DUBAI: Nayef Francis is an interior architect who established his own design house focusing on furniture and solution-driven household items, all handmade at his atelier in Lebanon.
He told Arab News that the design house was rooted in the concept of simplicity, nostalgia, and comfort.
“We incorporate the idea of the memories we collect from our childhood. So, many products are based on these happy moments and on nostalgia definitely,” he said.
As an example, the architect noted that he had drawn inspiration from a spinning top toy he played with as a child to design a cylindric, stainless steel table.
“This is a childhood memory that we carried through the years and the design was inspired purely from it,” he added.
Francis pointed out that comfort was a key factor in creating his products, and said his pieces needed to be aesthetically pleasing and cozy for them to be successful.
“Any piece, especially seating, we focus a lot on comfort. So, we mix design and comfort simultaneously and we don’t (create) purely for just design or beauty.”
Largely inspired by nature and his surroundings, Francis usually gravitates toward using materials such as stainless steel, leather, and wood.
“I like using raw materials, and I like preserving wood the way it is. I don’t like painting the wood. I like to expose the roughness of the metal. Anything that can carry the actual identity of the product, I am all for it,” he added.
Much of his work is carried out in close cooperation with Lebanese artisans who help make his creations come to life.
He said: “We like to work closely with the artisans in order to gain experience and information. It’s about sharing. So, basically what we provide is a design aesthetic and what they provide is the know-how and the techniques to produce something that is quite interesting.”
Francis gained a degree in interior architecture from USEK University, Lebanon in 2001 and established his own eponymous design house eight years later.
His products are available online on Artsy, Galleria Mia, Wescover, and Pamono.
DUBAI: Emirati designer Shatha Essa has unveiled her most recent collection “Ethereal Oasis” exploring commonalities between the UAE and Tunisia.
The Dubai-based contemporary womenswear expert tapped female artisans from Tunisia to help her create the new offering.
Essa teamed up with specialists in handwoven buttons, helping improve the welfare of local women in rural areas by generating employment opportunities and inviting them to provide for their families through button production, as well as promoting the preservation of craftsmanship in the African country.
She also joined forces with Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council on a misbaha for the collection.
The Sharjah-based council represents both modern and traditional crafts and advocates the empowerment of women. The collection’s misbaha has been handcrafted from wood and tassels and attached to loose-fitting jalabiyas and kaftans.
The collection aims to evoke femininity with its flowy silhouettes, natural colors, and artistic flair. With each piece telling a story, unique embellishments and embroidery are highlighted throughout. The symbol of the palm tree, native to Tunisia and the UAE, is a recurring motif of the collection.
The two countries are also referenced via the color palette, which includes royal blue, eggshell blue, yellow, blush, rose pink, and cream.
Flowy kaftans, long dresses, scalloped coats, and abayas are structured and delicately embroidered with patterns inspired by the mandoos, a wooden chest typically encrusted in lace-like copper decorations, as well as the mashrabiya.
A standout design includes a trench coat in a gold Jacquard fabric stitched by hand in Dubai by a team of skilled artisans. The embroidery takes the patterns of old houses located in Dubai. The look can be styled with the collection’s high-waisted fitted pants and silk organza scalloped wrap shirt with balloon sleeves to really make a statement.
The designer also introduced for the first time a signature print composed of embroidered dots and squares inspired by Swiss-German artist Paul Klee’s series of abstract paintings evoking Tunisian palm trees and gardens.
CHENNAI: An exquisitely mysterious movie about grief and pain expressed through long silences, “Drive My Car” comes from Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s stable of some great work and some not so.
His offbeat romance “Asako I & II” at Cannes three years ago was not received well, but his co-written (with Kiyoshi Kurosawa) period thriller “Wife of a Spy” earned a trophy at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. And the following year at Berlin, his “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” clinched the Silver Bear.
His latest, “Drive My Car” — competing for Oscars in direction, best picture and best international feature — is certainly for the festival and art-house circuit.
It is about the language of theater, of love and loss told in a very ponderous sort of way but so gripping it managed to hold our attention despite its 179 minutes.
A profound mix of theater and cinema, Hamaguchi’s work is scripted along with Takamasa Oe, and based on legendary Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name.
Though faithful to the source material, Hamaguchi takes several turns by adding newer locations, secondary characters and their heartrending stories.
The film, which is streaming on HBO Max, follows a grieving director and actor Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he directs a multilingual production of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” in Hiroshima with a cast of Korean, Japanese and Chinese actors. Long sequences of casting may appear repetitive but on a closer examination each comes with its minute differences.
The insurance company which oversees the stage production requires Kafuku to hire a driver for his blood-red Saab car, and a chain-smoking, grumpy Misaki (Toko Miura) is assigned for this. Dramatically, the car becomes an extension of Kafuku’s life and work, and its closed space turns alluringly impactful.
It is engrossing the way Hamaguchi transforms the vehicle into a platform where both Kafuku and Misaki reveal their innermost desires and sufferings. She has her own unhappy family history. Cinematographer Hidetoshi Shinomiya’s lens captures the grief and pain of the two, and the vehicle appears like a bright insect against the grey, barren landscapes it traverses.
An emotionally aching epic which ends though on a promise of brighter times, banishing the sorrow and gloom with one brief stroke in its climax.
DUBAI: French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has for the first time unveiled a collection of clothes for Ramadan 2022. Up until now, the Parisian maison’s Ramadan capsule collections were made up strictly of leather goods and footwear. In addition to ready-to-wear, the capsule collection also includes a fragrance.
The offering is built around a color palette of emerald green (green is also associated with Islam) and the theme “love, peace, and prosperity” to reflect the essence of the holy month. Polka dot, broderie anglaise and laise are the key elements utilized throughout the collection, which features an embroidered blouse, a layered mid-length dress and a cozy pajama set. The ready-to-wear line is complemented with five of the brand’s most iconic handbags, including the Alma BB, Capucine Mini, Dauphine Mini, Coussin PM and Petite Malle, which are reworked into emerald and black.
When it comes to footwear, slingback pumps, mules and ankle boots come in multiple heel heights and shades of green. Completing the Ramadan collection is the release of Louis Vuitton’s most recent fragrance, Fleur du Desert, which pays tribute to the extensive olfactory culture of the Middle East.
Those who wish to get their hands on the new pieces can shop the collection solely at Louis Vuitton stores across the region.
DUBAI: The daughter of archaeologists, Manhattan-born designer Ulla Johnson often combines her love of fashion and historically significant sites.
In September, she was the first designer to secure the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for her spring 2022 ready-to-wear show.
She would go on to eschew Brooklyn for Marrakech for the ensuing campaign, placing British-Moroccan model Nora Attal front and center.
A post shared by Nora Maria Attal (@noraattal)
The 22-year-old is the star of Ulla Johnson’s spring 2022 campaign, shot in Attal’s homeland.
The campaign images and accompanying video was lensed by Ukrainian photographer Yelena Yemchuk in the ruins of Marrakesh’s El-Badi Palace, which was commissioned by Sultan Ahmad Al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty a few months after his accession in 1578.
The palace, adorned with materials imported from numerous countries ranging from Italy to Mali, was designed to showcase the sultan’s wealth and power. It eventually fell into ruin after the decline of the Saadian dynasty in the 1600s.
In the video, Attal showcases pieces from the New York-based label’s 40-piece offering, including Johnson’s signature ultra-feminine frilly designs.
A post shared by Ulla Johnson (@ullajohnson)
The model ambled along the centuries-old palace wearing a Victorian-inspired floral print dress, a lavender gown with voluminous sleeves and a pastel lilac, asymmetrical organza gown with a single, gathered shoulder that all beautifully contrasted the rugged setting.
Born to Moroccan parents in the UK, Attal has been keeping quite busy. She recently starred in a campaign for Gucci’s Nojum capsule collection, alongside fellow Moroccan-Italian model Malika El-Maslouhi.
A post shared by Dana Boulos (@danaboulos)
Additionally, Attal who has forged a position as one of the most in-demand models in the world at the moment — Models.com currently ranks her as one of the top-50 models worldwide — has had quite the whirlwind fashion month.
Based in London and signed to Viva Model Management, the catwalk star was one of the most sought-after models during the Fall 2022 New York Fashion Week, racking up 11 shows. She walked for Prabal Gurung, Oscar de la Renta, Brandon Maxwell, Anna Sui, Tory Burch and others.
She also had stellar Milan and Paris fashion weeks, where she showcased the creations of Max Mara, Blumarine, Etro, Stella McCartney and Chanel.
CAIRO: Arab cinema fans would hardly forget some of the Middle East’s iconic actresses who brilliantly played the role of mothers on screen, for their memorable roles are deeply ingrained within their audiences. And as the region marks Mother’s Day, Arab News is honored to shed light on some of these magnificent cinematic mothers. Amina Rezk (1910 — 2003) Rezk was a popular Egyptian actress who took part in 208 artworks and is known for her roles as the kind-hearted mother in plays and films. Her most notable motherly roles include “Do3a2 Al Karawan” aka The Nightingale’s Prayer; “Bidaya wa Nehaya” aka A Beginning and an End, and “Kandil Om Hashem” or The Lamp of Umm Hashim. Ferdos Mohamed (1906 — 1961) She is one of the greatest mother’s in Egyptian cinema, who probably haven’t played any other role expect for a loving mother. Karima Mokhtar (1934 — 2017) There is no doubt that “Mama Noona” is on the top of the list, a character played by Mukhtar dubbed as one of her many successful motherly roles. The legendary Egyptian actress has perfectly prorated the Egyptian mother in many of her roles, inlcuding the caring Karima in “Ya Rab Wald” and the pan-Arab loved play “Al Ayal Kibrit.” Faten Hamama (1931 — 2015) While cinema-goers are used to seeing her as an elegant and beautiful icon of Egyptian cinema, Faten Hamama has played significant motherly roles over the course of her career, such as “Emberatoriet meem” or Empire M, which tells the story of a wealthy widow who struggles to raise her six children. Abla Kamel The Egyptian actress is known for her stellar performances across the Arab world. Her most memorable role is playing Fatma, the hard-working wife of a self-made millionaire in the iconic rags-to-riches story, “Lan Aish fi Jilbab Abi.” Hayat Al Fahd The legendary Kuwaiti actress is known for motherly roles across the Gulf and often appeared as the caregiver of the family, and is known as ‘The Lady of the Khaliji small screen.’