Competing to be Miss Universe

Watched by approximately 1 billion people worldwide, the Miss Universe beauty pageant is one of the most widely televised events in the world. It is also one of the most hotly contested. The international competition, owned and operated by American business magnate Donald Trump, is preceded by a series of rigorous national contests.

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Paris Fashion Week

Image Attribution: CC 3.0, Max 01234

Paris has been in the media spotlight this month as fashion made a triumphant return to the French capital for the annual Paris Fashion Week. Fashion houses in attendance included Christian Dior, Chanel, Versace and Armani, all eager to show their spring-summer designs on the catwalk. Luxisto rounds up the best of the action in Paris.

Christian Dior

First up on Monday was Raf Simons with his latest designs at the Dior couture show, featuring layered sequins, lace and tulle with original colour schemes. The models strutted the catwalk in bright vinyl pumps to a David Bowie soundtrack. The music was a hint of Dior's future direction, focusing on a blend of  psychedelic and futuristic, with heavy influences from the '50, '60s and '70s. Speaking at the show, Simons said “the romance of a near past, when space-age and mind-expanding ideas of a future felt full of possibilities for society, pop culture and fashion.”

Chanel

The following day, the Chanel catwalk was grabbing the headlines from inside a giant terrarium. Karl Lagerfeld presented a 73-piece collection to wow the watching spectators. There were bare abdomens, tweed suits and tulle headwear. "The new cleavage is the stomach" Lagerfeld said of his spring-summer 2015 designs. Colour scheme extended from pale pastel tones to bright electric blue and yellow.

Image Attribution: CC 2.0, William Murphy

Versace

While other haute couture designers opted for multi-layered designs, Versace offered a refreshingly simple alternative with its 2015 spring-summer collection. Figure hugging dresses, transparent cut-outs and slinky shapes showed plenty of leg, shoulder and hip in what was a classy take on sexy women's wear. The colours were equally bold as the cuts. Commenting on the new collection, 59-year-old Italian designer Donatella Versace said “I wanted no straight lines at all. Every seam is curved."

Armani Prive

On Wednesday, the Armani Privé collection took to the catwalk under the careful gaze of onlooking Hollywood actors and actresses. 68-pieces were exhibited with a distinct oriental influence. Delicate clothing was the theme with silk and beaded materials draped over slinky silhouettes. This theme was offset by markedly large accessories.

In other news, Kim Kardashian appeared in 13 different outfits during her stay in Paris for the fashion week. Sporting a new blonde hairstyle, Kim was keen to be seen in black. Perhaps the biggest story of the week was Ben Stiller and Owen Wilsons' surprise appearance at the show as their fashionista Zoolander alter-egos Derek Zoolander and Hansel. Finally, Apple watches appeared for an exclusive Paris fashion week exhibition in high retail store Colette near the Louvre. The display event marked the first time that the watch had been put on public viewing outside of an invite-only event and welcomed VIP guests Karl Lagerfeld and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Original article published by Luxisto

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Dubai is already a well known hub of impressive building projects. The United Arab Emirates city is home to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa; the Dubai Mall, the world's largest mall and Palm Islands, a spectacular man-made archipelago just off Dubai's coast. Not content with this, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, vice president and ruler of Dubai has announced the building of a 'Museum of the Future', due to open in 2017.

The building will be an oval ring-shape and is to be built on a grassy hill near the Burj Khalifa. The project will cost 500-million-dirham ($136-million) in total and will feature exhibitions showcasing innovation. Commenting on the project, Sheikh Mohammed said: “His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, our President, has declared 2015 to be the year of innovation in the UAE. Today, we show how serious and committed we are to that mission by turning the UAE into a major international destination for innovators. The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and execute it.”

With its motto as “see the future, create the future”, the museum will “actively produce futuristic inventions,” claims the Dubai government said, and provide a “permanent home for the world’s greatest innovations.” Living up to its name, the Museum of the Future will be constructed using modern 3D printing techniques. However the museum is not the sole building development planned to alter the metropolis. Indeed, last October, plans were made to build the world's tallest twin towers in the United Arab Emirates, while the Dubai Miracle Garden, the world's biggest natural flower garden will transform the city in the desert with a 72,000m2 park comprising 45 million flowers.

Original blog post by Luxisto

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