Designers channel their inner Star Wars geek for charity



Associated Press

Chewbacca never had it so good. The ultra-hairy Star Wars character isn't known for his fashion sensibility, but he was the inspiration for not one but two highly furry ensembles displayed on Tuesday by designers indulging their inner Star Wars geekdom with new looks – to be auctioned off for charity – as fans hotly await the seventh instalment later this month, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The dozen or so garments in the Force 4 Fashion collection – by the likes of Diane von Furstenberg, Rag & Bone and Opening Ceremony – were based mainly on new characters in the latest film, but also a few veterans. Most recognisable were the stormtrooper ensembles created by Ovadia & Sons, which presented a floor-length boxy white coat with black trim, and by Opening Ceremony, which displayed a more tightly tailored look – well, for a stormtrooper – in white microsuede.

As for Chewie, he (or it?) inspired a luscious merino shearling coat by Billy Reid, lined with brown leather and paired with a white turtleneck sweater and grey wool track trousers. The creature was also embodied in a furry Todd Snyder ensemble, pairing a brown coat with white top and tan trousers.

Some designers went for the glamour. Not surprisingly, Diane von Furstenberg incorporated her signature “wrap” effect into a gold, filmy ensemble for Rey, the new film’s female protagonist, played by Daisy Ridley. Parker presented a glittery Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), inspired by ancient tribal warriors; the same character got a dramatic printed gown from Giles Deacon.

Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of Rag & Bone, self-professed Star Wars fans, also clothed Rey, but in a much sportier style emulating their athletic urban streetwear. (The designers also offered a darker look for villain Kylo Ren.)

The Rag & Bone designers were among celebrities who attended an evening red carpet event for the charity collection. Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Maz Kanata, wore a dress by Zac Posen equipped with blinking LED lights, part of the Made With Code initiative with Posen and Google to encourage girls to embrace computer science. Ridley and John Boyega, who is Finn in the film, also attended.

There is some definite gender-bending happening in the clothes, particularly with Halston. The label’s designer, Maria Mazelis, decided to give the male Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) a female identity, probably because, well, gowns are a lot more glamorous than menswear.

“I was really excited by the idea of a villain,” Mazelis said, standing alongside her sleek dark gown, with a plunging neckline, sheer back and revealing side slits, topped off with a beaded mask that covers the eyes. “The complexity of this character was intriguing. It’s powerful, but emotional, too. Strong and yet vulnerable. I wanted to show that duality.”

And Cynthia Rowley gave a human character to the droid BB-8, putting the character in a white trousers, a sweatshirt with a big ‘8’ on it, and a round football-style helmet.

Disney and Bloomingdale’s are partnering for the fund-raising initiative; proceeds from the auction will go to the Child Mind Institute. (There are, as yet, no plans to recreate the pieces for sale.) A separate auction will feature a custom, bejewelled BB-8 created by Kay Jewelers, weighing more than one and a half pounds and made of gold and diamonds. Proceeds from that auction will go to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, a representative said, noting that the piece had been appraised at $135,000.

Though a number of the designers are said to be big Star Wars fans, Mazelis was thinking of her kids, ages 4 and 6, whom she called "superfans". Will her design earn her some points with them?

“One day they will appreciate it,” she replied hopefully.

artslife@thenational.ae

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash

Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.

Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.

Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.

Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.

Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions