Churi Says ‘Less I; More Us’ | Bazaar Arabia Takes Us to Marrakech;

A New View From Dubai

T Magazine: The New York Times Style Magazine, releases the first edition of T Middle East and North Africa.

First on the covers list is stylist, creative director, designer and former EIC of Dazed Magazine [2021-2025] Ib Kamara [IG]. This super-talented creative maintains his relationship with the Off-White fashion brand, founded by Virgil Abloh.

We touch base with model Yasmin Wijnaldum, learning how she balances the many — sometimes contradictory — claims on her psyche and emotions.

The Silk Road Spirit Is Flourishing

Jing Daily’s recent Dubai initiatives such as the Spring Festival Showcase at Mall of the Emirates, illustrate how Chinese media is facilitating a "cultural fusion" between Chinese New Year and Ramadan. The Xi Jinping mission is to make China’s people the third largest source of tourism in Saudi Arabia by 2030.

Bazaar Arabia Goes to Marrakech

The Bazaar Arabia December 2025 story on Marrakech opened a large door of fashion onto this new-to-me story.

The "Silk Road" is most often associated with Central Asia, but modern historical interpretations define it as a vast web of land and maritime routes that extended into North Africa, reaching Morocco.

Founded in 1062 [although some say 1070] Marrakech served as the capital of the Almoravid Empire.

In the course of writing about the history of the Crusades, I unearthed information about the role of Arab scholars in the process of restoring lost knowledge to young European universities.

In fact, many historians refer to this era as the Great Translation Movement, and it is one of the most profound examples of intellectual "hand-offs" in human history. [Bold emphasis from Gemini]

The frontiers between the Islamic world and Christendom [specifically in Al-Andalus/Spain and Sicily] were actually porous zones of intense intellectual exchange.

A Major Update on ‘Heat Wave’ Is Coming Soon

Recently, I shared the most read story on Anne of Carversville. It’s not sexy supermodels in bathing suits. It’s a story about sustainability and climate change.

The top story is ‘Heat Wave’ with model Peng Chan lensed by Zhong Lin and it appeared in the January 2022 issue of Vogue Taiwan, and you can read it here. The fashion story was tied to what is becoming an internationally-known project “100% Polluted Water Popsicles”.

We have two new posts in development now, carrying the story forward.

Updating ‘Heat Wave’

1] While the "100% Polluted Water Popsicles" project remains the most famous work by Hung I-chen,Guo Yi-hui, and Cheng Yu-ti, the project itself has continued to evolve through international exhibitions and has sparked several similar environmental initiatives globally. 

The trio completed their degrees at the National Taiwan University of the Arts and have since moved into various roles within the Taiwanese design and creative industry. 

We’ll share details of their current lives and projects. And new global projects inspired by their own work and how ‘Heat Wave’ helped create a global reach through Vogue Taiwan, all the way to becoming a Mothership article on Anne of Carversville.

2] Our next stop is China, where Shanghai-based artists and activists have been responding to the Yangtze River’s pollution through a lens of "Distorted Luxury." I believe the top level name of the ongoing project is “The Beauty of the River’.

The Concept: Much like the popsicles, this movement [often centered around the Power Station of Art in Shanghai] involves creating "jewelry" and "couture accessories" made entirely from river-dredged glass, rusted metal, and microplastics.

Related: Peng Chang and Zhong Lin AOC Archives