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DUBAI: US Palestinian beauty entrepreneurs and influencers Simi and Haze Khadra took to social media this week to promote Swedish retailer H&M’s latest collaboration with Belgian designer Glenn Martens.

The twins posed in a series of items from the new collection in a paid advertorial post on Instagram, captioning it “fade to black.”

The creative director of Diesel is part of Paris’ new guard of fashion designers and is known for infusing humor into his conceptual collections. Martens is also the creative head of Y/Project, which he expanded into a unisex brand.

Martens’ collection with H&M twists clothing archetypes into new and unexpected forms. The designer explored H&M’s archive and selected a range of historically popular key pieces, from best-selling T-shirts to checked shirts, bomber jackets and jeans. Each is reimagined as a newly designed piece, with trompe-l’œil elements. Many of the pieces can be transformed by the wearer thanks to the use of reshaping techniques, such as foil and wiring, to create sculptural forms.

“I see this collection as a big family of garments, all of which have multiple purposes and personalities: Like people, they grow and change each day. I am always interested in the clothes that we really live in, and the idea of archetypes and wardrobe staples was the starting point for this very special and joyful project,” Martens said in a released statement.

The Khadra sisters showed off a trench coat, scarf and various boots from the collection on social media.

The pair are no strangers to creativity and co-founded their own beauty brand, SimiHaze Beauty, in 2021.

Known for their bold and innovative stick-on makeup designs — such as chrome wings and holographic cat-eyes — the brand began with eye products and then expanded its offerings to include lipsticks and bronzing powders.

In 2024, they expanded their brand to the Middle East, describing the experience as “so surreal” to Arab News.

“The market has been such a huge goal of ours since we started because we grew up here,” Simi said in an interview at the time. “We’re so happy that our products are finally accessible to our amazing followers here.”

DUBAI: Hollywood star Will Smith is set to take the stage at the UAE’s Sharjah International Book Fair 2025, which runs from Nov. 5 to 16 at Expo Center Sharjah.

The Oscar-winning actor and musician will appear as a guest speaker on Nov. 14, where fans are expecting him to share his trademark humor and personal reflections on life and creativity.

A regular visitor to the Middle East, Smith has made several trips to the region in recent years, often expressing his admiration for its culture and hospitality. He has skydived over Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, celebrated his wedding anniversary in the city with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and explored landmarks across the UAE.

In 2023, he made headlines in ����ֱ�� when he attended the inaugural AlUla Camel Cup, further cementing his strong connection to the region.

Now in its 44th outing, the annual literary event returns under the theme “Between You and a Book” and will feature more than 2,350 publishers from 118 countries, alongside more than 1,200 activities and 750 workshops for readers of all ages.

This year’s program will host a remarkable roster of global literary figures, including Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Italian physicist and bestselling writer Carlo Rovelli, Irish novelist and Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch, and Indian content creator Prajakta Koli. Prominent Arab and Emirati names such as poet and filmmaker Nujoom Al Ghanem, historian Dr. Hamad bin Seray and renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass will also participate.