Jorja Smith glows in Zuhair Murad gown

Updated 04 November 2019
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Jorja Smith glows in Zuhair Murad gown

  • The gown is among a lineup of show-stopping ensembles she’s donned in recent months
  • It's not the first time that the budding star has wore a Middle Eastern label

DUBAI: Last week, singer Jorja Smith hit the streets of London wearing a sunshine yellow taffeta dress from Zuhair Murad’s Spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection. The gown boasted an oversized bow in the back, plunging halter neckline and a high slit that served to show off her silver, strappy heels. The British crooner elevated the glamorous look with Chopard jewels.

When it came to her hair and makeup, the 22-year-old took a more minimal approach. She opted to rake her chestnut curls into a tight, face-framing ponytail. As for her makeup, Dior’s new global makeup ambassador stuck to her signature luminous complexion and nude pout.




The gown boasted an oversized bow in the back, plunging halter neckline and a high slit. (Getty)

She may have only recently emerged on the scene, but Smith is quickly cementing her status as a style star to watch out for. A red carpet fixture on the awards circuit, her princess-worthy evening gown by the Lebanese couturier is among a lineup of show-stopping ensembles she’s donned in recent months. In addition to the dramatic, beaded, custom Balmain gown she wore to this year’s Grammys, the popstar has also turned heads wearing a short, feather-trim 16Arlington gown to the BRIT Awards.

Her onstage looks are equally as striking. Whether she’s co-headlining a string of shows on tour with Bruno Mars or performing for fans at sold-out shows, the Grammy-nominated R&B star, with a little help from her longtime stylist Leah Abott, consistently puts her versatile and laidback style on display.

Meanwhile, it’s not the first time that the budding star has been spotted wearing a design by a Middle Eastern designer. In fact, the “Teenage Fantasy” hitmaker is a loyal fan of Atelier Mundane, a London-based label co-founded by Iraqi sisters Zahra and Sarah Asmail and their partner Giorgio Lieuw-On. The singer has donned the label’s wrap dress, corset and the keffiyeh-patterned Freedom Suit in the past.

She is also a fan of Jordanian-Romanian footwear designer Amina Muaddi, sporting the label’s perennially sold-out cult heels on various occasions.


Review: ‘Sorry, Baby’ by Eva Victor

Eva Victor appears in Sorry, Baby by Eva Victor, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Supplied)
Updated 27 December 2025
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Review: ‘Sorry, Baby’ by Eva Victor

  • Victor makes a deliberate narrative choice; we never witness the violence of what happens to her character

There is a bravery in “Sorry, Baby” that comes not from what the film shows, but from what it withholds. 

Written, directed by, and starring Eva Victor, it is one of the most talked-about indie films of the year, winning the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and gathering momentum with nominations, including nods at the Golden Globes and Gotham Awards. 

The film is both incisive and tender in its exploration of trauma, friendship, and the long, winding road toward healing. It follows Agnes, a young professor of literature trying to pick up the pieces after a disturbing incident in grad school. 

Victor makes a deliberate narrative choice; we never witness the violence of what happens to her character. The story centers on Agnes’ perspective in her own words, even as she struggles to name it at various points in the film. 

There is a generosity to Victor’s storytelling and a refusal to reduce the narrative to trauma alone. Instead we witness the breadth of human experience, from heartbreak and loneliness to joy and the sustaining power of friendship. These themes are supported by dialogue and camerawork that incorporates silences and stillness as much as the power of words and movement. 

The film captures the messy, beautiful ways people care for one another. Supporting performances — particularly by “Mickey 17” actor Naomi Ackie who plays the best friend Lydia — and encounters with strangers and a kitten, reinforce the story’s celebration of solidarity and community. 

“Sorry, Baby” reminds us that human resilience is rarely entirely solitary; it is nurtured through acts of care, intimacy and tenderness.

A pivotal scene between Agnes and her friend’s newborn inspires the film’s title. A single, reassuring line gently speaks a pure and simple truth: “I know you’re scared … but you’re OK.” 

It is a reminder that in the end, no matter how dark life gets, it goes on, and so does the human capacity to love.