How Stitch overcame Tom Cruise at the French box office
Next, step inside the world of "Squid Game: The Immersive Experience", now in London after sold-out runs in Madrid, New York, Sydney and Seoul. It's not just a show; it's a thrilling, interactive adventure where you live the drama with real actors and stunning sets.
Also, did you know that one in three French people have tattoos, with even higher numbers in Spain and Italy? Tattoos are at the heart of a major new exhibition in Marseille, exploring the history and artistry behind this vibrant cultural phenomenon.
Finally, for the first time ever, Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum honours an African artist, showcasing John Madu's striking works inspired by Vincent van Gogh's masterpieces. Don't miss this exciting episode of arts24 with Eve Jackson – your passport to the world of art, culture and cinema.
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Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Casablanca opens first Paris store, plans spaces in LA, London, and skiwear line
Casablanca has taken a step it describes as 'decisive' by opening its first brick-and-mortar store. The French label, launched in 2018 by French-Moroccan designer Charaf Tajer, has set up shop in Paris, where it has been showing since January 2019, and where it has managed to establish itself as one of the up-and-coming names in ready-to-wear. Casablanca's first store is located in the French capital's luxury shopping district, on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Casablanca has opened its flagship almost at one end of the prestigious thoroughfare, at number 62, on the corner with rue d'Aguesseau. The premises extend over nearly 460 square metres on three levels, and were previously home to an art gallery. The interiors are the brainchild of designer Charaf Tajer and the label's creative director Steve Grimes, working in collaboration with London-based design agency Counterfeit Studio and Moroccan architecture studio Elements Lab. The décor reflects 'a fusion between the past and the future, between Parisian elegance, cinema references and a bold, forward-looking vision,' said Casablanca in a press release. Originally, Casablanca focused on menswear, and made a name for itself with uber-chic looks featuring vibrant prints and fine fabrics, borrowing both from the sporting world, notably tennis, and from retro glamour. Soon the label added women's ready-to-wear, broadening its assortment by introducing a range of accessories, including leather goods, footwear and sneakers, scarves, socks and hats. The label's Parisian store showcases all these categories, spread out across each level within Casablanca's various collections. The atmosphere inside the store is decidedly cheerful and warm, with an almost pop-art feel. The furnishings are characterised by rounded and geometric shapes and by Casablanca's signature sunny palette — red, green and Mediterranean blue. The décor combines different styles and materials, using various types of marble, metal, lacquered wood, walls in white wood and others with mouldings and arched niches, velvet, mosaic, and metal and glass tinted in multiple shades for the display cabinets. After Paris, Casablanca will open in July in Los Angeles, at 469 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills. The label, which has dropped several collaborations in recent years, with Bulgari, Caviar Kaspia, ST Dupont and Nordstrom among others, is distributed via its e-shop and 350 multibrand retailers worldwide. It has recently opened shop-in-shops at Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale's in Dubai, and at KaDeWe in Berlin, and further shop-in-shops are on the cards in London, at Selfridges in September and Harrods in November. Casablanca also operates seasonal pop-up stores, like the space open for two months at Le Bon Marché in Paris, decked out like a beach club. This season, the label has established a presence also at the Mandarin Oriental in Bodrum (Turkey), and will open temporary stores at Tahiti Beach on the French Riviera in July, at the Fashion Clinic Comporta store in Cavalhal, Portugal, in August, and at the Atlantis The Royal hotel in Dubai, in partnership with the Ounass e-shop. Another project Casablanca is busy on is the autumn launch of a first skiwear capsule collection, produced in partnership with Swiss brand Faction Skis. It will be presented in November via pop-up spaces at Harrods in London and Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris, as well as in top Alpine resorts such as Verbier and Gstaad in Switzerland. Casablanca is backed by an investor and has moved its headquarters to London. In 2024, it generated a revenue of €45 million, and is expecting to reach €60 million for 2025, growing by more than 30%. Casablanca has been led since 2023 by Frederick Lukoff, and employs 140 people. The label has been posting double-digit annual growth on a regular basis. Sales for its e-shop have notably soared, recording a triple-digit rise this year. With this first Paris opening, Tajer is relishing Casablanca's success. 'When my parents arrived in France, my mother was working as a housekeeper, so me setting up a fashion house was the last thing that could be expected. Then, five or six years ago, I said: 'I want a corner in this street', and everyone told me it was impossible, because all the locations were taken by the top labels. Opening this store is a huge achievement for us: It feels like coming home.'
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
The promise of African soft power
"My music is not there for entertainment. It is there to spread a message," said Nigerian activist and afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti (1938-1997) in the 1970s. Half a century later, his distant heirs – descendants of the "Black President" – seem to have moved on from that mantra. In Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, afrobeats (with an "s") now reigns supreme: a danceable, addictive genre that is unabashedly festive and commercial. Emerging from Lagos, Nigeria's chaotic megacity, this blend of R'n'B, electronic music, hip hop and traditional African rhythms has taken the world by storm. On April 18 in Paris, nearly 80,000 people packed the Stade de France to see Nigerian star Burna Boy, the first African headliner to perform solo in the stadium. The "African Giant" – also the title of his landmark 2019 album – draws massive crowds, as do fellow performers like Wizkid, Ayra Starr and Rema, whose hit " Calm Down," remixed with American pop star Selena Gomez, has over one billion views on YouTube. "The impact in terms of influence is enormous," said Yoel Kenan, founder and CEO of Africori, a music distribution company with offices in Johannesburg, London and Lagos, which supports nearly 7,000 African artists. "Fifteen years ago, Nigeria was seen as a country of crooks, but now people think first of culture and afrobeats."
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Inside Saudi's hajj-only barbershop, shaving thousands of heads in a day
Shaving or cutting the hair comes near the end of the hajj, and marks the moment when pilgrims can change out of the Ihram clothing that signifies purity and devotion. The barbershop, strategically positioned by the Jamarat complex in Mina, where the "stoning of the devil" ritual took place on Friday, opens exclusively for the annual hajj and does a roaring trade. On the pilgrimage's last day, which coincides with the major festival of Eid al-Adha, its barbers typically handle 6,000 customers, said manager Imad Fawzi, an official employed by the hajj organisation. Inside, men in plastic aprons wield electric clippers and cut-throat razors, shearing scalps on an industrial scale for 60 riyals ($13) a time. Despite the rush -- there are so many customers that an usher is required -- Ahmed, a 28-year-old barber from Egypt, is happy in his work. "This is a very simple thing to do, but it brings us so much joy," he says. Fawzi, who grew up in Mecca, called himself a "child of the hajj". "I've been working in hajj since I was seven," he says. 'This outfit is exhausting' The once-a-year hairdresser's is not the only place for a cut: parts of Mecca and the plain of Mina, on its outskirts, turn into an open-air barbershop at this stage of the hajj. Leaving the Jamarat, a Southeast Asian man took out a razor and started scraping the back of his head as he walked. Further down the street, a group of African men were shaving each other with clippers. In Mecca, entire streets are lined with barbershops doing brisk business. While men shave their hair, women trim theirs by a fingertip-length. About 1.6 million pilgrims have gathered in and around Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this year's hajj, which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once. Outside the Jamarat hairdresser's, Hani Abdel Samih is looking forward to changing out of the wrap-around skirt and shawl he has been wearing for the past three days. "The stoning of the devil at Jamarat requires great effort and we've been wearing these clothes all day," he said. "We wanted to wear our everyday clothes and be comfortable, so we went to the nearest barbershop we could find after the Jamarat," said the Egyptian. Yet his face is beaming with joy. He said he does not mind the wait for a haircut that bears a special place in his spiritual journey. "I'm excited, of course! Because this is Sunnah from the Prophet, peace be upon him," he said, referring to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. "We like (this ritual) and we cannot break it," he said. The hajj retraces the Prophet's last pilgrimage, with rites at Mecca's Grand Mosque and Mount Arafat before "stoning the devil" -- throwing pebbles at three giant walls at Jamarat.
