of instability and have learned, consciously or not, to compartmentalize, to normalize, to continue, while others are encountering this intensity for the first time and are still learning how to process it, how to name it, how to carry it; some have the privilege to leave and choose distance as a way to breathe, while others do not, and instead must find ways to create stability within instability, holding on to routine as a form of grounding.

None of these responses are wrong, and yet the danger lies in the assumption that our own way of coping is the correct one; that our choices are more rational, more grounded, more legitimate than someone else’s, because it is precisely this assumption that creates distance where we need closeness, and division where we need understanding.

At its core, this moment is about humanity under pressure, and under pressure, people reveal different versions of themselves: some becoming quieter, others louder, some retreating inward while others reach outward, some choosing distance in order to protect their sense of self while others choose presence in order to feel anchored to something real.

These are not contradictions; they are expressions of survival.

Perhaps the discomfort we feel is not rooted in the fact that people are making different choices, but in the reality that we are being forced to confront perspectives that challenge our own, revealing just how deeply we rely on the illusion that there is a “right” way to endure.

We like the idea of freedom in theory: freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of choice; but freedom, in its truest form, requires us to extend that same permission to others, even when their choices differ from our own, even when we do not fully understand them, even when they make us uncomfortable.

It requires restraint, empathy, and a certain humility; the ability to accept that we do not know what is best for someone else’s life, that we are not operating from the same realities, and that our perspective, no matter how strongly held, is not universal.

In moments like these, solidarity is not about making the same choices, but about respecting that we won’t, about holding space for someone who chose to leave without questioning their courage, and standing beside someone who chose to stay without romanticizing their resilience, understanding that both decisions can come from a place of care rather than contradiction.

Maybe, instead of asking “why did they do that?” we should begin to ask “what might they be going through?”, shifting the focus from judgment to curiosity, from assumption to understanding.

Because the truth is that we are all, in one way or another, trying to find ground in something that keeps shifting beneath us, each of us reaching for stability in the only ways we know how.

And in times like these, the most radical thing we can do is not to judge, but to soften—to listen more closely, to allow more generously, and to support more intentionally, recognizing that freedom is not proven by how firmly we defend our own choices, but by how gently we hold space for someone else’s.

The gist of your year and the mantra to make it magical.

Aries

Go within and connect to your inner knowledge and power. Don’t rush into things. Everything is unfolding as it should be. Take the time to nurture yourself, your dreams and ambitions. It’s the year to plant the seeds of the future.‍

All my plans are working out perfectly.

Taurus

Break free from negative thinking. The past is finished and it’s time to move on. Your fears don’t define you. There is a flow of abundance in fulfilling your wishes this year, focus on that and expect magical new changes.

Everyday I step into successful new beginnings.

Gemini

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The truth will set you free. Expect deep spiritual awakening and clarity on your path. Evaluate the past, forgive and move on. Your new life is slowly but steadily being created. Be patient as you plan the next chapter of your life.

I have what it takes to succeed.

Cancer

Deep inner transformation is on the way. You won’t recognise yourself by the end of the year. You’re shedding the past and paving way for a positive new future. Changes, relocations and life review are defining your year.

I believe in my strength.

Leo

Your intuition is key in guiding you this year. An important person will help and inspire you with their wisdom, trust them! The right people will support you to live life to your highest ideals. Your soul is seeking change to be in the environment with the right people.

I’m ready to accept my soul’s calling.

Virgo

Make new lifestyle adjustments as you navigate through the year. Nurture yourself and those you love and life will give you back more. The need for balance, dedication and unity are what your soul is asking for and as a result rewards will follow.

My choices are nurturing and empowering.

Libra

A very happy ending where life becomes full circle. Your voice is powerful and needs to be heard. The connections and relationships you build this year will be long term. The world is your oyster as you make the best of it.

I’m fulfilled in all my relationships.

Scorpio

You’ll experience sudden revelation that offers freedom and helps you move forward. The past is still influencing your life and it’s time to change that. Spiritual union with the right people will uplift you and bring about opportunities for positive change.

Everyday my life is changing to the better.

Sagittarius

Time to make a courageous choice to change your situation. People and circumstances that are not right for you are on their way out. Don’t waste your time with the wrong crowd. Change is inevitable this year, so move forward seeking the right advice.

I surround myself with the right people.

Capricorn

Make choices that will give you more quiet time and rest. Take all the time you need to review your life and make healthy changes using your intuition. Be flexible with change and evaluate every step listening to your inner voice.

I enjoy my inner peace.

Aquarius

See this year as a catalyst to heal areas that have a weak foundation in your life. Seek truth and you’ll have the opportunity to improve your life. Your intuition will guide you for accurate guidance. It’s time make drastic changes.

I am protected and powerful.

Pisces

Release your attachment to the old that doesn’t serve you. Consider taking a different approach to life and as you navigate to changes take a more uplifting approach. You’ll be making the right connections with the people who are good for you and say goodbye to some.

I move forward with excitement.

For decades, the narrative surrounding youth in the region has been framed through resilience. It is a word often repeated by outsiders —sometimes admiringly, sometimes carelessly — to describe a generation that has grown up amid instability.

But resilience suggests endurance, the ability to withstand pressure without breaking. What it does not fully capture is something more subtle that has emerged among young people across the region: the insidious skill of adaptive survival.

Across the region today, uncertainty is not an abstract concept. It is something that appears in headlines, in conversations, in the background hum of everyday life. Missiles cross airspace, cities wake to news alerts. In Lebanon, war has once again returned to the foreground. Across the Gulf, missile threats periodically remind residents how fragile stability can feel.

For many young people, these realities do not always translate into dramatic upheaval, but into something quieter: a constant recalibration of expectations.

Rather than imagining life in long, predictable arcs, the future is often negotiated month by month, opportunity by opportunity. Plans are made with a certain flexibility built into them. Careers shift. Moves between cities happen quickly. Entire creative communities appear almost spontaneously in response to changing conditions - something us Arabs are particularly good at.

What might appear as instability from the outside is, for many, simply the rhythm of life. A forced-upon rhythm of life with 'Inshallah' as a tag line; nothing we ever wished for.

The ability to pivot quickly has become second nature. Languages shift mid-sentence. Friend groups stretch across continents and identities expand rather than settle. Belonging becomes something portable rather than tied to a single geography.

Take JDEED: born in 2017, we’ve already gone through more crises than most businesses endure in their entire existence. In 2019 came the Thawra — a breeze of hope for our generation, but one whose consequences were difficult to navigate. Then 2020 brought Covid and the Beirut port explosion. There’s no need to paint a picture of how this affected our very young business, and to be completely honest, we’re still not entirely sure how we made it out the other side. After barely two years trying to get back on our feet, October 2023 hit our entire region again, with Israel’s initiating its genocide on Gaza. And now in 2026 — well, you already know.

This adaptability, however, carries a heavy weight. Living in a state of adjustment requires constant emotional recalibration; the ability to rebuild, restart, and continue moving forward even as the ground beneath you shifts. Psychologists often describe anxiety as a response not only to danger itself but to the uncertainty of potential future threats, a state in which the mind remains alert to what might happen next. Under such conditions, the future rarely stretches very far ahead. Sometimes it reaches only the next hour, if even that.

And yet, this same instability has also produced a remarkable cultural inventiveness. Across the region, young artists, designers, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs continue to build new cultural languages in real time, drawing simultaneously from global influences and deeply local realities - because what other choice do we have?

Perhaps the defining trait of this generation is not resilience after all, but adaptability. Not the ability to endure the same circumstances indefinitely, but the capacity to transform alongside them.

In a region where the future can change overnight, survival has become less about standing firm and more about learning how to move.

Nowadays, fashion often takes itself a little too seriously. Trashy Clothing, on the other hand, thrives on irony while addressing a topic that is undeniably serious — and that tension is precisely what makes it so compelling. In an industry that often confuses solemnity with depth, a little irreverence can be surprisingly sharp.

Set in the brutalist steel building of the Institut du Monde Arabe, the show unfolded in a space that is far more than a museum. The institution has long served as a cultural haven for young creatives who prefer not to play by the rules, which feels entirely in line with the way Omar and Shukri approach their work.

By Mark Khoury

The self-described anti-luxury luxury label was founded in 2017 by Shukri Lawrence and Omar Braika, who use irony to address the state of the world through Y2K references and an avant-garde spirit. When asked whether they considered their work a form of protest, Shukri explained that it was “more of a documentation, in better lighting and from a different angle, than a protest.”

Inspired by Divine Intervention, the film by Elia Suleiman, the messaging behind the collection drew a clear contrast between the mundanity of everyday life and militarism. As the designers explained, “During occupation, going to the salon is political, going to the gym is political. Everything becomes political.”

Olive green, tarboush red, sand beige, and metallic accents formed the core palette of the collection. While some silhouettes appeared boxy and avant-garde, almost presenting themselves as armor, others were strikingly figure-hugging, featuring draped delicate mesh and unconventional bras. The collection also included jewelry from Sheytan, Mia Khalifa’s brand, who was not only perfectly cast but also seemed to act as a muse for the designers themselves.

Speaking of perfect casting, Hadid sister Alana made her runway debut for Trashy, explaining that it felt “obvious for [her] to represent [her] people and walk for a Palestinian brand during Paris Fashion Week, and [she] would only do it for Trashy Clothing.”

Overall, the show was more than a coherent collection. It felt, in many ways, like a real-time documentation of life under occupation. Fashion may rarely claim such a role, but here it did not shy away from it either.

More info on TrashyClothing.shop

In a city that rarely pauses, the idea of slowing time feels almost radical. Yet inside the sculptural architecture of One&Only One Za’abeel, a new space is quietly redefining what modern wellness can look like. Longevity Hub by Clinique La Prairie Dubai is not simply a spa, nor a medical clinic in the traditional sense. Instead, it exists somewhere in between: a hybrid environment where science, aesthetics, and lifestyle coaching converge around one central idea: living longer, and living better.

The concept originates from Clinique La Prairie, the Swiss institution that has spent nearly a century exploring the science of longevity. Founded in Montreux in 1931, the clinic has long been synonymous with regenerative medicine and preventative health. The Dubai hub translates that legacy into an urban format, bringing the clinic’s renowned longevity method into a contemporary setting designed for daily life rather than destination retreats.

Spread across three floors within One&Only One Za’abeel, the Hub feels closer to a private wellness laboratory than a traditional spa. Treatment suites, consultation lounges, movement studios, and the quietly futuristic Longevity Index space create an environment where diagnostics and restoration exist side by side. The experience begins with an in-depth analysis of the body’s internal and external health markers, from skin diagnostics to metabolic indicators, forming a personalized roadmap for treatment.

Rather than addressing health reactively, the Hub’s philosophy is rooted in prevention. Programs blend advanced diagnostics, regenerative medicine, aesthetic treatments, nutrition, and movement coaching, building a holistic picture of wellbeing that evolves with each individual. It is a model that reflects a broader shift in luxury wellness: away from occasional indulgence and toward measurable longevity.

The treatments themselves read like a glimpse into the future of wellbeing. Guests may move between cryotherapy, lymphatic therapies, IV infusions, and neuro-wave technologies designed to regulate the nervous system. Elsewhere, targeted facials address environmental stress and skin regeneration, while body-sculpting technologies enhance muscle tone and metabolic performance.

Our Hydrafacial with the fabulous Yvonna is something we won't forget anytime soon.

Yet despite the technology, the philosophy remains deeply human. Clinique La Prairie’s longevity method rests on three interconnected pillars — longevity, wellbeing, and aesthetics — recognizing that physical health, mental resilience, and outward vitality are inseparable expressions of the same system.

Dubai, perhaps unsurprisingly, provides the ideal context for this evolution. As the city positions itself as a global hub for advanced healthcare and medical tourism, spaces like Longevity Hub reflect a growing cultural shift: wellness is no longer just about relaxation, but about long-term optimization.

That philosophy also adapts to the rhythms of life in the region. During the holy month, the Hub introduces Ramadan Glow, a curated series of treatments designed specifically for the physical effects of fasting and the altered pace of daily routines. The program focuses on restoring hydration, radiance, and balance through treatments like the Ramadan Glow Facial, which combines deep cleansing, BioRePeel skin renewal, a lifting mask, and radiofrequency to revive tired complexions. Body therapies such as Emsculpt NEO complement the offering, supporting muscle tone and energy while aligning with the restorative spirit of the season.

In this sense, the Hub’s approach feels less like a clinical intervention and more like a dialogue with time itself. Longevity here is not framed as the pursuit of youth, but as the cultivation of vitality: physical, mental, and aesthetic, across the arc of a lifetime.

In a city defined by momentum, Longevity Hub proposes something quietly radical: that the greatest luxury may simply be time, well lived.

More info on longevity-hub.cliniquelaprairie.com/dubai/

As Lebanon and parts of the Gulf navigate the emotional weight of war and instability, many people are searching for ways to stay grounded while the news cycle grows heavier by the day. Anxiety, grief, and uncertainty have become shared experiences across the region, prompting deeper conversations about mental resilience and the role of community in moments of crisis.

For Lebanese, Dubai-based mindset coach Nour Bachir, these moments of collective tension are precisely when emotional support becomes most essential. Through her initiative Bedaya, meaning “a beginning,” Bachir is working to create spaces where people can pause, process, and reconnect with themselves and others.

“Every transformation, every moment of genuine change, begins somewhere; and I wanted to create a space that honored that threshold,” she says.

The idea for Bedaya grew from what Bachir repeatedly observed around her: individuals who seemed outwardly functional but internally adrift. In fast-moving cities across the Gulf, productivity often eclipses emotional wellbeing, leaving many people feeling isolated despite constant digital connection.

“People who were educated, motivated, and doing ‘all the right things’… and yet still feeling fundamentally disconnected,” she explains. “They had access to information but lacked integration. They had motivation but no sustained structure.”

In a region currently grappling with conflict and uncertainty, those feelings can intensify. Fear and anxiety are often interpreted as signs of personal weakness, but Bachir encourages a different understanding.

“Fear, anxiety, and overwhelm are natural stress responses; they are the body doing exactly what it was designed to do,” she says. “The work is not to silence them, but to regulate them.”

Part of that regulation begins with simple physical practices. Breathwork, movement, and stepping away from constant information streams can help the nervous system regain balance. In periods of crisis, she says, boundaries around media consumption are particularly important.

“You do not need to be informed every hour to be a caring or responsible person. Set intentional windows for consuming news and protect the rest of your time.”

Yet perhaps the most powerful antidote to uncertainty is human connection. When people retreat into isolation, distress often deepens. Reaching out, even briefly, can interrupt that spiral.

“Connect with someone real. Not a feed, not a comment section; a voice, a face, a person who knows you,” Bachir says. “Co-regulation is a biological reality. We calm down in the presence of safe others.”

That philosophy is also what inspired Bachir to offer free 30-minute psychological support sessions during this period. The goal is not to solve everything in one conversation, but to create a moment of relief and perspective.

“There is a particular kind of weight that comes from carrying something alone and in silence,” she explains. “Often, the most powerful thing a first conversation does is simply interrupt that silence.”

Even a short conversation, she adds, can change how someone experiences the rest of their week.

“Thirty minutes is enough time to do something genuinely meaningful: to feel heard, to name what has been circling without a name, and to walk away with at least one concrete thing to hold onto.”

In moments when the external world feels chaotic, resilience is often misunderstood as emotional toughness. For Bachir, it is something more nuanced.

“Resilience is not the absence of being affected,” she says. “It is the capacity to be moved without being swept away.”

Ultimately, the message she hopes people carry through this period of uncertainty is both simple and profound: connection is not optional: it is essential.

“Asking for help is not weakness. It is one of the most courageous and self-aware things a human being can do.”

And sometimes the first step toward stability is simply reaching out.

“You do not have to have it figured out before you make contact. You just have to take one step toward connection. That step… is where every beginning starts.”

More info on Bedayamena.com

It begins with the moon. 

Looking eagerly to the night sky, searching for confirmation that Ramadan, indeed, has returned. Billions of people all over the planet, then, fall into the rhythm of the brightest star in the sky, as they endeavor to cut out the noise of the demanding world inside and reckon with the chaos of their inner selves. 

What happens when you do not allow yourself to ply every ounce of discomfort with distractions?  Younger generations are finding their own way of answering that question, along with their own way of moving through the holy month. 

By Saher Azmi

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Despite my own amorphous relationship with faith - hard to define, confusing to explain - I can say that there is absolutely something special about the month of Ramadan. Is it the way the community comes together to enliven the nights? Is it the shared rituals that we get to share with each other these precious 30 days? Is it the sincerity of effort people put in to become more balanced individuals? Likely, it is all of these, and more. 

I decide I would benefit from the perspectives of a few friends, those I deem to be ‘better’ at Ramadan than I am, and what they tell me drastically shifts my outlook.

“For a lot of people, Ramadan is about peace. Nobody is waiting for Eid to come. We are all waiting to get in that zone, to focus on doing better. Ramadan has become a judgement free month over the years. You aren’t judged based on how you’re doing, but rather if you show up and try.”

If you show up and try. I turn the words over in my mind. 

Perfectionism has never been something I am keen on, but when it comes to my faith, I feel that unless I fit exactly into this box with fixed dimensions and prescribed rules, I am utterly failing at it.

We, often, take on the burden of the world without even being asked to do it, which has become somewhat of a characterizing trait of our generation. Ramadan is a reminder of the collective, of the ease to be found in the midst of community. And it is so much more than that. It is an exercise of empathy and awareness. We, voluntarily, give up the simplest pleasures – your daily morning coffee, your breezy lunch with a friend. You feel the hunger cues in your body, you know you can satisfy them, and you choose not to. If desire is the root of all suffering, you have curbed your desire. You are content in this knowledge. 

You reflect on the fact that there are millions out there who are living in poverty and destitution, in countries ravaged by war, in a constant state of panic. In the welcoming solitude of Ramadan, you can appreciate how truly lucky you are; you can begin to detach from the fleeting materialism that is so encoded into our everyday lives under capitalism.

You can begin to imagine a different way of life.

Living in a country like the UAE, we are afforded the unique privilege of experiencing what life is like when the system bends to the demands of Ramadan. When work hours are shorter, and we spend more time at home, more time with our families, our communities, yet the world continues to go on as before – what does that tell us? 

“People talk about capitalist realism in their books and theories, yet none of them have managed to produce a reality which shows there is an alternate way to live.” says a friend. “It doesn’t always have to be the routine we’re made to believe is inherent.” 

Ramadan feels like a lifeline – there is no denying that. 

It always seems to come when we need it most. The chance to retreat – to simplicity of mind and body, to discipline governed by nature and not office hours, to a desire to simply be better as a person, to a dedication towards cultivating a kinder society – is invaluable. 

I can understand, then, why people look forward to Ramadan the way they do, why they wait for that first moon. However brief, this month gives us a chance to slow down, to be still, to retreat and restore ourselves. When we break bread at Iftar with our beloveds, the respite from hunger comes gently, and we can soothe ourselves with the knowledge that there will always be this. There will always be Ramadan.

Across the Middle East and beyond, a new generation of women founders is reshaping what modern entrepreneurship looks like. They are building brands rooted in heritage yet designed for the future, blending creativity with strategic vision, and proving that leadership today is as much about purpose as it is about profit.

From fine jewellery ateliers to wellness spaces, design studios, and conscious fashion labels, these women are not simply launching businesses. They are creating ecosystems, communities, and cultural narratives that extend far beyond the products themselves.

Here are some of the founders redefining what it means to lead in the region today.

Reimagining Modern Jewelry

Jewellery remains one of the most powerful forms of personal expression in the region, and several women are pushing the category forward with fresh perspectives.

Based in Amman, Ghadeer Taher and Joumana Jallad are the creative minds behind STONE Fine Jewelry, a brand that champions understated luxury and timeless design. With backgrounds in finance and political journalism, the duo brings both artistic sensibility and strategic insight to their work. Over the past decade, they have reinterpreted classic jewellery forms through fluid silhouettes and refined craftsmanship, earning the trust of collectors across the region.

www.bystonejewelry.com

Similarly rooted in heritage is Mariyeh Ghelichkhani - For Ghelichkhani, jewellery has always been part of life. Growing up in her father’s gemstone workshop, she developed an early fascination with craftsmanship and design. Her multicultural life between cities such as Tehran, Dubai and London continues to influence her work today, resulting in pieces that reflect resilience, spirituality and emotional depth.

www.mariyehghelichkhani.com

Few designers command the global recognition of Farah Khan. With more than three decades of experience in the world of fine jewelry, she has built a brand synonymous with glamour, craftsmanship and bold design. Her creations are instantly recognizable for their dramatic scale, intricate detailing and fearless use of color.

Farah’s creative process draws from a wide range of inspirations: architecture, travel, nature, geometry and the hidden narratives embedded in the places she visits. Each collection reflects this layered perspective, combining artistic imagination with technical mastery. Her work has been worn by some of the world’s most recognizable figures, including Beyoncé, Serena Williams, and prominent personalities across both Hollywood and Bollywood.

Yet beyond celebrity appeal, what defines Farah Khan’s legacy is her ability to transform jewellery into wearable art; pieces that feel powerful, expressive and unapologetically luxurious.

www.farahkhanworld.com

As the creative director of Samra, Katia Abou Samra represents the evolution of a family legacy into a modern global brand. Raised within the jewellery world, her passion for gemstones and craftsmanship developed naturally. But Katia’s approach extends far beyond tradition. With training in marketing and advertising, diamond grading and jewellery design at GIA, she brings both creative vision and strategic thinking to the brand.

Under her leadership, Samra has expanded its identity through storytelling, collaborations and contemporary design that appeals to a new generation of collectors. Katia is also deeply committed to mentorship and empowerment. Through her Dream Big with Samra initiative, she supports emerging talent and encourages young creatives to pursue ambitious careers within the industry.

For Katia, jewellery is not only about beauty; it is about confidence, identity and purpose.

www.samra.com

Born into a family of fifth-generation jewellers, Aashna Sanghvi grew up surrounded by the traditions of natural diamond craftsmanship. Yet rather than simply continuing the family path, she chose to challenge it. With Kayaa Jewels, Aashna became the first in her lineage to embrace lab-grown diamonds, bringing a progressive perspective to a historically traditional industry.

Her vision was to bridge the gap between high jewellery reserved for special occasions and everyday accessories. Kayaa designs are versatile, customizable and wearable  pieces designed to integrate seamlessly into modern life.For Aashna, the future of luxury lies in accessibility, individuality and sustainability, where jewelry becomes a daily expression rather than a rare indulgence.

www.kayaajewels.com

Before becoming a jewellery designer, Lana Al Kamal trained as an architect, a background that continues to shape her design philosophy today. Her pieces reflect architectural thinking: precise lines, structural balance and a deep understanding of proportion.

After studying jewellery design and gemology through GIA and L’Ecole School of Jewelry Arts, she launched her eponymous brand in 2018. Crafted in the UAE, Lana’s collections merge 18-karat gold and diamonds with sculptural design, resulting in jewellery that feels both structured and delicate. Her work reflects a refined femininity grounded in craftsmanship and symbolism  jewellery that feels quietly powerful rather than overtly extravagant.

www.lanaalkamaljewelry.com

For Sanah Khurana, jewellery has always been tied to memory. Growing up in India surrounded by heirloom pieces rich in family history, she noticed something curious: many of these meaningful jewels remained locked away, rarely worn in modern life.

With Tripat, she set out to change that.Her brand bridges heritage and contemporary wearability, creating jewellery that carries the emotional depth of inheritance while fitting effortlessly into daily routines. Sanah blends creative instinct with sharp commercial awareness, ensuring her designs remain both soulful and practical. The result is jewellery meant to be lived in  pieces that accompany life’s everyday moments as much as its celebrations.

www.tripatjewellery.com

Designing Spaces and Experiences

Beyond jewellery, women are also redefining design and lifestyle businesses across the region.

Interior designer Sally Negm approaches design with a rare dual perspective; one shaped by engineering precision and architectural creativity. As co-founder and creative director of Peristylia, she leads the studio’s design philosophy with clarity and intention.

Her work centers on human-focused luxury, creating spaces where aesthetic beauty and functionality coexist seamlessly. Rather than imposing style, Sally’s approach begins with understanding how people experience a space; how they move, interact and feel within it. The result is interiors that feel deeply personal, timeless and emotionally resonant.

Meanwhile in Dubai, Tinaz Bodhanwala, founder of MINIAAR, is shaping a new vision for ethical fashion. When Tinaz Bodhanwala founded the brand in 2017, her vision was clear: luxury fashion could be both elegant and ethical.

Her collections are known for their clean silhouettes, modular construction and architectural lines, creating garments that feel modern yet timeless. But beyond aesthetics, Tinaz places strong emphasis on social responsibility and inclusivity, ensuring the brand reflects values as much as design.

Through MINIAAR, she continues to challenge the notion that sustainability and high fashion cannot coexist, proving that conscious luxury is not only possible, but increasingly essential.

www.miniaar.com

Building Communities Through Wellness and Beauty

Entrepreneurship today is increasingly about community, and several women founders are creating brands that extend beyond products into shared experiences.

In Abu Dhabi, Meerah Al Matrooshi and Alia Al Mazrouei have transformed the concept of boutique fitness with The Burn Room. Blending high-performance Lagree training with professional red-light therapy, their studio merges strength training with advanced recovery technology.

For Meerah, a passionate fitness professional, the goal was to create more than a workout environment; it was about building a space for resilience and intentional living. Alia, an experienced entrepreneur with multiple successful ventures, brings strategic leadership and mentorship to the business.

Together they have built a studio that feels both high-energy and deeply community-driven.

www.instagram.com/burnroom.ae

In the beauty space, Alia Al Marzooqi, founder of OLAH Haircare, turned a family tradition into a thriving natural beauty brand. Inspired by her grandmother’s haircare recipes, OLAH combines heritage knowledge with modern formulations, building a loyal community around clean, results-driven products.The story behind OLAH Haircare begins with a family ritual.

Inspired by her grandmother’s traditional haircare recipes, Alia Al Marzooqi transformed those ancestral practices into a modern beauty brand.

Launched in Dubai in 2023, OLAH combines natural ingredients with contemporary cosmetic science, offering formulations rooted in both heritage and performance. What began as a deeply personal tradition has grown into one of the UAE’s emerging clean beauty brands, championing self-care, confidence and authenticity.

www.olahhaircare.com

A New Era of Female Entrepreneurship

Across the region, founders like Dujanah and Oloof Jarrar of House Janolo and Dounia Lahlou, founder of Zei, are continuing to push creative boundaries through contemporary jewellery that encourages individuality and interaction.

At House Janolo, sisters Dujanah and Oloof Jarrar bring a shared creative vision to contemporary jewellery. Their brand celebrates individuality and personal expression, offering pieces that feel modern while maintaining a refined, timeless sensibility. Each design reflects a careful balance between craftsmanship, material quality and artistic intention. Through House Janolo, the duo continues to explore how jewellery can become a powerful extension of identity.

With Zei, founder Dounia Lahlou explores jewellery as an interactive design language. Her work focuses on modular construction, movement and adaptability, encouraging wearers to engage with jewellery in new ways. Each piece is designed to evolve, shifting shape or configuration depending on how it is worn.

Through Zei, Dounia reimagines jewellery as something dynamic rather than static, where design becomes a dialogue between object and wearer. Together, these women represent something larger than individual success stories. They reflect a shift in how businesses are being built in the region; more collaborative, more intentional, and deeply connected to identity and culture.

www.zeijewels.com

Taken together, these founders represent something larger than individual success stories. They embody a shift in the regional business landscape: one where women are building companies that merge creativity, strategy and cultural depth.

Their brands span industries, but they share a common thread: intention.

They are creating businesses that do more than sell products. They shape communities, inspire new conversations and redefine what leadership looks like for the next generation.

The future of entrepreneurship in the region is not just innovative: it is undeniably female.

Lebanon has lived through more than its share of hardship in recent years. Economic collapse, political instability, and repeated waves of displacement have placed enormous strain on communities across the country.

Yet amid uncertainty, something remarkable continues to emerge: an unwavering culture of solidarity. Grassroots organizations, volunteers, and everyday citizens are once again stepping forward to support those most affected, particularly as the number of displaced families rises. This is how you can help.

Last Updated April 9th

Community-Led Efforts on the Ground

Across Beirut and beyond, local initiatives are organizing food distribution and emergency aid through volunteer networks and partnerships with local businesses.

One such effort is Humans of Dahieh, a grassroots initiative coordinating aid for vulnerable communities. Those looking to support their work can make a WISH donation to +96181696400.

Meanwhile, Nation Kitchen is working tirelessly to feed displaced individuals across the country. Their work relies heavily on community donations and volunteer support.

Supporters can contribute directly through their fundraising campaigns:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-beirut-ngo-distribute-food-meds-to-displaced-lebanese?lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

For those specifically wishing to help displaced families:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nation-station-for-the-displaced-lebanon?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

Feeding the Displaced

Several volunteer groups have also revived emergency food initiatives to address the growing needs of displaced communities.

The Barzakh team has relaunched a large-scale aid initiative aimed at providing daily meals throughout Ramadan. Their work is supported by a network of volunteers and grassroots partners distributing food and essential supplies on the ground.

Their message to the community is direct and urgent:

“We are heartbroken to be right where we were two years ago, but we cannot sit idle. The number of displaced people in Lebanon is increasing daily, so we have started the aid initiative again to provide them with food during the holy month of Ramadan.”

Donations of all kinds are welcomed, from raw food ingredients and blankets to mattresses and financial contributions. Every contribution directly supports the preparation and distribution of meals for families in need.

Those wishing to donate or coordinate support can contact:

Khodor Al Akhdar
Operations Manager
khodor.issa@hotmail.com
+96170053547 (WhatsApp)

Donations can also be sent through Western Union.

Organizations Continuing Long-Term Support

Beyond emergency aid, several Lebanese organizations continue to provide long-term humanitarian support.

Offre Joie, known for its large-scale volunteer mobilization and community rebuilding programs, click HERE for donations

Another key organization continuing its work is Beit El Baraka, which provides direct aid to families affected by economic hardship through food programs, housing support, and social assistance. You can donate through Paypal, HERE

Jeyetna is working on providing reusable and disposable products to accomodate to different shelter situation. (pads, tampons, panties, reusable pads, hot water bottles and Jeyetna informative document)

You can send cash transfers for menstrual products - they also have partnered with Riwaq, Beit Aam, MWA and Multaga El Tullab to 'organise a decentralised community-led response.'

You can support them through:

In-kind donations at Riwaq (cash and products) and Beit 3am (products)

WISH transfer (+961) 76682025

Twint / Revolut +41793167107

The Ghassan Abu Sittah Foundation in partnership with the Chair of Conflict Medecine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) is providing treatment for children and caregivers. To donate: Cash or Bank Transfer, call +961 70 247 145 or on this LINK

LEBANESE FOOD BANK: Donate HERE

LFB’s core mission is to provide food to those in need across Lebanon, without discrimination of any kind, whether based on religion, political affiliation, geography, identity, or nationality. At the same time, the organization works to raise awareness around food waste and promote more responsible ways of managing food resources. LFB is part of the Food Banking Regional Network in Dubai, under the Global Food Banking Network, and has been audited by Deloitte Touche since 2016.

EQUIPPING LEBANON'S FIRST RESPONDERS: GO FUND ME LINK HERE

STOUH BEIRUT: To donate, click HERE

Stouh Beirut is committed to supporting vulnerable communities, with a focus on children, youth, and women, by addressing their most essential needs. Through access to medical care, basic assistance, and continuous advocacy, the organization works to improve well-being and ensure that their rights are protected.

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GIVE ME A PAW, LINK HERE

For donations outside of Lebanon, click here

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USEFUL NUMBERS

Lebanese Ministry Of Health , Full Medical Coverage for Displaced People:

1787: Emergency Cases

1214: Cancer Patients and Crititcal Cases

1564: Mental Health Services

Lebanon’s strength has always been rooted in its people and in the belief that even during moments of crisis, community can prevail. These initiatives remind us that collective action, even through small contributions, can create meaningful change.

Whether through financial support, donations of supplies, or simply spreading awareness, every act of solidarity helps sustain the work of those on the ground.

At Prada, clothes are rarely just clothes. They are conversations, contradictions, memories layered into fabric.

And for Fall/Winter 2026, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons lean fully into that idea, presenting a collection that feels less like a static wardrobe and more like a living portrait of modern womanhood.

Unveiled in Milan inside the Deposito of Fondazione Prada, the show explored the idea that identity is never singular. It shifts, evolves, fractures, reforms. The designers described the collection as “an embrace of inherent pluralities”, reflecting the multifaceted realities women inhabit every day.

Bc Cynthia Jreige

A Wardrobe in Motion

At the heart of the collection was layering, but not the predictable kind. Instead, Prada approached it as a metaphor for time, memory, and transformation. Garments seemed to reveal hidden histories as they moved. Tailoring collided with sportswear. Embroidered satin dresses were layered beneath coats or partially concealed under minimalist silhouettes. The result felt both spontaneous and precise; a wardrobe constantly shifting through the day.

Within each look, as Prada described, “we discover multitudes.”

The layering wasn’t just visual. It suggested the lived reality of clothing: pieces added, removed, repurposed across the rhythms of daily life. A coat over a dress. A skirt over trousers. Fabrics folding into one another like overlapping narratives.

The Beauty of Imperfection

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the collection was its treatment of materials. Rather than pristine surfaces, many pieces appeared intentionally weathered, fabrics faded, embroideries aged, textures distressed.

It created a sense that these garments had already lived a life.

Precious decoration looked patinated, archival dresses seemed embedded within other garments, and materials were sometimes “eaten away as a means of revelation,” exposing layers beneath.

It felt emotional rather than nostalgic. Clothes not as pristine objects, but as companions shaped by experience.

Fifteen Women, Infinite Characters

The runway cast -a defined group of 15 women- reinforced the narrative of plurality. Rather than presenting a single archetype, the show explored how the same wardrobe could hold countless personalities.

Through subtle shifts in styling, posture, and layering, each model embodied a different version of the Prada woman. Strong yet fluid. Intellectual yet instinctive. Familiar yet constantly evolving.

It suggested something quietly radical: identity is not fixed, and neither is fashion.

A Dialogue With Time

Even the setting mirrored the collection’s philosophy. The Deposito of Fondazione Prada was filled with artworks, furniture, and objects spanning five centuries, from Renaissance tapestries and Venetian mirrors to modern chairs and lamps.

These artefacts, each carrying their own histories, echoed the collection’s layered narrative. Just like the clothes, their meanings were personal, shifting, and open to interpretation.

The Prada Paradox

Prada has long thrived on paradox: simplicity revealing complexity, restraint holding emotional depth.

FW26 continues that tradition. On the surface, the silhouettes feel pared back. But look closer and the layers multiply: visually, conceptually, emotionally.

It’s fashion as archaeology and every garment contains another story beneath it. Which perhaps that’s the point.

Because in Prada’s world, identity is never singular; it’s layered, lived, and always becoming.

More on Prada.com

At Alserkal Avenue this Ramadan, Miu Miu is doing something that feels especially resonant for the season.

From February 24 to March 6 at The Yard, the house is unveiling Sunset to Sunrise, a special Dubai activation designed not simply as an event, but as a gathering point — one where cinema, conversation, food, and community come together in a way that feels both intimate and intentional.

Timed to coincide with the holy month, the experience draws from the rhythm that defines Ramadan itself: sunset and sunrise, pause and exchange, reflection and togetherness. As fasts are broken and evenings unfold, Sunset to Sunrise becomes a space for shared presence, oplacing storytelling at its center, and more specifically, the women who carry it forward.

That framing is what makes this programme feel particularly thoughtful. Rather than approaching film as entertainment alone, Miu Miu positions cinema here as a vessel for memory, emotion, and cultural transmission. Across four evenings, from February 25 to 28, the brand partners with Cinema Akil on a curated screening series, followed by conversations curated by Myrna Ayad that expand on women’s stories, inherited narratives, and the quiet but enduring ways memory moves across generations.

The line-up is strong, and deeply regionally attuned. Honey, Rain and Dust, directed by Nujoom Alghanem, opens the programme with a poetic look at honey specialists navigating environmental and cultural change in the mountains of the UAE. Hijra, directed by Shahad Ameen, follows a grandmother and her granddaughters on a journey across Saudi Arabia toward Mecca, where disappearance, identity, and resilience intertwine. Cotton Queen, making its UAE premiere, brings viewers into a Sudanese cotton-farming village, where a teenage girl confronts the push and pull between modern development and tradition. Then comes Bye Bye Tiberias, Lina Soualem’s moving documentary tracing memory, exile, and family history across four generations through the story of actress Hiam Abbass and her return to her Palestinian birthplace.

Each screening is paired with a conversation that pushes the evening beyond viewing and into reflection. The titles alone set the tone: At Sunset: The Women Who Hold the Story, In Motion: Stories That Travel, Toward Sunrise: Labour, Care, and Cultural Stewardship, and Carrying the Story. Together, they build a framework that feels emotionally rich and culturally grounded; not over-explained, not performative, but genuinely considered.

And then the experience shifts. From March 1 to 6, the space transitions into a more open communal format, with workshops, animations, and scheduled artistic performances welcoming the public in. Throughout the full duration of the activation, guests can also experience a culinary offering imagined by Nala, adding another layer of hospitality to the setting.

What makes Miu Miu Sunset to Sunrise stand out is that it does not lean on spectacle for its impact. Instead, it taps into something softer and far more lasting: the power of gathering, the intimacy of shared stories, and the significance of creating space for women’s voices during a month shaped by ritual, reflection, and community. In a city that knows how to do scale, this feels like a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful luxury lies in atmosphere, intention, and the conversations that stay with you long after the night ends.

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PROGRAM:

Wednesday, 25 February

Honey, Rain and Dust Film Screening
Conversation: At Sunset: The Women Who Hold the Story
With Nujoom Alghanem & Munira Al Sayegh & Moderated by Hind Mezaina

Thursday, 26 February
Hijra Film Screening
Conversation: In Motion: Stories That Travel
With Ghaliah Amin & Nora Razian & Moderated by May Al Dabbagh

Friday, 27 February
Cotton Queen Film Screening, UAE Premiere
Conversation: Toward Sunrise: Labour, Care, and Cultural Stewardship
With Suzannah Mirghani & Salma Shaheem & Moderated by Laila Binbrek

Saturday, 28 February
Bye Bye Tiberias Film Screening
Conversation: Carrying the Story
With Lina Soualem & Butheina Hamed Kazim

From 1 to 6 March, the experience transitions into a communal space, with workshops, animations, and scheduled artistic performances open to the public.Guests will also enjoy a dedicated culinary experience imagined by Nala at the Miu Miu Sunset to Sunrise space throughout the full duration of the activation.

More on MiuMiu.com

In a fashion landscape that can often feel saturated with noise, Creative Space Beirut and Slow Factory are choosing to speak about something deeper: access, sustainability, and the future of creative education.

Their newly announced partnership is not just another collaboration. It is a reminder that fashion can still be a tool for care, community, and long-term change.

At the center of it all is Creative Space Beirut, the pioneering free fashion school that has become one of the region’s most powerful examples of what happens when education is treated as a right rather than a privilege. Operating in Lebanon, within a context shaped by political, economic, and social instability, CSB has built a model that is as radical as it is necessary: free design education rooted in rigor, inclusivity, and responsibility. Its impact speaks for itself, with a 94% job placement rate for graduates and more than 150 applicants competing for just ten places in each admission round.

Now, through its partnership with Slow Factory, that model gains a new kind of support system. Slow Factory will act as CSB’s fiscal sponsor, making it easier for U.S.-based supporters to contribute through tax-deductible donations, including recurring monthly giving. But beyond logistics, this partnership feels aligned on a much more meaningful level. Both organizations are invested in challenging extractive systems and building something more thoughtful in their place: structures that value shared knowledge, community-driven growth, and a more equitable creative future.

What makes Creative Space Beirut especially compelling is that sustainability there is not a trend or a branding exercise. It is embedded into the very way students learn and create. Student work is developed using deadstock and donated fabrics, making reuse and circularity central to the design process from day one. The school also integrates real-world collaborations, exposure to biomaterials, upcycling, and alternative production methods, encouraging students to think critically about material futures and the systems that shape fashion at large.

There is also something deeply moving about the ecosystem CSB has built around continuity. Education does not stop at graduation. Alumni return as mentors, instructors, collaborators, and working designers, creating a circular model where knowledge keeps moving and creative practice stays rooted in community. That kind of structure feels especially important in a region where creative labor is often underfunded, undervalued, or forced to operate against the odds.

And the results are impossible to ignore. CSB alumni including Roni Helou, Amir Al Kasm, and Ahmed Amer have all received the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize, with every CSB nominee to date winning the award. That kind of consistency says a lot. It tells us that when emerging talent is properly supported, extraordinary things happen. It also reinforces a point that feels urgent right now: talent has always existed everywhere, but access has not.

For JDEED, this is the kind of story that deserves attention because it is not only about fashion education. It is about protecting culture, preserving knowledge, and refusing to accept that creativity should only belong to those who can afford it. In a time when so many institutions are under pressure, Creative Space Beirut and Slow Factory are showing what it looks like to build with intention and to invest in people, not just outcomes.

Launching in February 2026, the joint campaign will introduce the partnership to a wider international audience while spotlighting the role free design education plays in sustaining cultural life under strain. More than a fundraiser, it feels like a statement of belief: that creative education matters, that access matters, and that safeguarding the next generation of designers is a collective responsibility.

Saint Levant officially launched the 2048 Foundation, a new initiative dedicated to supporting Palestinian musicians and the wider music ecosystem across Palestine.

But to reduce this to a “foundation launch” would be missing the point.

2048 is not random. It marks the centenary of the Nakba. A date loaded with history, rupture, displacement, but also projection. What will Palestine look like then? Who will be telling its stories? Who will be shaping its sound?

The foundation starts from something disarmingly simple: Palestinian artists deserve resources, visibility, and real structural support. Not sympathy or momentary amplification. Actual investment; and that distinction matters.

We talk a lot about representation in fashion, in media, in culture. But representation without infrastructure is fragile. It depends on mood, algorithms, geopolitics. The 2048 Foundation shifts the focus from visibility to sustainability, offering micro to medium-sized grants to musicians and music-related creatives at different stages of their journeys.

It also creates something equally important: connection. Grantees are brought into collaborative sessions with local and international music professionals, building exchange, not hierarchy. The model feels philanthropical and like ecosystem-building, and this isn’t a sudden move. 2048 has been active since 2023, quietly supporting projects while refining its focus through research and engagement on the ground

This public launch marks a clearer chapter that is more structured, more intentional, but still community-led.

At JDEED, we’ve spoken often about the urgency of local narratives, the necessity of telling our own stories before they are diluted, translated, softened for external comfort. Music is one of the most immediate forms of that storytelling. It travels without subtitles, carries dialect, rhythm, memory.

Saint Levant understands that cultural power is not just about global streams or festival lineups. There is something deeply generational about this move; instead of waiting for Western institutions to validate or fund Palestinian art, this is a homegrown model. Artist-led. Regionally rooted. Future-facing.

The 2048 Foundation signals a shift away from rigid funding structures toward something more human and artist-centered, it positions creativity not as charity, but as a force shaping the future.

Which raises a bigger question: what happens when artists stop asking for space and start creating it for others?

Living in Dubai means you can get anything from a sandwich to furniture delivered to your door by just snapping your fingers. Fantastic or problematic, that’s a question everyone has an opinion on.

What is certain is that people’s ability to wait has become increasingly minimal, to a point that we’d cancel a cab if we see “wait time 4 minutes.” What do you mean a whole 240 seconds? Ain’t nobody got time for this.

Or don’t we actually?

Everything needs to be fast, fast, fast — and it seems like my Nonna’s motto in life has no place in 2026. She used to tell me chi va piano va sano e va lontano: who goes slowly goes healthily and far. Going slowly feels like the ultimate horror for people these days. We want it fast, well done, and we want it now.

From Love Is Blind and getting married in six weeks, to Ozempic and losing 40kgs in two months, the question is: what are we actually rushing for? Is there some invisible finish line we’re all trying to cross as quickly as possible to unlock a prize?

I’ve had a few conversations with friends who wanted to take time off to reflect, and they all landed on the same conclusion: “We can’t afford to go MIA for even two weeks. Everyone will forget about us.”

While I beg to differ — human beings aren’t Labubus that rise to fame and disappear in less time than it takes to understand their purpose — the essence of what they’re saying isn’t wrong. If you’re not visible, if you’re not making noise, and if you give people a reason to forget about you, they probably will.

I’m not talking childhood best friends. I’m talking professional relationships. That fling you’re speaking to through texts. Your connections on Instagram.

The need for our generation to receive news, content, goods, and food ASAP (and soon better be like, now) has rewired how we relate to time, patience, and even each other. We refresh feeds compulsively. We expect replies instantly. We panic when typing bubbles disappear. We measure relevance in likes and views. Silence feels dangerous. Waiting feels like falling behind.

We’ve built systems that reward immediacy and punish pause- and honestly, it’s exhausting.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped letting things breathe. Careers need to take off overnight, relationships need clarity by week two, healing needs to happen quickly, growth needs to be visible. If there’s no immediate result, we move on. Swipe. Cancel. Replace.

We’re not wired for long arcs anymore. We’re wired for dopamine hits. But maybe what we’re really craving isn’t speed...maybe it’s reassurance. Maybe it’s control? Maybe it’s the comfort of feeling seen in a world that moves too fast to notice anyone who slows down?

Maybe we’re rushing because standing still feels scary. And maybe (probably), my Nonna had a point.

Because going slowly doesn’t mean going nowhere. It means allowing things to unfold. It means building something that lasts. It means choosing depth over urgency. Presence over performance, longevity over instant gratification.

In a world screaming now, now, now, choosing to move at your own pace might be the most radical thing you can do.

If you’ve been scrolling Instagram or Snapchat lately, you may have noticed something subtly- and intriguingly, different about how fashion brands are showing up. Rather than the usual static campaign posts and celebrity shots, there’s a growing layer of digital experimentation layered into feed content and mobile experiences.

Leading that shift is Gucci, whose recent use of AI in both its social channels and immersive digital tech feels like a signpost for where fashion is heading.

Today, Gucci teased its upcoming Primavera show with AI-generated content on its Instagram feed, a move that feels less like a gimmick and more like a strategic pivot. Rather than relying solely on traditional photos and videos, these AI elements give the brand flexibility to visualize concepts that might otherwise take weeks of planning, styling, scouting, and shooting. At the same time, Gucci partnered with Snapchat to launch the first Sponsored AI Lens for luxury, powered by Snap’s generative AI tech, letting users transform themselves into one of six iconic Gucci characters straight from their camera. The experience turns a campaign into something participatory: followers aren’t just consuming Gucci imagery, they’re stepping into it themselves.

This kind of experimentation is not happening in isolation. Across the fashion industry, AI adoption has moved well beyond early curiosity into actual content deployment and operational use. Long-form reporting on the sector notes that retailers and luxury brands are exploring AI for everything from digital models to immersive customer experiences. Some companies are even creating digital “twins” of real models or using AI avatars to showcase products in ways that reduce cost and increase creative control.

At its heart, the Gucci approach feels like a logical next step: social media is no longer a one-way broadcast channel but a space for co-creation, play, and personalization. Allowing people to insert themselves into Gucci’s universe, and to visualize character identities straight through AI lenses, expands the brand’s presence beyond the passive scroll and into something you interact with, save, share, and return to.

But this isn’t just about fun filters or flashy visuals. Industry observers point out that in fashion, AI is quickly becoming more than an accessory. In many cases, it’s enabling brands to iterate faster, respond to trends in real time, and reimagine traditional workflows such as fitting, visualization, and campaign production. For example, AI can help generate virtual imagery, assist designers with mood boards, or speed up storytelling through dynamic content, giving creative teams more room to focus on nuanced decision-making rather than repetitive tasks.

That’s where the debate gets interesting. On one hand, tools like Snapchat Lenses or Instagram AI visuals signal a new layer of engagement, where followers are not just observers but participants. On the other, the rise of AI also raises questions about what is gained and what is lost when machines take on roles traditionally held by humans. AI models and digital avatars are already being created by brands and tech startups that aim to replace or augment human models in campaigns and e-commerce imagery, with important ethical considerations about consent, representation, and livelihood.

For Gucci, integrating AI into both social storytelling and immersive mobile experiences feels like a natural evolution of its brand ethos, fusing heritage with experimentation. It suggests that fashion houses are no longer restrained by traditional production cycles or the limitations of physical shoots; instead, they can prototype ideas in virtual spaces first, test audience reactions, and adjust narratives on the fly.

So what does this mean for the future of fashion?

It means that the lines between the real and the digital are blurring faster than we thought. AI isn’t just helping designers or speeding up logistics; it’s shaping how brands talk to their audiences, how customers see themselves wearing luxury, and how fashion stories are told on mobile platforms. Gucci’s Spring AI activations feel like a cultural preview of that, fashion as shared experience, not just editorial product.

Whether this will ultimately replace traditional creative roles or simply broaden the toolkit designers and storytellers use is still up for debate, but one thing is clear: the brands that embrace this shift early will be the ones setting the tone for how fashion feels and functions in the age of AI.

So, what do you guys think? 

Ramadan always changes the rhythm of the city. Days feel gentler, nights stretch longer, and suddenly we’re all searching for places that let us slow down, gather properly, and make a meal feel meaningful.

This season, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are offering some beautifully considered Iftar and Suhoor experiences, from homegrown Emirati flavours to garden settings, fragrance-inspired majlis moments, and sharing tables designed for long conversations.

Here’s where we’re booking.

At Gerbou, Ramadan feels intimate and rooted in culture. Dubai’s go-to destination for Emirati-inspired cuisine is serving both Iftar and Suhoor set menus alongside curated delivery boxes for nights at home. Expect comforting soups, vibrant salads, Bahraini kebabs, Chicken Kabsa, Lamb Mtabban, and nostalgic desserts like Um Ali and saffron kunafa, all served in Gerbou’s warm, story-driven space. Iftar runs from sunset to 9pm at AED 320 per person, while Suhoor follows from 9pm until 3am at AED 315. The à la carte menu is also available throughout the night for those who prefer to mix and match.

More info Gerbou.com

Over at The Lana Dubai, Ramadan comes with a sensory twist thanks to a collaboration with KAYALI, founded by Mona Kattan. Set within Veranda overlooking Marasi Bay, the KAYALI Majlis offers a fragrance-inspired Iftar experience curated by Chef Jouni Ibrahim. The AED 395 per person set menu blends hot and cold mezze, sushi and sashimi, Arabic mixed grill, Ouzi, truffle pasta, and Middle Eastern desserts, paired with premium Arabic coffee and refreshing beverages. It’s generous, glamorous, and designed for sharing.

More info on DorchesterCollection.com

If outdoor dining is your Ramadan love language, Raffles Dubai delivers a beautiful garden setting for both Iftar and Suhoor. Their Raffles Garden Iftar unfolds under open skies with live cooking stations, Ramadan juices, fine teas, and coffee, priced at AED 235 per adult. Later in the evening, Suhoor takes over with à la carte dining and shisha for those who like to linger. There are also private garden cabanas for intimate gatherings, in-room Iftar and Suhoor for quieter nights, and a refined Ramadan dessert stand in Raffles Salon if you’re only stopping by for something sweet.

More info on Raffles.com

For a more fashion-forward moment, Nammos Dubai teams up with Dior for a seaside Ramadan experience. Set against Arabian Gulf views, Dior has designed a bespoke space at Nammos where guests can gather for Iftar and Suhoor over sharing-style menus served on custom Dior tableware. Think candlelight, soft entertainment, lush greenery, and evenings that feel equal parts reflective and elevated.

More info on Nammos.com/Dubai

If you’re craving bold flavours and a social atmosphere, COYA Dubai brings its signature Peruvian energy to Ramadan with a vibrant Iftar set menu priced at AED 249 per person. The experience starts with dates and guacamole, followed by sharing plates like Avocado Maki, Smoked Corn Salad, Short Rib Baos, and Chicken Skewers, then mains including Lomo Saltado or Miso Chilean Seabass, finished with a Saffron Pavlova that nods to regional flavours.

More info on Coyarestaurant.com

Abu Dhabi also has its moment this Ramadan at Rosewood Abu Dhabi, where Glo Restaurant welcomes guests for Iftar from sunset to 9pm with interactive stations, live cooking, traditional Ramadan beverages, and soft Qanun melodies. Suhoor follows from 10pm to 2am with à la carte dining in an open-air setting. It’s calm, elegant, and ideal for evenings that feel restorative rather than rushed.

More info on RosewoodHotels.com

For something a little unexpected, Chôm Chôm Dubai brings Vietnamese flavours into the Ramadan conversation with a comforting, sharing-style Iftar experience priced at AED 175 per person. Tucked away in Galleria Mall, the cosy spot offers a three-course menu that starts with a Tamarind Soda on arrival and their signature Sweet and Sour Pineapple Prawn Soup, followed by chargrilled barramundi served with interactive sides like butter lettuce wraps, bun vermicelli, Vietnamese herbs, pickles, and green nuoc cham. Dessert comes in the form of Condensed Caramel Milk Flan, Pandan Milk Cake, or Coconut Gelato. The restaurant also stays open until 1am throughout Ramadan, making it an easy option for relaxed Suhoor plans with friends or family.

More info on chomchom.ae

For those craving something refined yet comforting, one of our absolute fav, ROKA Dubai introduces a contemporary Japanese take on Iftar at AED 180 per person. The experience begins with dates, a welcome drink, and gluten-free miso soup, followed by starters like iceberg lettuce salad with caramelised onion dressing, crispy prawn avocado maki, and chicken karaage finished with gochujang glaze. Guests then choose a main, from teriyaki-glazed salmon to slow-braised beef short rib or cedar-roasted baby chicken, all served with steamed rice. Dessert is your pick from ROKA’s signature selection, rounding out an evening designed to unfold slowly around flavour and togetherness, framed by the restaurant’s open robata grill.

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More info on Rokarestaurant.com

And new this season, French-Mediterranean favourite La Petite Maison Dubai introduces a special Ramadan collaboration with Saudi chef Mona Mosly. Designed around togetherness and sharing, the Iftar menu blends LPM classics with Middle Eastern warmth, starting with soup, dates, and mezze including Socca bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, feta, quail eggs with caviar, and chef Mona’s signature kibbeh. Mains follow tasting-style, from grilled Chilean sea bass to shawarma-spiced ribeye with broad beans fatteh, finishing with a shared dessert moment featuring Mona’s date cake alongside LPM’s iconic vanilla cheesecake. The experience is priced at AED 260 per person (minimum two guests), and available throughout Ramadan across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Doha.

More info on lpmrestaurants.com

For Bookings: Dubai, click here
Abu Dhabi, click here
Doha, click here

Ramadan isn’t just about where you eat. It’s about who you gather with, how long you stay, and creating space for connection. Whether you’re breaking fast in a garden, sharing mezze by the sea, or keeping things close to home, this season’s Iftar and Suhoor spots remind us that the best moments still happen around the table.

For a while now, we’ve been watching Jana Diab move through the music scene, and with the release of Oh My!, she officially steps forward on her own terms.

The Afropop-inspired track marks a clear milestone in Jana’s career. It’s her first solo single to fully blend English and Arabic in the same song, and it feels intentional rather than experimental for the sake of it. It reflects who she actually is: bicultural, globally influenced, and grounded in Arab sound.

Behind the track are two heavyweight names from the region, with lyrics by Tamer Hussien and composition by Amr Moustafa. The result is upbeat, polished, and easy to listen to, the kind of song that fits just as naturally into summer playlists as it does late-night drives.

In the lead-up to the release, Jana shared studio moments and teasers across her socials, giving people a look into the process instead of simply dropping the finished product. It felt natural and very Gen Z, more about bringing people along than presenting something overly curated.

Her father, Amr Diab, also publicly showed his support, a moment that highlighted both pride and trust in her direction. It was a reminder that while Jana comes from legacy, she is clearly carving her own path.

This is not her first introduction to a wider audience. Jana previously appeared on Amr Diab’s 2025 album Ebtadena, featuring on the summer hit Khatfoony. The track became one of the season’s defining releases and introduced her voice to a much larger audience, signaling early on that she was more than just a feature.

Still, “Oh My!” feels different. This is not a collaboration moment. This is Jana on her own.

What makes her interesting is not just who her father is. It is how easily she moves between cultures, languages, and sounds. Her music does not try to choose one identity over another, and that feels very now. It reflects a generation that sees culture as layered rather than fixed.

At JDEED, we’re drawn to artists who don’t feel rushed or overproduced, who let things unfold naturally and build their story step by step. Jana Diab feels like one of those names. “Oh My!” is not about proving anything. It is simply the start of her building something that belongs to her.

Follow Jana's journey on Instagram @JanaDiab_

Ramadan has a funny way of slowing everything down, at least emotionally. The days move fast, but the nights stretch long. Tables get fuller, conversations get deeper, and suddenly everyone is in the same room again.

Enter a new reason to stay there.

This Ramadan, Amazon UAE teamed up with Anas Bukhash to launch After Sunset, a limited-edition version of the #ABTalks card game designed to bring people closer during Iftar and Suhoor, one question at a time

If you’ve ever watched an #ABtalks episode, you already know Anas doesn’t do surface-level (or perhaps you read our interview with him? If not, it's here). His entire universe is built around meaningful conversations, emotional honesty, and asking the kind of questions that make you pause before answering. After Sunset takes that same energy and brings it straight to your dining table.

The game includes thoughtfully curated question cards to spark connection, action cards to lighten the mood, and a special set of AB cards written by Anas himself, designed for everyone aged 13 to 70 (yes, even your uncle who never puts his phone down). It’s made for families, friends, cousins dropping by unannounced, and those post-iftar moments when nobody’s quite ready to leave yet

What we love most? It feels intentional without being heavy.

You don’t need to “perform vulnerability.” You just shuffle the deck, pull a card, and suddenly you’re talking about memories, values, and feelings you didn’t realize were waiting to be shared.

And because this is Ramadan, there’s heart layered into every detail. The AB Question cards feature illustrations created by five young artists from the Rashid Center for People of Determination, adding warmth, colour, and genuine community spirit to the experience.

From a logistics standpoint (because life is busy), After Sunset is available exclusively on Amazon Now with delivery in as little as 15 minutes, which honestly feels very on brand for 2026. It’s priced at AED 130, with free delivery for Prime members, and you can even add a curated selection of Anas’ favourite Ramadan snacks while you’re at it. Full hearts, full bellies, minimal planning.

But beyond the convenience, the idea is simple: create space. Space to talk. Space to listen.
Space to reconnect with the people sitting right in front of you.

In a world that never stops pinging, buzzing, or refreshing, After Sunset feels like a gentle reminder that the best moments don’t live on screens butthey happen around tables, between bites of food, in laughter, reflection, and long pauses.

And honestly? That feels very Ramadan.

Buy the card game here on www.amazon.ae

In Milan, Princi is our go-to: the kind of spot you fall into naturally while wandering near the Duomo di Milano or spending slow afternoons in Brera district.

It’s our favorite place for breakfast, some that turn into lunch, for an espresso that become focaccia, and those in-between moments where you sit a little longer than planned, watching the city move (with an excellent ‘bombolone’ or two.) And it makes sense: Princi literally built that ritual into its DNA, adding an espresso bar early on so people could pair coffee with freshly baked cornetto, the Milan way.  

So when Princi officially opened its flagship in Dubai, we couldn't be any happier. It felt less like discovering something new and more like welcoming an old favourite into our everyday. In a city with so much options everywhere, betting on something we truly love is a real luxury. Princi’s own story tracks that expansion clearly: Kuwait in February 2020, then Dubai Mall in February 2026: a neat, confident timeline for a brand that’s always moved with ambition.  

As founder Rocco Princi puts it: “Princi embodies the spirit of Milan: rhythm, discipline, and warmth. Everything begins with three simple things—water, flour, and fire—and the time it takes for them to become something real. Each dish is a reflection of the Milanese heart and craftsmanship, and we're bringing this daily gesture to Dubai, with Alshaya, to create a place to be experienced all day long.”

That “all day long” detail is key, because Princi isn’t positioning itself as just a bakery pit stop. The Dubai flagship brings Princi’s signature Milanese rhythm to the UAE in a modern, premium setting designed for all-day dining that is more a destination than a café. And the brand has a simple set of pillars that explain why it translates so well across cities: Origin, Craft, Place, People.  

Origin is Princi’s obsession with ingredients: sourced without compromise, baked with intention, and treated like the main character.  

Craft is where Princi gets almost poetic. “In the artisan, there is art. And from art comes bread.” The brand frames its process through elemental language—water, air, earth, fire—and makes a point of doing things the traditional way: no shortcuts, no secrets, just patience and pride. You feel that approach in the Dubai space too, where freshness isn’t marketed as a promise, but is built into the choreography.

Place is Milan, always. Princi calls Milan Rocco’s muse, and you can see it in the design language, the counter rhythm, the quiet efficiency that still feels warm. The Dubai flagship keeps that “Spirito di Milano” energy intact: sleek but not cold, social but not loud, like it understands that luxury can be as simple as a really good coffee, at the right pace, in the right light.

And then there’s People: la ‘Famiglia’. Princi describes itself as a family legacy started by Rocco, continued by his sons, but also extended to the bakers and commessas, the farmers and artisans, and the customers who keep showing up. That’s what makes the Dubai opening feel instantly familiar: the room is designed for everyday life: quick coffee runs, casual meetings, and long conversations that stretch because nobody’s rushing you out.

From the first espresso of the morning to the final bite later in the day, Princi is built to move with your schedule. The menu is genuinely all-day, spanning bakery, bread, pastry, breakfast, starters, salads, focaccia pizza, sandwiches, pasta and main courses, plus beverages, so you can do a soft morning start or a proper sit-down without switching venues. And in true Dubai fashion, what makes it extra fun is how seamlessly Princi plays with local taste: think a tender zaatar focaccia moment, or a warm, comforting Umm Ali; Middle Eastern familiarity, filtered through a very Italian kind of precision.

“Our commitment to delivering world-class, authentic experiences continues with the debut of Princi in the UAE. We are thrilled to introduce this unique culinary landmark that offers guests an inspiring culinary destination that captures the vibrant essence of Milanese culture. We look forward to seeing our customers experience it firsthand,” said John Hadden, CEO of Alshaya Group.

And the real bonus? Their breathtaking views on the majestic Burj Khalifa and Dubai fountains. Who doesn’t love having a meal set against grand backdrop?

A breakfast stop before meetings or a spontaneous lunch plan, Princi is one of those addresses you suggest instinctively. We can’t wait for our next visit.

PRINCI  

www.princime.com

Dubai Mall

1^st floor  04 315 3603

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The Padded Cassette  slipped into fashion sometime in the late 2010s, 2019 to be precise, introduced under Daniel Lee during his era at Bottega Veneta, when the brand reshaped what modern luxury could look like.

No logos or theatrics. Just an exaggerated, padded take on Bottega’s iconic Intrecciato weave just softer and bolder and a piece we knew right away we needed to get our hands on.

By Cynthia Jreige

Inspired by 1970s luxury car interiors (which somehow makes perfect sense), the bag took Bottega’s traditional leather weaving and turned it maximalist: oversized padded strips, quilted lambskin, a boxy rectangular shape, a triangular buckle, and an adjustable strap that made it easy to wear however your day unfolded. It debuted as part of the Pre-Fall 2019 collection, at a moment when fashion was collectively exhaling. Logos were exiting the room. Craft was becoming the ultimate cool and texture mattered more than status.

The Cassette felt like a reset: plush leather, graphic proportions, wearable. Editors picked it up first, then celebrities, then the cool crowd. It was still kind of a 'when you know you know' piece but so aesthetically pleasing no one could ignore it.

We got ours in baby blue. Not because it was trending (it was), but because it felt soft and light which, unintentionally, matched life a little bit more at the time.

Looking back now, that bag feels tied to a version of life that no longer exists. Before the constant urgency and bfore productivity became a (toxic?) personality trait.

What’s funny is that the bag itself hasn’t aged badly at all. It's actually still our favourite. The padded weave still feels right. the shape still works. It still goes with everything. And despite all the cycles, micro-trends, and TikTok-led revivals, it hasn’t become embarrassing; which is saying a lot.

We still wear it.

Maybe not with the same lightness as before, because we’re not the same people, and the world definitely isn’t the same place, but it remains one of those pieces that doesn’t feel dated or forced. It just feels familiar.

Some bags remind you of who you were. Some remind you of how things felt. The Padded Cassette does both.

It hit me right in the middle of a HIIT session. I came here to unwind (we all have our ways of doing that, and I guess mine is sweating under a ticking chronometer) ; but somehow I was still annoyed by a text I had just gotten.

Mind you, it’s Sunday morning, 8:40am. The sun is shining, I just had a sip of espresso, I’m on my way to the burpee chamber, and right there and then, a text following up on an article I had at the top of my list for the following day pops up on my phone.

By Cynthia Jreige

I know some people don’t overthink it. Something crosses their minds and boom — it needs to depart their conscience before it’s forgotten forever. Sadly, as the recipient of this impulse, I started spiraling into stress over how to answer, given that said article has yet to be finalized. Because yes, I took a bit of time off between Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Sue me.

I was not going to answer, because I refuse to set this as a standard. I was so taken aback (yet far from surprised) that I took it out on my impressive community of 1.2K followers and asked them if they too were receiving text messages from work outside working hours. Okay, only 32 people replied — but 31 said yes. Thirty-one! Are you telling me this is now the norm?

Since the introduction of AI, employers and/or clients expect us to debit an amount of work faster than an Airbus during takeoff, prioritizing quantity over quality and completely disregarding any form of wellbeing.

Are we glamorizing the grind? Is it voluntary? Or is it a punishment disguised under the promise of getting first to the finish line of the productivity marathon?

We shouldn’t be proudly saying that we have Zoom meetings at 1am on a Friday, or that we haven’t slept in four days because of a work project. I plead guilty to doing that more than I’d like to admit, but to my defense, I’m an entrepreneur and I’m a bit of a masochist (cf. my ways to unwind).

So there I was, putting my sneakers on, ready for the next 45 minutes of sweating my apricot electrolytes off (hopefully not). But even though it was Sunday morning and I was promised high dopamine levels, I was anxious. I was angry and I wanted to go home. It took warming up and a few good songs to forget about the world (the dopamine eventually hit later as I moonwalked my way home), but I still couldn’t help but wonder: why is my professional life overstepping on my private one so much? Who gave anyone the right? Us, collectively, as a society? Capitalism? AI and its insane fast-delivery standards? The collective of SWANA dads?

No matter who, it is time to reclaim our right to chill back.

Not for us to get to the gym or a massage appointment wanting to smash a few plates on the floor (or, you know, murder someone). Even wellness companies capitalize on our misery: supplements, retreats, lymphatic vibrating plates, rings and bracelets that tell us our recovery is awful (no shit, Sherlock). It is hard to ever feel fulfilled, accomplished, or like we’re doing anything right. To the point that if I take 30 minutes to have lunch, I feel like I’m failing people who expect answers from me. Where my colleague excels at JOMO (I’m jealous), I’m the queen of FOMO, and I always believe that being unproductive will lead to my demise.

Or… is that what the system wants me to believe?

Cover photo: Jessica Walsh

There’s a quiet shift happening across the Middle East’s fine jewellery landscape. Away from legacy maisons and heritage-heavy codes, a new generation of independent brands is redefining what luxury looks like and it's looking more personal, more expressive, and deeply rooted in place.

These designers understood one thing: it's not about chasing trends, they're literally building their own,

From Dubai to Doha, Abu Dhabi to Oman, today’s regional jewellery creatives are translating memory, movement, architecture, and identity into pieces meant to be worn daily, layered intuitively, and kept for life. What connects them isn’t a singular aesthetic but it’s a common intention. Jewellery is no longer just adornment; it’s storytelling in 18k gold.

Take House Janolo, founded by sisters Oloof and Dujanah Jarrar. Shaped by lives lived between Abu Dhabi and New York, the brand embraces asymmetry, imperfection, and instinctive design. Working exclusively with natural gemstones and 18k gold, House Janolo creates pieces that feel lived-in rather than precious  bold yet effortless, expressive without needing explanation.

www.housejanolo.com

That sense of movement carries into one of our recent favourites, Zei Jewels, whose Cubica collection introduces modular jewellery built for transformation. Sculptural cubes can be rotated, stacked, and reconfigured, challenging the idea that fine jewellery should stay fixed. It’s architectural, interactive, and reflective of a modern mindset where luxury is fluid.

www.zeijewels.com

Colour takes center stage at Karina Choudhrie Jewels, a female-led brand marking a powerful return to Dubai, the city that shaped its founder’s early years. Known for unconventional gemstone pairings and expressive settings, each piece channels individuality and modern femininity through layered emotion and confident craftsmanship.

www.kandcojewels.com

From Oman comes Elyamm, founded by two sisters who translate memory and symbolism into refined contemporary design. Their debut Zigzag collection balances structure with softness, while their expansion into Saudi Arabia signals a growing regional presence rooted in poetic restraint.

www.elyamm.com

Architecture meets elegance at Lana Al Kamal Jewelry, where founder Lana’s background as an architect shapes every line and proportion. Established in 2018, the brand creates 18k gold pieces that move effortlessly from everyday staples to statement classics — each design beginning on paper before becoming something deeply personal.

www.lanaalkamaljewelry.com

Cultural exchange sits at the heart of Rosetta Fine Jewellery, whose collections draw from Eastern and Western traditions alike. Crafted by master artisans using age-old techniques, Rosetta’s jewellery feels both familiar and unexpected, designed for longevity, not hype. We love that the pieces work perfectly on a white tee-jeans -blazer combo as well as a gala gown.

www.rosettafinejewelry.com

Then we have Shams Fine Jewelry, an emerging Emirati label inspired by memories of travel and lingering light. With fluid silhouettes and luminous finishes, Shams creates jewellery that feels emotional yet wearable; designed to move seamlessly between everyday life and meaningful moments. We feel particularly drawn to the sense of freedom that transpires through the pieces.

www.shamsfinejewelry.com

Heritage is reimagined through a youthful lens at Dubai-based TRYYST, particularly in its Modern Maharaja collection. Inspired by South Asian royal jewellery, the line pairs vibrant stones with mother of pearl, encouraging playful layering while honoring cultural richness.

www.tryyst.com

A distinctly Emirati voice emerges in TOi Fine Jewelry, founded by Aisha Bin Hendi. Defined by its signature Sparkle motif, TOi captures light and movement through bold yet refined silhouettes, creating jewellery that feels expressive, confident, and modern.

www.instagram.com/jewelrybytoi

In Doha, Kaltham’s Pavilion offers a softer, feminine universe. Founded by Kaltham Al Majid, the brand is known for dainty forms, pearls, and coloured gemstones, with its Queen of Hearts collection exploring romance and strength through delicate design.

www.kalthamspavilion.com

Then there’s Nigaam Jewels, which bridges family heritage with international reach. From atelier beginnings to global showcases, the house is celebrated for rare gemstones and precision craftsmanship , a testament to how regional expertise can evolve into worldwide relevance.

www.nigaam.com

Rounding out this new wave is Cullinan Crown, an Emirati house inspired by the philosophy of the legendary Cullinan Diamond. Designed in Dubai and crafted with balance and longevity in mind, the brand rejects seasonal thinking in favor of enduring forms: jewellery meant to be worn, passed on, and remembered.

www.cullinanuk.com

Together, these brands reflect something bigger than design: a regional creative awakening. The Middle East’s independent fine jewellery scene is no longer defined by inherited luxury codes. It’s shaped by founders, sisters, architects, and storytellers; building businesses rooted in identity, craftsmanship, and personal expression. And as these names continue to grow beyond borders, one thing is clear: a new movement has launched.

When Dua Lipa first burst onto the global music scene with her self-titled debut in 2017, few could have predicted the full spectrum of influence she’d command just years later. The British-Albanian-Kosovar singer-songwriter rode a wave of chart-topping hits, including the breakout anthem “New Rules,” which became a defining moment for female empowerment in pop, and quickly proved that her voice wasn’t just catchy but culturally resonant.

But music was just the beginning.

Today, Lipa isn’t simply a global pop star; she’s a brand builder, cultural curator, and multi-industry innovator whose ambitions stretch far beyond the stage. She founded Service95, a newsletter and platform that blends lifestyle, culture, travel, and ideas into one global concierge narrative, curating content as personally engaging as a friend’s top recommendations.

In fashion and luxury, Lipa has become a modern icon.On February 19th 2026, she stepped into a new role as Global Brand Ambassador for Bulgari, joining the ranks of some of the world’s most stylish names as the Roman luxury house looks to evolve its story with her contemporary voice and confidence.  And just last year, she also snagged a coveted position as Chanel ambassador, headlining the campaign for the 'Chanel 25' bag, putting her front and center in the world of haute couture and luxury accessories.

Her entrepreneurial instinct doesn’t stop at fashion: in wellness and beauty, she’s also forging her own path. Lipa partnered with Augustinus Bader — the science-led skincare powerhouse — to launch her own line, DUA by Augustinus Bader, a trio of high-performance essentials designed to be simple, effective, and travel-ready for her global lifestyle.

And in fitness too, she’s entered the world of wellness culture as Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, through her association with Frame Fitness, a boutique approach to Pilates and mindful movement that reflects how she balances the physical demands of touring with long-term wellbeing.

Yet it’s not just commerce that she’s redefining; it’s conscience. Lipa uses her platform for activism and social advocacy, speaking out on gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, and repeatedly showing up on issues from systemic sexism in music to global humanitarian concerns. Also a Pro-Palestine ally, she consistently challenged injustice, using both her voice and visibility to amplify causes she believes in.

So ask again: what can’t Dua Lipa do?

She’s a Grammy-winning artist, a luxury fashion ambassador, a skincare founder, a cultural curator through Service95, a wellness voice tied to Frame, and a vocal activist. In a world where most talents stay within one lane, Lipa continues to build a portfolio that’s as dynamic as her stage presence — one that makes influence feel less like a title and more like a lifestyle.

More on DuaLipa.com

Ramadan arrives, as if on cue, when we need a reminder of what matters most. Giving, empathy, and community: the basics of a good life, and the cheat sheet to cleansing our souls.

Here is our curated list of charity organisations to donate to this holy month.

By Saher Azmi

The Giving Family

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What started as a small effort amongst friends has grown into a powerful movement led by entrepreneur Fadie Musallet, expanding its operations every year. Beyond donating meals daily, this Ramadan The Giving Family is partnering with Rove Hotels for their “Pass it On” campaign: for every iftar worth AED 129 purchased at one of The Daily restaurants, a complimentary voucher is donated to a labour worker.

To join the daily volunteering group, simply follow their Instagram to keep track of the time and location each day. No sign-ups, no registration required. Simply showing up and contributing is enough.

www.thegivingfamily.org

ThriftForGood
ThriftForGood is leading the UAE’s sustainable fashion movement, and this month it’s honoring the ethos of Ramadan by raising AED 100,000 for 35 Tanzanian orphans who have lost their families due to the country’s HIV crisis. Funds raised go towards the children’s education, housing, nutrition, and safety needs.

The best part? ThriftForGood donates 100% of its proceeds to its charitable causes — meaning you can donate directly or shop at one of their locations, and either way, you’ll be supporting something meaningful.

www.thriftforgood.org

Dubai Charity Association

‍With Dubai Charity Association this year, the goodness endures. The organisation is launching a wide-reaching Ramadan campaign featuring specialised projects such as the “Goodness Coupon” to fulfil essential needs for underprivileged families, “Iftar Sayem” with over one million meals distributed locally and internationally, orphan sponsorships, mosque and clinic-building programs, support for educational initiatives, and more. It’s part of a broader effort to expand the umbrella of social protection offered by Dubai Charity.

Donations can be made online through the charity’s website, and they also accept in-kind donations.

www.dubaicharity.org

Beit Al Khair Society

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Beit Al Khair is focusing on family welfare this Ramadan, with eight new initiatives to support low-income households and provide urgent care in situations like medical emergencies, the loss of a breadwinner, or settling overdue rent to prevent eviction.

The AED 70 million campaign aligns with the UAE naming 2026 as the “Year of the Family.” While emphasis remains on meeting emergency aid needs, the charity will also provide free iftar meals for over 1.6 million fasting individuals.

Contributions can be made directly through Beit Al Khair’s website.

www.beitalkheir.org

Emirates Red Crescent

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Emirates Red Crescent is allocating more than AED 32.5 million towards charitable Ramadan programmes expected to benefit more than 395,000 people.

Under the theme “Giving Without Limits,” the organisation will provide daily iftars, Eid clothing, Zakat Al Fitr, and introduce new initiatives such as “Your Iftar is On Us,” distributing iftar meals to essential workers at their workplaces.

Philanthropists are encouraged to sponsor tent set-ups, which go up to AED 75,000 and include all operational costs. Donations can be made online through the ERC website or across hundreds of donation points nationwide.

www.emiratesrc.ae

If travel has taught us anything lately, it’s that movement is no longer just about getting from A to B but about how seamlessly your life fits in between. Enter the next generation of TUMI Alpha, unveiled this early 2026 with cinematic campaigns starring Lando Norris and Wei Daxun.

The message is clear: Alpha is mindset beyond just luggage.

Shot like a modern action sequence, Norris’s campaign frames preparation as ritual tat includes precision, focus and pretty much zero distractions. It mirrors his world on the Formula 1 track, where readiness is everything (we've witnessed it at the last Abu Dhabi GP). As he puts it, when something matters, you want every detail working exactly as it should  and Alpha is perfectly built for that energy. Across Asia-Pacific, Wei Daxun carries that same philosophy through sleek architectural spaces, highlighting Alpha’s clean lines, quiet confidence, and fluid movement. Together, they embody what TUMI calls a new blueprint for modern mobility

At the core of this evolution is design intelligence. Alpha continues to anchor itself in TUMI’s signature FXT™ ballistic nylon, now paired with streamlined pocketing, silent magnetic closures, and intuitive access points that feel less like features and more like instinct. It’s been engineered for people who move fast and expect their essentials to keep up (perfect for us who are basically always on the go.)

The collection refreshes Alpha’s most iconic silhouettes, from expandable carry-ons to smart backpacks and versatile crossbody styles, each refined to support movement without interruption. To mark this new chapter, TUMI also introduces Ultra Blue, a vivid accent detail across select pieces that nods to the brand’s ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence.

What makes this launch resonate isn’t just the product, it’s the philosophy behind it. Alpha reflects a deeper understanding of how we live now: hybrid days, spontaneous weekends, work that travels with us, and lives lived across cities. As TUMI’s Global Creative Director Victor Sanz explains, Alpha is where the brand returns to rethink performance: observing how people move, what they carry, and how design can quietly support every moment of that journey.

In true JDEED fashion, we see Alpha less as a travel collection and more as a lifestyle companion, that understands ambition, appreciates restraint, and believes great design should feel effortless. And not to brag but we are in the Tumi VIP club, which (yes we just invented it) gathers all the coolest people we see rushing through airports. Somehow, TUMI is always the commons denomintor.

More on Tumi.com

There’s a very specific kind of outfit pressure that hits in Ramadan: you want something polished enough for last-minute plans, comfortable enough for long evenings, and easy enough to repeat without it looking like you’re repeating.

Levi’s is leaning into that exact reality with Fit for Life Season 3, a women’s denim platform built around pieces that move with you, from quiet mornings to social nights, without feeling like you’re “dressed up” or “dressed down.” The campaign just launched and is spotlighting women across the region and how they actually live in denim: casually, confidently, and on their own terms.

The mood this season is simple: denim you can rely on. Levi’s Middle East GM Mir Zia Mahmood frames it as pieces that feel “authentic, comfortable, and effortless”—basically the holy trinity when your day stretches from coffee to iftar to “we’re just doing a quick stop” that turns into midnight.

Fit for Life Season 3 is built around the silhouettes everyone’s reaching for lately—relaxed bootcuts and wide legs—with enough structure to feel put-together and enough ease to feel like you can breathe. On the bootcut side, styles like Middy Loose Boot and Loose Boot give you that easy hip-and-thigh fit with a subtle flare, while Super Low Boot brings a more directional shape without sacrificing comfort.

For wide-leg lovers, the season calls out Cinch Baggy, especially appealing because the fit can be adjusted, along with Super Baggy Barrel for modern volume and a strong silhouette, and Shaping Wide Leg for that sweet spot between soft and structured. And if you want denim without committing to full jeans, the XL Skirt is positioned as the breathable option that still delivers the denim mood.

Styling stays very JDEED: simple, wearable, and not trying too hard. Think wide-leg denim with a lightweight tee and clean sneakers when you want the low-effort hero look; a bootcut with a relaxed top and a sharp outer layer for iftar plans that come together fast; or the XL skirt with a breathable top and statement earrings when you want something softer but still confident. Levi’s supports that direction by pairing the denim with lightweight tees, relaxed silhouettes, and breathable fabrics, making the whole edit feel intuitive rather than complicated.

The bigger point is that Fit for Life Season 3 isn’t trying to sell you a “new you.” It’s selling the idea of a denim uniform; pieces you can live in through Ramadan and beyond, the kind you reach for again and again because they simply work.

Levi’s Fit for Life Season 3 is available now across Levi’s stores in the GCC.

More on Levis.com

For Dima Al Sheikhly - the Iraqi-born, Dubai-based fashion, beauty and lifestyle creator known for her effortless blend of luxury and real life - that moment happened in Tokyo.

We’ve long followed Dima for her glam, her cultural pride, and her modern take on femininity. But over the past few months, another side of her has emerged: disciplined, focused, athletic. The kind of strength that doesn’t always show in an outfit but in early mornings and sore legs.

When we asked her what sparked her decision to run her first half marathon, she didn’t romanticize it.

“I never thought I’d run a half marathon. I wasn’t “the runner. But last February, I was in Tokyo during the Tokyo Marathon, and something shifted in me. Watching thousands of people, especially runners 45 and older was incredibly inspiring. It wasn’t about speed; it was about strength, discipline, and the simple power of showing up for yourself. In that moment, I made a promise: I would start running.

The early weeks of training were chaotic. I was sore, breathless, and doubting myself more than I expected. I quickly learned that training requires discipline, not motivation. What kept me consistent were the small wins.. finishing a run even when it felt messy, going a little farther than I thought I could, choosing effort over excuses.

Somewhere between the struggle and the progress, it stopped being just about a race. It became personal. Running turned into a way of understanding myself better my limits, my mindset, and my resilience. And that’s what truly kept me committed."

For someone whose career lives online, performance could have easily become the focus. Instead, Dima leaned into structure — and data — in a way that supported her growth rather than defined it.

On how her Apple Watch shaped her training:

“My Apple Watch was a huge part of my training. I could track my pace during every run and see how my heart rate responded, which helped me train smarter, not just harder. The best part was seeing my pace improve and my heart rate stabilize over time.. real proof that I was getting stronger. The Fitness app made it easy to keep streaks going and track progress in one place.”

But consistency isn’t just about metrics as much as it’s about rhythm. Especially when your life includes flights, shoots, and shifting time zones.

“I’m really grateful that my job lets me work on my own schedule. It’s made it so much easier to reprogram my week around training. I try to workout/run 2–3 times a week and save my recovery sessions for the weekend. Honestly, since I started training for the marathon on Nov 7, 2025, I don’t think a single week has gone by that I skipped a workout!

It’s become such a part of my life that it feels weird not to move my body. Even when I’m at home, I try to stay active.. doing yoga, foam rolling, just moving in some way. It’s less about strict rules and more about making it part of my day-to-day once it feels normal, consistency comes naturally.”

And yet — numbers aren’t everything.

“I love the data — pace, heart rate, distance it keeps me focused and motivated. But I’ve learned that numbers are only part of the story. I always try to listen to my body first. If I feel strong and my body can push, I push. If I’m tired or something feels off, I slow down even if the stats say I could go harder. The metrics help guide me, but they don’t override how I feel.

For me, it’s about balance. The stats keep me accountable, but tuning into my body is what keeps me consistent and injury-free.”

Training in the UAE brings its own narrative: heat, humidity, city life. But for Dima, the real challenge wasn’t climate. It was movement of a different kind.

“I actually started training in November 2025, so I got really lucky with the weather in the UAE it was getting cooler and better every week, which made building the habit so much easier.

The bigger challenge for me wasn’t the heat — it was travel. I’m constantly flying for work, different time zones, different routines. Instead of letting that throw me off, I decided to make running part of the trip. No matter what city I was in, I’d find a route and go. Honestly, that made me fall even more in love with running. There’s something special about discovering a city on foot.”

And when race day finally arrived?

“On race day, I know my Apple Watch will be tracking everything splits, time, calories and I do love seeing those numbers. But crossing the finish line means so much more than what’s on the screen. For me, it’s about keeping a promise I made to myself. It represents all the early mornings, the runs I didn’t skip, and the days I showed up even when I didn’t feel like it. That’s the real win. And seeing my family at the finish line was honestly the cherry on top. Sharing that moment with them made it so emotional and special.”

There’s something deeply JDEED about this evolution, a woman known for style choosing discipline. A creator known for aesthetics choosing endurance. A modern Arab woman redefining strength on her own terms.

Not because she was “the runner" but because she decided to become one.

Follow her journey on Instagram, @dimasheikhly

Buckle up for February 17th, one of the most poweful days of the year where stories, symbols and sky align.

On this day, three profound cycles intersect: the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac, the eve of Ramadan for Muslims around the world, and the eve of Lent for many Christians; a triad of tradition, introspection and renewal. And hanging above it all is a rare celestial event: an annular solar eclipse known as a Ring of Fire, caused when the Moon moves directly between the Earth and the Sun but is too far to fully cover it, leaving a glowing halo visible at maximum coverage.

Text: Cynthia Jreige

In Chinese astrology, the Fire Horse is one of the most dynamic and intense combinations in the 60-year zodiac cycle. The horse symbolizes movement, independence, spirited force and passion, while fire amplifies its energy, signaling a year of transformation, courage and bold forward momentum. It’s a year that encourages risk-taking, reinvention and the pursuit of one’s truths, but also one that warns against burnout and impulsiveness. For many, it feels like a cosmic nudge to lean into what matters most with both energy and intention.

At the same time, Muslim communities prepare for the start of Ramadan, a month defined by fasting, prayer, self-discipline and compassion. This period invites believers to step back from daily routines, to pause, to reflect on their relationship with the divine and with others, and to cultivate gratitude. Though exact dates depend on crescent moon sightings, astronomers and religious authorities have pointed to 17 February as the expected evening for the new moon, with Ramadan likely beginning soon after, contingent on official sighting confirmation.

For Christians observing Lent, the eve of this solemn season also falls on this day. Lent is a time of intentional reflection, surrender and preparation, traditionally marked by sacrifices and introspection as believers ready themselves for Easter. It asks its participants to look inward, to uncover spiritual truths and to engage in practices that bring clarity and compassion.

Overlaying these spiritual frameworks is the solar eclipse, a rare sky phenomenon that captures the imagination across cultures. While the Ring of Fire itself will be visible mainly from remote parts of Antarctica, and not directly over the UAE, its timing on the same new moon that ushers in important religious calendars adds another layer of symbolism. Eclipses have long been seen in many traditions as moments of transition and revelation; times when the ordinary rhythm of the sky is disrupted, and attention is drawn upward, outward and inward at once.

So what does this confluence mean for the year ahead?

Spiritually, it offers a beautiful duality: the Fire Horse’s forward motion paired with intentional reflection. It’s an invitation to balance the fire within- the ambition, creativity, drive; with the power of discipline, presence and compassion. In a world that often prizes speed and achievement, this rare overlap of traditions reminds us that meaningful progress often begins with stillness.

Culturally, these converging cycles reflect a global desire for renewal after years marked by disruption and distance. They remind us that traditions, whether astrological, religious or communal, provide anchors in times of complexity. And even when we approach them from different perspectives, there is a shared human rhythm: pause, reflect, release, and then act with purpose.

In this rare moment where the heavens, calendars and spiritual practices align, there is a gentle reminder for all of us; to look inward before we leap forward, to seek clarity before we make choices, and to honour both presence and motion as we move through 2026.

For Spring 2026, Coach teams up with Elyanna for Express Your Many Sides, a Middle East–exclusive moment that speaks directly to a generation raised between cultures, identities, and expectations. At its core, the campaign isn’t really about bags but about multiplicity.

Elyanna has always existed in the in-between, blending Arabic melodies with global beats, softness with strength, vulnerability with presence. Here, she becomes the embodiment of what Coach is trying to say: you don’t have to choose just one version of yourself. You’re allowed to be layered and contradictory.

The visuals follow Elyanna through moments of movement and stillness, sound and silence, showing identity as something lived rather than performed. Her energy carries the story: intuitive, grounded, unapologetic. It's not really your usual campaign and we're here for it.

Coach’s Tabby bag appears quietly throughout, styled across moods and settings, treated like the perfect companion. We also love the hero Tabby 26 in maple (a Middle-East exclusive!), super warm, and versatile; for Elyanna and for us at JDEED, style doesn’t need to be extravagant to be expressive.

What makes this collaboration land is its regional specificity. Express Your Many Sides unfolds exclusively in the Middle East, marking Coach’s continued investment in the region, alongside the reopening of its renovated flagship at Dubai Mall. It’s a reminder that global brands are finally learning to tell stories with the region, not just in it (a welcomed energey to be honest!)

There’s also purpose behind the partnership. Elyanna continues her commitment to giving back, with donations to the World Food Programme tied to the campaign, proof that visibility can be paired with responsibility.

For us at JDEED, this feels aligned with how many of us move through the world today. We’re not one thing. We carry heritage and ambition. We balance softness with resilience. We show up differently depending on the room  and that doesn’t make us fragmented. It makes us whole.

More on Coach.com

We don’t always know how to say “I love you.” Sometimes it comes out as your dad  prepares you a fresh orange juice or
when your mum brings you a slice of your favorite cake when she knows you’ve had a long day. No big conversation or emotional monologue. Just food, placed gently in front of you.

In Arab culture, love is rarely spoken. Instead, it lives in gestures, in plates refilled without asking, in questions disguised as “did you eat?,” in the way aunties send you home with leftovers in tupperwares (oh these tuppwares....) and insist you take more, always more (don't you dare not take more.)

While sharing a meal matters in most cultures, in the Arab world it borders on the spiritual.

A meal is never just a meal.

By Cynthia Jreige

It’s a gathering that stretches across hours, from the first pickles placed on the table to the final ahwet bayda to help digestion, time dissolves. Conversations flow freely. We’ll move seamlessly from Lamia’s pregnancy to 3amo Wassim’s car problems, from politics to the annoying neighbor, from childhood memories to tomorrow’s plans. Everything is welcome at the table. This is where connection happens and this is where we learn.

We learn by standing next to our mothers, watching how sambousiks are folded just so, how parsley must be chopped impossibly fine. We learn patience while waiting for the bazella to simmer properly. We learn generosity when elders insist everyone eats first. And sometimes, late into the night, we learn family truths through our 3amte, who suddenly decides it’s the right moment to confess a story or two (or is it the arak? we'll never know.)

And for those of us in the diaspora, food becomes something else entirely. It becomes memory.

It’s the smell of loubieh b zeit  on the stove, the tangy taste of zaatar...it’s an old notebook filled with handwritten recipes, passed from one generation to the next, stained with olive oil and time. Dishes become anchors and flavors become geography.

When home feels far, food brings it closer.

Cooking our parents’ recipes in foreign kitchens is an act of remembrance. Teaching our children how to roll grape leaves or season lentils becomes cultural preservation. Every recreated dish is a quiet way of affirming who we are and where we come from. In many ways. food carries our history.

It holds migration, resilience, celebration, and grief. Recipes travel in suitcases and WhatsApp voice notes (if you have not yet, please follow The Voice Note Chef on Instagram.) Measurements are intuitive and nstructions sound like poetry from Khalil Gibran: a little of this, until it feels right.

In Arab homes, cooking is care and feeding someone is responsibility. Our hospitality is inherited and is famous worldwide: even when times are hard, the table remains full; when words fail, food speaks.

You might not hear “I miss you," but you’ll receive a message asking if you’ve eaten. You might not get emotional reassurance, but you’ll be handed warm bread.

And somehow, that’s enough.

Because for us, love lives in shared dishes, lingering meals, and kitchens that never truly close. It lives in the quiet understanding that if you are fed, you are seen.

Food is not just nourishment, it is how we show up for each other, how we remember who we are and simply, how we love.

You have the fancy couches your parents covered in fabric fearing they'd get scratched and on which you ended up never sitting on. And then, there’s the plastic chair, which belongs everywhere else.

Across the South and West, the white (or sometimes faded green, blue, or sunburnt beige) plastic chair is more than furniture. It is infrastructure. It is hospitality. It is survival; it is democracy in its purest form.

By Cynthia Jreige - All images: @chairsofbeirut on Instagram

You’ll find it on Cairo sidewalks at 2am, in Lagos courtyards, on Beirut balconies, outside Karachi corner shops, in Manila alleyways, at wedding halls in Amman, at roadside tea stands in Riyadh. It is stackable, washable, sun-proof, cheap, and nearly indestructible. It doesn’t discriminate between guest and host. It doesn’t require status to sit on.

In regions where space is fluid and public life spills into the street, the plastic chair becomes a portable extension of home. It creates gathering where there is none. Five chairs pulled into a circle instantly become a majlis, a debate floor, a business meeting, a confession booth, a political forum. It kind of is the most accessible seat of power.

Unlike Western design icons, think the Eames lounge or the Barcelona chair, the plastic chair is not about exclusivity; it's about replication. Millions of iterations exist, often unbranded, molded from the same basic template. Its anonymity is part of its power. No logo, no author, just utility.

And yet, it carries symbolism.

It represents informal economies; barbers cutting hair on sidewalks, street vendors arranging fruit beside them, taxi drivers waiting for fares. It represents migration and adaptation- families carrying them from countryside to city, from one apartment to the next. It represents resilience in climates where heat cracks pavement and dust coats everything. It is also a quiet critique of global inequality.

In wealthier parts of the world, design is curated. Elsewhere, design is negotiated. The plastic chair answers immediate needs: affordability, durability, multiplicity. It thrives not because it is beautiful, but because it works.

But maybe that’s its beauty.

Over time, the plastic chair has entered art, photography, and fashion editorials as a symbol of rawness and authenticity. Yet its aestheticization often strips it of context. For many communities, it is not ironic- it's essential.

To sit on a plastic chair is to participate in a shared visual language. It signals informality, openness, conversation. It suggests you are staying awhile, but not forever. It exists between permanence and impermanence, much like the cities it inhabits.

In a world obsessed with design pedigree and scarcity, the plastic chair reminds us that the most powerful objects are often the most ordinary.

It is not glamorous, but it holds the world.

Ramadan changes everything: the pace of the day softens, evenings stretch longer, and getting dressed becomes a ritual in itself: layered, adaptable, built to move between moments.

This season, Nike brings its global Style By series to the Middle East, reimagining the concept through the lens of modest dressing and everyday wear during the Holy Month. The result feels less like a campaign and more like a reflection of how women across the region actually live: moving from daytime routines to late-night gatherings, styling pieces that evolve with the rhythm of Ramadan.

Shot in Old Dubai, the visuals are rooted in place , drawing on the neighbourhood’s textures and architecture while spotlighting Lana Al Beik and Leena Al Ghouti. Together, they embody the effortless way tradition and contemporary style coexist here, where wardrobes are built around relaxed silhouettes, layered proportions, and looks that transition naturally from day to night.

At its core, Style By is about interpretation; how sport-inspired fashion becomes personal. For Ramadan, Nike leans into versatility, showcasing pieces designed to be styled multiple ways throughout the day. The edit is anchored by the Shox Z, with its sleek, directional profile that slips easily into layered looks, and the Air Max Muse, which brings a bolder energy through exaggerated proportions and a fashion-forward stance. Together, they offer contrasting expressions of movement and mood, worn differently depending on where the night takes you.

What we appreciate most is the honesty of it all. There’s no over-styling, no forced grandeur. Just women dressing for real life — balancing comfort, confidence, and creativity in a way that feels familiar to anyone navigating Ramadan in the city.

Through Style By, Nike continues to spotlight women across the Middle East, celebrating individuality while acknowledging the evolving language of modest style ,one shaped by culture, personal expression, and the quiet power of everyday choices. The series launches across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar this season, marking another step in how regional stories are being told on their own terms.

Nike.com

We were scrolling late at night, as usual, when a story stopped us mid-thumb: beautifully plated dishes, intriguing flavour combinations, a clear love for figs, and what looked like a carefully curated lineup of natural wines. Restaurant blue (keeping the lowercase b for added coolness), you officially have our attention.

Set along Mamsha Beach, the restaurant has been quietly building a reputation for seasonal cooking, thoughtful sourcing, and an atmosphere that feels more like a coastal retreat than a formal dining room, which in a restaurant landscape counting one too many fancy venues, is much needed.

By Cynthia Jreige

Here, the menu is guided by the seasons, with much of the produce coming from blue’s own farm (what we love to hear) in Abu Dhabi; a commitment that ensures every dish reflects its moment in time and place. Ingredients like figs, citrus, dates, cucumbers, herbs and vegetables are grown, preserved, pickled, and woven directly into the kitchen’s work, giving the menu a farm-to-table reputation with real purpose.

What makes blue especially intriguing for us isn’t just its ingredient philosophy, but how that philosophy translates into experience. Imagine sitting in a quiet garden-like space overlooking the sea, or at the kitchen counter watching the chefs work over an open fire, every seat promising a slightly different perspective on the same coastal breeze. Whether it’s a casually composed share plate or a more substantial seasonal course, the food is designed to feel approachable yet considered:  the kind of meal you remember not just for its (surely, divine) taste.

To complement the dishes, blue offers a curated selection of natural wines, cocktails shaped by seasonal flavours, and non-alcoholic infusions that echo the freshness of the menu. The dining experience is allmost ceremonial, owhere your surroundings, your plate, and the light over the water feel like equally important ingredients.

Led by Head Chef Noah Muscat, ex sous-chef at 3 Michelin stars (yes, 3) Studio FZN, and a team drawn from around the world, the kitchen’s collaborative spirit gives blue a sense of intimacy that’s becoming rare in big city dining. Every course seems to ask a small question: What does this season taste like? and then answer it with clarity and flavors.

For us at JDEED, this is exactly the kind of restaurant worth chasing: one where culture, place, and culinary curiosity come together without fanfare and where the menu changes as the wind and tides shift. It already seems to remind us of our favourite spots in Europe, where seasonality, intentional wines and creativity unite.

blue opens a new chapter in Abu Dhabi’s dining landscape and we can’t wait to taste it.

More info and and bookings on restaurantblue.ae

Valentine’s in the UAE isn’t one mood, it’s a menu. Skyline dinners when you want drama, beach rituals when you want softness, and late-night plans for the couples (and the friends) who refuse to call it a night early. Here’s our curated address book of where we’re booking, browsing, and sending screenshots to the group chat.

For the “main character skyline” dinner

TATTU Dubai (Levels 74 + 81)

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If you’re after a big-city Valentine’s with a side of immersive theatre, TATTU’s Valentine’s specials land across the restaurant and Sky Lounge. Think heart-shaped Wagyu dumplings, a limited-edition sharing cocktail, and a two-person dessert finale. The headline move is the premium Valentine’s Platter (AED 990) with sushi, nigiri, sashimi, and Oscietra caviar.

More info on Tatturestaurant.me

Above Eleven (Palm Jumeirah, West Palm rooftop)

‍A modern, social take on love weekend: Galentine’s Night (Feb 13) with a two-hour free-flow package (AED 199) and live beats by the Ritmo Arriba trio, plus a Valentine’s dinner concept (Feb 14) built around a “Date Check” card game so you’re actually talking, not just posing.

More info on aboveeleven.com

Bar des Prés (DIFC)

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A Valentine’s set menu by Chef Cyril Lignac on the 51st floor, anchored by a seafood platter to share, mains like grilled Australian entrecôte or native lobster, and the house’s signature Coeur Fondant to close. Bonus: the “My Darling” cocktail and a DJ set from 9pm for the ones who want dinner to turn into a night. (AED 600 per person)

More info on bardespres.com

For the “by the sea” romantics

Casa Amor (Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai)

‍A beachside Valentine’s shaped like a ritual: “Amor, Set with Intention” includes a symbolic mandala moment for couples to pause and set intentions, then a sharing menu that swings from crisp shiso tuna and truffle brioche to wagyu rib-eye or seared tuna ‘poivre,’ finishing with gianduja hazelnut ice cream (AED 550 per person). If you want it livelier, they’re also hosting a DJ Night with DJ Sasson on Feb 14.

More info on

L’Amo Bistro del Mare (Dubai Harbour)

‍For the ones who want classic Italian romance with harbour views and live music: refined signatures (tagliolini lime & caviale, wagyu tagliata, oysters, caviar) plus a special Valentine’s dessert, Macaron al Lamopone (raspberry, white chocolate, violet). Terrace has a minimum spend of AED 500 per person; indoor has no minimum.

More info on lamorestaurant.com

SĀN Beach (Palm West Beach)

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SĀN Beach has quickly become one of Dubai’s most elegant yet informal beachfront destinations. For Valentine’s Day, the venue leans into that breezy, effortless energy with a limited-edition dessert called Lychee Kiss (AED 80) on 14 February: white chocolate and lychee mousse layered with rose, raspberry sauce, and meringue. It’s not a full dinner package, but it is the perfect way to transition from golden-hour cocktails into a slow evening — think toes in the sand, soft music, shared laughter, and an easy smile between courses

More info on sanbeachdubai.com

For the “we want a story with our dinner” crowd

The Theater (Fairmont, Sheikh Zayed Road)

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Dinner-and-a-show, but make it properly Dubai. Valentine’s comes with a curated menu (hello Gillardeau oysters, foie gras parfait, pan-seared scallops) and a dessert called “Valentine’s Whispers,” plus the venue’s full performance spectacle.

More info on thetheaterdubai.com

Jamavar

For couples who bond over exceptional food, Jamavar offers a candlelit Valentine’s experience rooted in refined Indian cuisine. The MICHELIN-starred restaurant has created two sharing-style set menus — vegetarian and non-vegetarian — showcasing regional flavours through dishes like ajwaini paneer tikka, soft-shell crab, malvani prawn curry, and Old Delhi butter chicken. Both menus end on a romantic note with Cupid’s Strawberry Crémeux, making Jamavar a strong choice for those who value atmosphere, depth of flavour, and a sense of occasion.

More info on jamavarrestaurants.com

For the “staycation romance” file

‍Al Zorah Beach Resort

If Valentine’s for you means escaping the noise, Al Zorah offers a beautifully unhurried take on romance. Highlights include a private Dinner Under the Stars set directly on the sand (AED 2,500 per couple, with champagne, roses, and keepsake touches), a refined Valentine’s dinner at Aquario with live entertainment (AED 650 per couple), plus softer moments like an in-villa floating breakfast and a deeply relaxing couples spa experience. Everything here is designed around privacy, presence, and slowing down — perfect for couples who want Valentine’s to feel personal, not performative.

More info on alzorahbeachresort.com

‍The St. Regis Abu Dhabi

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This is basically a Valentine’s mini-festival: from a helipad “skyline supper” (5:30–7pm) at AED 1,100 per person, to a Valentine’s brunch at The Terrace on the Corniche (12:30–4pm) with beverage packages starting AED 345, plus dinner options across Villa Toscana, Catch (a seafood-led four-course menu, AED 495 per person), Azura Panoramic Lounge, and even a Valentine’s afternoon tea running Feb 10–16.

More info on villatoscana-abudhabi.com

For the “glam, candlelit, Milan-coded” dinner

Gloria Osteria (The Ritz-Carlton DIFC)

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A full 1970s Milanese love affair with velvet, candlelight, and a “Tunnel of Love” entrance. Menu is à la carte (so you can go big or keep it casual), plus a special pink cocktail Love at First Pop (AED 70) and a Raspberry Tiramisù moment (AED 61). Open late, no minimum spend — which we always love for Valentine’s flexibility.

More info on gloria-osteria.com

It’s been a landmark week for Bad Bunny — one that moved from Grammy glory straight into global cultural impact. Fresh off his Best Album win, the artist delivered a historic halftime performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and the ripple effect was felt far beyond the stadium.

While most halftime performances chase theatrics, Bad Bunny stayed rooted in who he is. The rhythm, the references, the Puerto Rican pulse; it all felt personal. Less about grand gestures, more about showing up with feeling on a global stage.

Rather than dilute his sound for a global audience, Bad Bunny leaned fully into it. Puerto Rican references, Spanish lyrics, and a performance driven by energy rather than excess signaled a shift in how mainstream stages can hold space for identity.

The response was immediate.

Globally, Bad Bunny’s Spotify streams surged 210%, with DtMF, BAILE INoLVIDABLE, and NUEVAYoL simultaneously occupying the top three spots on Spotify’s global chart. But the most striking reaction came from the Middle East and particularly the Gulf.

In the UAE, streams rose 388%, led by explosive growth across his halftime setlist. Tracks like Yo Perreo Sola saw a staggering +10,600% increase, followed by major spikes across Party (+2,333%), El Apagón (+1,320%), MONACO (+1,300%), Safaera (+1,267%), LA MuDANZA (+1,033%), DtMF (+916%), Tití Me Preguntó (+656%), NUEVAYoL (+618%), and BAILE INoLVIDABLE (+449%).

In Saudi Arabia, the response was even stronger. Streams climbed 482%, driven by significant lifts across the same core tracks; with Yo Perreo Sola, NUEVAYoL, LA MuDANZA, Party, and BAILE INoLVIDABLE leading the surge. The scale of engagement points to something deeper than curiosity: a genuine cultural connection.

What this moment confirms is that Bad Bunny’s reach in the region is no longer niche or novelty. In markets like KSA — where global pop, youth culture, and live entertainment are rapidly evolving — his music resonates as expressive, confident, and emotionally direct. Language becomes secondary to rhythm, energy, and identity.

Numbers collected via Spotify

With the launch of MaisonMargiela/folders, Maison Margiela does what it has always done best: it pulls back the curtain quietly.

Rather than unveiling another glossy campaign, the Maison is opening up its creative process in a way that feels deeply aligned with its DNA. The project begins with the Fall Winter 2026 show in Shanghai this April, presented as a special guest of Shanghai Fashion Week, before unfolding across a series of exhibitions and experiences in four Chinese cities.

Each stop explores one of Margiela’s foundational codes: Artisanal, Anonymity, Tabi, and Bianchetto. These aren’t presented as museum-like heritage moments, but as living ideas. Shanghai becomes a creative laboratory for Artisanal. Beijing reflects on masks and identity through Anonymity. Chengdu celebrates the cult of Tabi. Shenzhen opens the doors to Bianchetto through an atelier experience. All four exhibitions are free and open to the public.

But the most Margiela gesture comes online.

For the first time, the Maison has made its internal working folders public — the same digital spaces used by its teams to store images, timelines, press material, and evolving ideas. As the project progresses, new files will be added, allowing anyone to follow along, piece by piece.

It’s not about oversharing. It’s about transparency as philosophy.

In a fashion landscape driven by instant visuals and fast consumption, MaisonMargiela/folders feels deliberately slower. It invites you to browse, to read, to sit with fragments. To understand fashion not just as finished product, but as process. As accumulation. As thought.

There’s something refreshing about that.

Margiela has never been interested in shouting. Instead, it offers clues. Layers. Gaps. And now, folders. It’s an invitation to engage with the Maison on its own terms, to trace ideas back to their origins, and to witness creativity while it’s still forming.

MaisonMargiela/folders is a great reminder that fashion can still be intellectual, intimate, and deeply human. Sometimes, opening the archive says more than launching a campaign ever could.

More on Margiela.com

Werner Bronkhorst’s ‘CRACK’ exhibition landed in Dubai for its debut show from 16-18 January. 'CRACK' was the Sydney-based artist’s most ambitious project yet, which unfolded across four atmospheric rooms at Concrete, Alserkal Avenue. Crack – the sound, the tension, the beginning, perhaps the end – was the focal point of artworks on display.

I walked through the rooms – first, I saw salt lakes and beaches, and I thought of days spent at the beach as a child, hot sand crackling under my feet. I moved to the second room and was awestruck by a massive 7-panel painting of a desert, characterized by opulent red and deep brown, and a tiny family trekking across this mammoth expanse, and I thought of those joint family expeditions from my owl life where the unspoken tension of undertaking this long passage would weigh on us all. A dimly lit corridor led to the third room, which felt like stepping into the mouth of a cave behind a waterfall.

Themes of dressage, drawn from Bronkhorst’s family history of the sport, boxing, rock climbing, basketball and Porsches emerged from the walls, illuminated by overhead lights that made the tiny figures within jump out, almost alive. The fourth room was dressed in light once again. More sports motifs, some playful, some contemplative, all echoing the same emotion – crack.

By Saher Azmi

Post-‘Crack’, I had questions for Bronkhorst, curious to know more about the intricacies and inspirations behind the exhibitions. Some of those are graciously answered by him below:

Can you tell us a little bit more about the spiritual side of your art? You mentioned Paulo Coelho's books were an inspiration for ‘The Pilgrimage’ and, of course, ‘The Alchemist’. What did you take away from these books and can we see a glimpse of it in this collection?

Werner Bronkhorst (WB): Spirituality has always played a big role in my life in general but this time I wanted to connect that to my art after reading the books ‘The Alchemist’ and ‘The Pilgrimage’ by Paulo Coelho.

I actually named two artworks after those books to further emphasise its impact on my life and to visualise the storyline in some way. The artwork ‘The Alchemist’ is a relatively small book which revolves around the journey of a young man following his dreams and in the book he journeys through the desert to find the treasure that was revealed in his dream. As such the artwork is also rather small in size and features a camel and a young man walking on what seems to be an abstracted version of a sand dune. This artwork was the study for the much larger artwork ‘The Pilgrimage’ which also features a camel and a young man but with the addition of a wife and two kids. This nuclear family is travelling through a much larger desert landscape on their own journey to seek a new and better future or perhaps simply to travel together. In some ways it resembles my life with my own partner and kids but in many ways there’s a universal understanding that the right decision to move on to a better future can sometimes mean moving through unforgiving landscapes or perhaps going on a spiritual journey which can often feel treacherous or harsh but is more than worth it once the destination is reached and the pilgrimage has ended.

Your paintings feel whimsical and energetic. They draw from a wide array of real life inspirations - tennis, the beach, road trips with your family - but I found myself wondering where is the darkness? Are there any of your artworks that explore darker themes, maybe as an excision of negative emotions?

WB: My artworks tend to stray from darker moments to focus on the light. As such I tend to create artworks that make the viewer feel calm, uplifted and perhaps nostalgic. I do this not only because that’s what makes me the happiest in my craft but also because I’ve been fortunate not to have much darkness in my own life. My goal is to reflect the beauty of the world around us and to show an alternate version of reality- a dreamlike vision where life is balanced and beautiful.

Why did you choose Dubai for ‘Crack’? What drew you to the city?

WB: Dubai is a city that is full of beauty and perfection everywhere you look. A city filled with people from all over the world who are forward thinkers and appreciate art and culture. It also happens to be surrounded by the desert so when I first thought of working on a desert-themed collection of artworks, I knew immediately that the Middle East would be the perfect place to exhibit and no other city interested me as much as Dubai.

In an interview online, you spoke about how your art style will continue evolving as your children grow older, as you have new experiences with them. I thought that was a lovely sentiment, and wanted to know if you’re already seeing a difference, or an evolution, in any aspect of your work as an artist because of the time you spend with your family?

WB: There’s no doubt that my kids have inspired me over the past few years to try new things and explore new territories. Kids look at life with awe and wonder and adults tend to forget how to do that. Being around my kids and having them in the studio with me allows me to dance more, laugh more and live more and that in turn has made me realise that my practice as an artist should be no different. Now I tend to have more fun with artworks. I play around with new concepts, new compositions and more importantly new colours. I include more activities that I may not have experienced yet myself and in turn this has opened my eyes and my frame of reference to the big world all around me, experiencing everything exactly like my children do- with a sense of wonder!

Can you sum up ‘Crack’ in 3 words (and you can’t say ‘Crack’)?

WB: Warm, minimal, nostalgic

Can we get your top 3 (current) music recommendations - perhaps whatever you were listening to as you worked on this exhibition?

WB: I create a playlist for each collection of artworks which follows the theme of the body of work. As such this ‘CRACK’ playlist features earthy sounds and moods that transport you to the desert in some way.

'Savanne' by Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin is perhaps my favourite. I actually even have played it on repeat before interviews to help bring calmness

‘Tomorrow’s Dust’ by Tame Impala is a perfect example of calm sounds and good stories. The album cover also features an abandoned house in the Namibian desert where I spent a lot of my childhood.

‘A Horse With No Name’ by America is also just a classic that worked so well for a collection where I painted so many horses!

What’s your absolute favourite piece from ‘Crack’ and why?

WB: My personal favourite is a bit tricky to decide on, given it’s like choosing your favourite child!

But the most important piece in this collection would be ‘The Pilgrimage’ because of all the different ways it connected with me and my story. I’m a young father moving through this big abstract canvas of life with my two kids and wife. It was also the most technical and complex artwork to make- oh and my biggest yet too! This made the challenge all the more difficult but one that worked so well!

More on www.wernerbronkhorst.com

This February, Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai invites guests to slow down and savour Valentine’s season through an intimate collaboration with Maison Valentino, unfolding at The Lobby Lounge on the 36th floor, from 6 to 15 February.

Set against sweeping views of Downtown Dubai, the limited-time pop-up blends fashion and flavors. At the heart of the experience is a curated edit of Valentino Garavani bags from the Spring Summer 2026 collection, paired with a nod to Italian coffee culture. Guests are invited to select a message to accompany their cup, choosing from words centred on love, positivity, and hope, a small but thoughtful gesture that transforms a simple coffee moment into something more personal.

A limited number of Valentino-branded coffees will be served daily on a first come, first served basis between 10am and 10pm, making each visit feel quietly special.

For those looking to linger longer, the experience extends into a Valentino Afternoon Tea, served daily from 2pm to 6pm. Crafted by Mandarin Oriental Downtown Dubai’s culinary team in close collaboration with the Maison, the menu offers a refined selection of bespoke sweet and savoury creations, designed to elevate the classic afternoon ritual. It’s an elegant pause in the day, best enjoyed while watching the city unfold below.

What we love most about this collaboration is its subtlety. It’s not about grand gestures, but about creating space for connection, whether that’s over a beautifully poured coffee, a shared dessert, or simply a moment of stillness high above the streets.

The pop-up runs daily from 6 to 15 February at The Lobby Lounge, with the Valentino Afternoon Tea priced at AED 195 per person. Consider it a Valentine’s date with the city, best experienced slowly.