DUBAI: Dubai-born footwear brand DUHA, founded by Tunisian designer Duha Bukadi, has unveiled a new collection for Ramadan, blending style, comfort and a touch of nostalgia.
Bukadi, who launched her brand a year ago when she moved to Dubai, draws inspiration from childhood memories of Ramadan in Tunisia, where gatherings, gifts and festive celebrations played a central role.
“Ramadan has always been a joyful and exciting time for me,” Bukadi told Arab News. “It’s a time for family, for coming together, and for celebrating. I wanted this collection to reflect that spirit of joy, comfort and togetherness.”
Her latest collection features the standout EVA design, which includes crystals arranged in the shape of a foot on the front part of the shoes, making them both statement pieces and practical choices for Ramadan and Eid celebrations.
Her latest collection features the standout EVA design. (Supplied)
“They could also be worn for Eid. During Eid, we always received gifts or money, and new outfits were a big part of the celebration. That’s why this collection includes sparkles, studs and embellishments — small details that bring joy and excitement,” she said.
Bukadi emphasized the importance of wearability, especially during Ramadan’s late-night gatherings for iftar and suhoor, leading her to design her shoes with a cushioned sole for added comfort.
The EVA design includes crystals arranged in the shape of a foot on the front part of the shoes. (Supplied)
“We try our best to make them comfortable. When I see women wearing them during the day, for work or for shopping, I would like them to feel like they are on a pillow. This special insole is like a pillow that people can wear, and it’s really, really comfortable, but the heel still hurts by nature. We just try to make the pain less,” she said.
Before launching DUHA, Bukadi worked as a hospitality designer, creating luxury hotels across the Middle East. The pandemic led her to reevaluate her career, reigniting her passion for fashion.
Despite initial challenges, DUHA, which is being sold on Level Shoes, quickly gained international recognition, securing a spot in the Fashion Trust Arabia competition and catching the attention of Netflix’s “Emily in Paris,” which featured her designs.
Italian brand Zegna to present its Summer 2026 collection in Dubai
Updated 21 February 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Italian fashion brand Zegna is breaking tradition by unveiling its Summer 2026 collection outside the usual Milan Fashion Week schedule, opting for Dubai as the backdrop for its runway show.
The event is set for June 11.
“As a company that has always looked beyond, we are excited to bring the artistry of Made in Italy to Dubai for the first time,” said Gildo Zegna, chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group.
“This is not just about a fashion show — it’s about reinforcing the strength of Italian craftsmanship on a global stage. Dubai today is the center of the world, a place where cultures converge, ideas flourish, and the future takes shape. It embodies the energy, vision, and innovation that define modern luxury,” Zegna added.
“Milan will always be our home, and our partnership with Camera della Moda remains as strong as ever. But today, luxury is about movement, evolution, and embracing new perspectives. Dubai is the perfect place for us to tell the next chapter of our story.”
As part of the event, VILLA ZEGNA, the brand’s traveling concept inspired by the original home of Ermenegildo Zegna, will also make its way to Dubai.
The previous editions took place in Shanghai and New York.
Krasinski took to Instagram to express his gratitude and thank the people of Dubai for their support.
“So. Good. To be. Back! #JackRyanMovie is off and running!!! HUGE thank you to all the incredible folks here in Dubai for letting us kick off in epic fashion in your beautiful city! Here we go,” he wrote.
بدعم من مجلس دبي للإعلام، وتأكيداً لمكانة دبي كوجهة عالمية رائدة لتصوير الأفلام والإنتاجات السينمائية، اختتام عمليات التصوير الخاصة بفيلم "جاك رايان" في دبي، وهو من إنتاج "أمازون إم جي إم ستوديوز"، ومن بطولة النجم جون كرازنسكي، وإخراج أندرو بيرشتاين. pic.twitter.com/EBmyJ8XmJV
Directed by Andrew Burstein and produced by Amazon MGM Studios, the latest installment sees Krasinski return to the role of Tom Clancy’s eponymous hero. He previously played the CIA analyst-turned-operative in four Amazon Original series.
Curator Muhannad Shono discusses how contemporary works bridge present, past and future
Updated 21 February 2025
Jasmine Bager
JEDDAH: “The role of contemporary (art) is to act as a link between the past, our present and this imagining of our future,” says Muhannad Shono, contemporary art curator at the second Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, which opened in January and runs through May.
Shono’s section of the biennale features 30 new commissions from local and international artists “giving shape to the theme,” which this year is “And All That is in Between” — drawn from a Qur’anic verse: “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in between” — guiding artists and audiences to reflect on the spaces that exist between known boundaries, whether physical, spiritual, or conceptual.
Set across multiple indoor galleries and integrated into outdoor spaces, the contemporary works are woven seamlessly into the Biennale’s landscape alongside ancient artifacts.
Muhannad Shono. (Supplied)
One striking example is in the AlMidhallah section, where Japanese artist Takashi Kuribayashi’s installation, “Barrels,” features a formation of oil barrels from which a tree emerges, with reflective mirrors blurring the line between man-made and natural elements.
Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi’s “Zubaydah Trail (Between Sacred Cities),” meanwhile, is an immersive space where visitors are invited to kick off their shoes and sit and reflect between the Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah Al-Munawwarah biennale pavilions. Deeply saturated, vibrant strips of color make the space feel both playful and serious at once. Each color and shape carries symbolic meaning — the zig-zag pattern represents the streaming water of Makkah’s Zamzam well, while the green hue evokes the peacefulness of Madinah.
There are many other beautiful works, such as Saudi artist Bilal Allaf’s “What I Heard in the Valley,” which draws inspiration from Sa’i, the ritual walk performed by pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah.
“The overall theme of the biennale is interpreted across five galleries and, of course, across the contemporary interpretations as well,” says the biennale’s artistic director Abdul Rahman Azzam. Contemporary art here serves as a bridge, as Shono suggested, linking the past, present, and possible futures.
Takashi Kuribayashi's 'Barrels.' (Supplied)
AlBidaya, which translates to “the beginning,” is one of the galleries where this concept comes to life, exploring the emotional connections between objects and ideas.
“In the beginning, we were kind of focusing on the heavens and the earth. But then we realized that the true power and potential of this biennale is ‘all that is in between,’” Shono tells Arab News. “This idea of the inclusive, the expansive, the layered, the transformative space that is liminal, that is not interested in its edges, it’s not focused on the binary of options of right and wrong and light and dark and good and evil. It is more interested in that new space that we are exploring.”
Shono was a featured artist at the first Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023. His role this time is very different, but it’s an opportunity he embraced wholeheartedly.
“I responded yes immediately and I threw myself into the work,” he says. “It was a shift in priorities, it was a shift in what I thought my year was going to look like, and it was completely kind of throwing yourself into the process, into motion.
“The most surprising part about preparing was how natural it felt. (I wanted to make sure) that I went through this with a smile, and because I experienced the last edition, I knew what it was going to end up feeling like. So it wasn’t an attempt to top anything or compete with anything but more to do it honestly and naturally, as I would do my own work.”
What was especially important to him as a curator was working with younger Saudi artists and emerging voices.
“The word ‘change’ is used a lot here in Saudi and the Biennale really embodies that, bringing in the past — which was very rigid… did not want to be negotiated with, did not want to change its narrative or the parameters of its definitions and space — and bringing contemporary thoughts embodied in contemporary art practices, whose roles are to question, think laterally, reimagine, reinterpret,” he says. “It’s a big testimony to what the country’s going through. And so when I was invited, I really wanted to do it — this speaks to my work and I wanted to extend that into the role of curation.”
Many of the featured artists were present at the opening, engaging with visitors. “(Art) is not just about showing things; it’s about experiencing things, exchanging things. It responds to your presence. It reacts to you,” says Shono.
He is grateful to see so many visitors eager to engage with Saudi Arabia’s art scene. The experience, he believes, speaks for itself.
“Every visit, every person who takes that leap of faith — beyond the stereotypes — is enacting change, is experiencing something that can’t be reversed because you’re really coming in contact with the truth, with people, their lives, their generosity, their authenticity,” he says.
While he is curating the spaces, he does not want to curate the impressions.
“I think most of the people are coming here and seeing for themselves what is going on in this country,” he says. “I grew up here in Saudi, so to see a country go through this very rooted experiment of social change… it’s important for it to succeed not only for the sake of this country, but for the entire region.”
New ‘Captain America’ movie is an exercise in empathy, says star Anthony Mackie
Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford discuss the Mackie’s first outing as iconic superhero
Updated 21 February 2025
Shyama Krishna Kumar
DUBAI: In the latest, long-delayed, chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — “Captain America: Brave New World,” directed by Julius Onah — audiences are ushered into a transformative new era as Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson takes up the iconic shield last wielded by Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers.
Mackie says the role redefines what it means to be a superhero, especially because, unlike his predecessor, Wilson doesn’t have the advantage of taking a super-soldier serum.
“I think (the film) has a huge amount of hope and empathy. Sam Wilson never took the super-serum. Being a counsellor and a humanitarian and a leader, there’s a certain amount of empathy and understanding that he has to go into conflicts with; brute force cannot be his first option. Because, for him, there’s consequences. He can actually die. He’s a regular person,” Mackie told Arab News. “I want people to see Sam Wilson and recognize a bit of themselves in him, because of how humane, humble, and kind he is.”
Joining Mackie in this new era is Hollywood icon Harrison Ford, making his Marvel debut as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a role he inherited from the late William Hurt.
For Ford, who also portrays the Red Hulk in the film, stepping into the MCU was an unexpected but exciting challenge.
“I (know) how successful and beloved these films are, and I thought it was an intriguing world to explore,” Ford said. “They brought me a part that had a little taste of everything. To play the president and the Red Hulk in the same film? I’ve never been offered anything like that before.”
Director Julius Onah, Xosha Roquemore, and Anthony Mackie behind the scenes. (Supplied)
Beyond the spectacle, Ford was drawn to the film’s emotional core, particularly his character’s personal struggles. “I think we made a very entertaining film, but also one with real humanity. What attracted me was the dilemma he faces with his daughter, his estrangement, his past mistakes, and his desire to fix them. That failure intrigued me, especially in a Marvel film.”
Producer Nate Moore says he’s especially grateful for Ford taking on the role.
Danny Ramirez as The Falcon and Anthony Mackie in 'Captain America - Brave New World.' (Supplied)
“He’s a Hollywood legend — incredibly talented. And what’s great about Harrison is that he really loves Bill Hurt’s performance, and felt like he wanted to build on that, rather than do an imitation. So this Thunderbolt Ross is something Harrison crafted on his own, but based on where the character had been before,” said Moore.
“And I think narratively, what’s cool is both Ross and Sam find themselves trying to fill really big shoes and ultimately find themselves on the opposite side of an issue that that puts them on a direct collision course, which is a ton of fun.”
The film’s production hasn’t been without controversy. Apart from rumors of lengthy and extensive reshoots, “Brave New World” ran into further trouble when Israeli actress Shira Haas got the role of Ruth Bat-Seraph, aka Sabra, an Israeli superhero and Mossad agent.
Takehiro Hira, Anthony Mackie, and Harrison Ford in 'Captain America - Brave New World.' (Supplied)
While the character’s Mossad ties and background have been scrubbed for the film, the character is still Israeli.
“The Ruth Bat-Seraph that we meet in ‘Brave New World’ is different to her comic counterpart, as a lot of our heroes are,” Moore said. “Very rarely can we do a one-to-one translation of a comic book, because comics occupy such a different space, and sometimes they’re incredibly dated. But what we thought was interesting was our Ruth Bat-Seraph works within the US government, very close to President Ross, so her perspective on him is different to Sam’s, and that puts these two characters at odds.”
Regardless of the film’s challenges, Moore believes it will resonate with audiences.
“I think the film may be surprisingly emotional for some people, because it really asks the questions ‘Can a man be redeemed?’ And ‘Is there a way to find common ground with somebody who you assume to be in opposition to yourself?’ Art can only do so much, but I do think we live in a world that is increasingly complicated, where opinions are increasingly stratified, and Sam’s superpower is his empathy; he tries to build connections with people. And if people take that away with them, I think that’s a win.”
KARACHI: Renowned Pakistani artist Amin Gulgee said on Wednesday his parents had wished to convert their residence in the port city of Karachi into a museum, a desire he fulfilled this week by establishing the Gulgee Museum and opening its doors to the public to preserve his father’s artwork.
Ismail Gulgee, Amin’s father, was one of the most recognized figures in Pakistan’s art community, known for his calligraphic and abstract expressionist paintings. Originally trained as an engineer, he transitioned to art and gained fame for his portrait paintings before shifting toward abstract work influenced by Islamic visual heritage.
His dynamic, large-scale paintings often featured thick, textured strokes, drawing inspiration from Sufism and traditional Islamic artistic motifs. Exhibiting his work in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, he achieved international recognition during his lifetime.
Tragically, in December 2007, Gulgee and his wife were found murdered in their home in Karachi, an incident that shocked the country. His legacy, however, endures, with his works displayed in galleries, private collections and public spaces in Pakistan and beyond.
“My parents demanded that after their demise, their place should be turned into a museum,” his son, a recognized artist himself, told Arab News, saying he started working on “reimagining” the place two years ago.
The photograph taken on February 18, 2025 shows art work displayed at the Gulgee Museum in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN)
The museum displays his father’s sketches, mosaics in lapis lazuli, paintings and sculptures.
“The collection comes from 1950 to 2007 with over 170 artworks,” he continued.
Amin is also the museum’s curator and has kept an archival collection of his father’s photographs, who witnessed the birth of Pakistan. The images feature Gulgee showing his work to President Charles de Gaulle of France in the 1960s and Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s, among others.
“I have divided the museum into 17 sections spread over 13 rooms on two floors, and I have written about each section,” he said. “Later, we are going to have a museum handbook that will come out. But for now, we have wall text in the museum, and we also have a QR code which translates all my English text into Urdu.”
Visitors look at a sculpture showcasing Quranic calligraphy at the Gulgee Museum in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 19, 2025. (AN)
Amin went about transforming his parents’ home in collaboration with architect Samina Anjarwalla, who said that they broke a lot of walls, as the space previously comprised bedrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms.
“The structure was a big challenge for us,” she told Arab News, adding that the idea was to preserve the country’s heritage along with Gulgee’s work.
“We kept [the building] very simple, very plain [and] very modern so that the work speaks for itself,” she added.
Karachi does not have many art museums, making it challenging to preserve artworks in many cases.
“I think it is wonderful for the city of Karachi [to have Gulgee Museum],” Mehreen Ilahi, who runs an art gallery called Majmua, told Arab News.
“Initiatives like these, including the different ways of preserving art, are extremely important,” she continued. “Other than this, Karachi only has the National Museum and Mohatta Palace Museum. It was very important that this became a museum because Gulgee is no longer alive, and his work must be preserved.”
The photograph taken on February 18, 2025 shows art work displayed at the Gulgee Museum in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN)
Asked about his future plans, Amin said there was a lot more to come.
“The next project of the museum is the Gulgee Museum Handbook, which is a 320-page book with 13 academic essays written on Ismail Gulgee,” he said. “We are about 80 percent done, and as soon as this opening is over, I go back to the project of the book.”
