DUBAI: Actress Yara Shahidi attended the Cameron Boyce Foundation's 2024 Annual Cam For A Cause Gala in Los Angeles on Sunday in a vintage Christian Dior dress.

The part-Middle Eastern star attended the gala that is held annually to raise funds to cure epilepsy through funding research, education and awareness campaigns. It is held by the Cameron Boyce Foundation in honor of US actor Cameron Boyce, who died at the age of 20 due to an epileptic seizure in 2019.

Shahidi, whose father is Iranian, attended the event alongside the likes of US actress Sofia Carson, and actors Taylor Lautner and Dove Cameron.

Shahidi showed off a Dior look complete with floral embroidery in a fitting move as the Harvard graduate and TV star is an ambassador for the luxury French brand.

The actress is known to experiment, however. She recently attended the Hulu on Disney+ launch event in Los Angeles in a look by rising Lebanese designer Salim Azzam.

The fashion house is known for championing Lebanese artisanal craftsmanship at its atelier in the Chouf region of the country. The brand includes traditional hand-stitching techniques in its creations — and Shahidi’s ensemble showed that off to great effect.

The “Grown-ish” star hit the red carpet in a hand-embroidered shirt dress created out of smocking cotton, complete with bird-and-tree motifs sewn across the length of the outfit.

Shahidi has had a busy year so far, most recently starring in a campaign alongside K-Pop star Jisoo, Irish Oscar nominee Paul Mescal, British singer Labrinth and Hong Kong rapper Jackson Wang for Cartier.

She stars in the film and image campaign that was released at the end of March to celebrate the Trinity jewelery collection turning 100 years old.

 

 

 

 

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Shahidi also starred in a campaign for French label Jean-Paul Gaultier in September 2023 and the 24-year-old was nominated for a NAACP Image Award earlier this year.

The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the US-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The awards show honors outstanding performances in film, television, theater, music, and literature.

Shahidi was nominated for the outstanding actress in a motion series category for her role in “Sitting in Bars with Cake,” a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Trish Sie and written by Audrey Shulman.

DUBAI: Grammy-winning US singer-songwriter Kehlani has released a new music video in support of Gaza and said that proceeds from related merchandise will go to Palestinian, Congolese and Sudanese families.

The singer, who has been at the forefront of protests in support of Gaza since October, on Friday released the song “Next 2 U” with an accompanying video. In the clip, she can be seen waving Palestinian flags while wearing suits adorned with the Palestinian keffiyeh.

“As an artist, I was nervous, terrified, worried after losing so much of what I’d valued for an album … paired with the crippling wonder of what music is appropriate to drop during the most historical tragedies of our generation,” the singer wrote on Instagram.

“I remembered my favorite revolutionary poets, singers, filmmakers. I remembered how much impact we have. I thought about my favorite James Baldwin quotes about the role of an artist in society. I listened to this song enough to recognize a love song is a protector’s song, is revolution,” she said, referring to her latest single.

The music video opens with an anti-war quote from US Palestinian poet Hala Alyan: “Keep your moon / We have our own / Keep your army / We have our name / Keep your flag / We have fruits and in / All the right colors.”

The singer collaborated with Palestinian designer Simsim and the Nol Collective on merchandise related to the song.

“100% of the proceeds are going to be distributed amongst Palestinian, Congolese and Sudanese family through @operationolivebranch (sic),” she wrote on Instagram.

The T-shirts are screen-printed in Ramallah and cut and sewn in Bethlehem, according to the Nol Collective.

Kehlani has emerged as a strong pro-Palestinian force on social media and spoke at a rally held in Downtown Los Angeles in October, saying: “I think it’s black and white, and you have a choice to see it or not … I want all my followers and peers to sit on the right side of history. I want them to make a decision that is larger than them. I want them to make an unselfish one. I want them to make an obvious one. And I just hope they choose to do the right thing.”