OCTOBER 17, 2023

It’s been a high baller of an October weekend, from New York to Mumbai, both island cities where concrete skyscrapers rise high, but not higher than their corridors of power. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce hard launched their love in styled ease on Sunday night, and on Saturday Night Live in New York, with her Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour that released on October 13th becoming the highest-opening concert film of all time. In Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphatically expressed a desire to host the 2036 Olympics in India at the International Olympic Committee on Friday, October 14th, in the presence of eminent personalities from the worlds of sport, politics and entertainment. It’s just the power eras we live in!

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session at the Jio World Centre in BKC in Mumbai, on October, 14th, 2023. This is the second time India has hosted the IOC after the 86th session was held in New Delhi in 1983, 40 years ago. “India is eager to host the Olympics in the country and will leave no stone unturned in the preparation for the successful organization of the Olympics in 2036. This is the dream of the 140 crore Indians,” said the Prime Minister in his inaugural address. Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee and members of the IOC like Nita Ambani, Abhinav Bindra, Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, PR Sreejesh, PT Usha, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone from the worlds of sport, politics and entertainment were in attendance. The Prime Minister also congratulated Team India on their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 win in Ahmedabad stating, “I congratulate Team Bharat and every Indian on this historic victory.”

©Narendra Modi at the 141st International Olympic Committee in Mumbai

NEW YORK: Pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chief’s tight end, Travis Kelce hard launched their love in New York on Saturday night, early Sunday morning. The couple made a surprise appearance, albeit separately, in the sketches, on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, Season 49, on October 14th in New York. Kelce made a cameo at the end of the first sketch, where the SNL cast mocked the NFL for focusing on Swift during the games and Swift introduced the musical guest, Ice Spice, who she’s collaborated with on her song, Karma. This was Swift’s sixth appearance on SNL. After weeks of making football stand appearances with Kelce’s mother, Donna, Swift is now in her official Travis Kelce era as of October 15th, and everyone is making a song about it, except Swift herself, who is known to express herself vividly through her songwriting and music. Her date night Versace corset was very 2017 Reputation-esque, the album that she is yet to re-record. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film made between $95 million to $97 million during its opening weekend, according to the distributor AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, USA, making it the highest-opening concert film of all time. Interestingly, you can get paid to be a devoted Swiftie given USA Today and the The USA Today Network’s newspaper, The Tennessean, have been actively seeking a uniquely skilled journalist to fill a new role: Taylor Swift reporter, since September 12th. “Swift’s fanbase has grown to unprecedented heights, and so has the significance of her music and growing legacy. We are looking for an energetic writer, photographer and social media pro who can quench an undeniable thirst for all things Taylor Swift with a steady stream of content across multiple platforms,” ran the job post. If the position hasn’t been filled yet, you know where to apply for it as it is a legit paying job!

MUMBAI / ITALY: Straight from 10 Via Carlo Goldoni in Milan to the island of Mumbai, Dolce&Gabbana Beauty is coming to India very soon, but not without their sacred heart. Their fragrances have always been popular with Indians right from the very first one they created in 1992, Pour Femme to The One, Pour Homme, Light Blue and the Dolce collections. D&G will make a fabulous addition to the growing luxury beauty market in the country with their makeup collection of lipsticks, mascaras and illuminating face powders, and, their new fragrance for women, Devotion. The campaign for the Devotion Eau De Parfum is fronted by American singer and songwriter, Katy Perry. The Devotion collection is slated to launch in India by the end of November, early December this year. Founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Dolce&Gabbana presented their first women’s collection in Milan in 1985, with Stefano Gabbana attributing Dolce&Gabbana’s escalating success in menswear over the years to the power of celebrity, especially David Beckham. He said, “David was the start – a hot, straight, family man with kids. He made it possible for men to approach fashion without fear. Men felt if he can do it, I can.”

©Katy Perry, the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s Eau De Parfum, Devotion

©Dolce & Gabbana’s beauty and fragrance from the Devotion collection

They have gone on to turning into ‘the’ Dolce&Gabbana since, but not without their dramatic controversies over the years, one of them causing a major hit to the brand in China. Dolce&Gabbana is still trying to recover in China, a market they had it pretty good in since 2006. And to think all this hellfire for the brand in China started with an Instagram conversation!

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©Rubina A Khan 2023