‘Best season yet:’ Stars talk success of ‘Stranger Things 4’

“Stranger Things” is on Netflix. (AFP)
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Updated 19 December 2023
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‘Best season yet:’ Stars talk success of ‘Stranger Things 4’

LOS ANGELES: Season four of Netflix series “Stranger Things” is this week’s hot topic. 

Both new and returning cast members remember how the series turned pop culture upside down when it debuted as the service’s third most streamed show in 2016.

Now, with the series’ fifth season confirmed to be its finale, “Stranger Things” season four is setting the stage with new characters, new monsters and more secrets to be uncovered.

The characters are dealing with losses and find themselves separated, splitting the show’s focus between the familiar small town of Hawkins, sunny California and a remote Russian prison.

US actor Brett Gelman, who plays the role of a former investigative journalist Murray Bauman, said that season four is “the best season yet.”

“I think it’s the funniest and scariest season yet, and I think that (the audience) are going to be able to see a lot of their favorite characters develop in ways that they have never anticipated,” he added. 

US actress Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley in the show, credited the creators, actors and the art, makeup and hair departments for the show’s success.

“Everyone who makes it from the creators to the actors to the art department to hair and makeup are dorks. (There are) a lot of dorks and geeks and people who deeply, deeply love what they do,” Hawke told Arab News. 

“If the people who come together to make it love what they’re doing, that’s great filmmaking and great storytelling,” she added. 

Meanwhile, US actress Natalia Dyer believes that one of the best things about the show “is how they throw different characters together in different situations.”

“I think everybody’s characters grew a bit from that experience which is so fun to play,” Dyer explained.

With seven episodes already available and two more dropping this July, including a feature film length finale, fans have a lot to look forward to.


Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

Updated 27 January 2026
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Mona Tougaard wears bridal look at Dior’s Paris show

  • Rihanna and Brigitte Macron among attendees at show
  • Design part of new director Jonathan Anderson’s vision

DUBAI/ PARIS: Model Mona Tougaard reportedly turned heads in a bridal-inspired look on the Christian Dior runway during the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.

The runway star, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, wore a sculptural white gown with a one-shoulder silhouette and layered petal-like appliques cascading from the bodice to the full skirt.

The asymmetrical bodice featured draped detailing across the torso, while the skirt flared into a voluminous, floor-length shape.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

The look was finished with oversized floral statement earrings that echoed the dress’s petal motif.

The floral elements echoed the wider vision of Dior’s new creative director Jonathan Anderson, who drew inspiration from nature and his love of ceramics for his first Haute Couture collection since being appointed to the role.

The 41-year-old faces the rare challenge of overseeing all three fashion lines at the house — women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture — becoming the first designer to do so since Christian Dior himself.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Just days after presenting his latest men’s collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the Northern Irish designer returned with his first couture offering.

The collection featured floral motifs on fabrics or as accessories, while sculptural bulbous dresses were inspired by the work of Kenya-born ceramicist Magdelene Odundo.

“When you copy nature, you always learn something,” Anderson declared in his show notes, which compared Haute Couture to a living ecosystem that is “evolving, adapting, enduring.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dior Official (@dior)

Other noteworthy pieces included dresses with spherical birdcage-inspired silhouettes, while other models wore vest tops with their dresses gathered around their waists.

The front row at the Rodin Museum reflected the scale of anticipation surrounding Anderson’s couture debut. France’s first lady Brigitte Macron arrived early, while Lauren Sanchez Bezos swept in shortly after.

Actor Parker Posey twirled briefly in a trench-style dress, playing to the room before settling in.

Then the space fell into a collective pause as celebrities and editors alike waited for Rihanna. When the pop star finally took her seat, the lights dropped and the show began.

Before the show, Anderson admitted in an interview with the Business of Fashion website that he previously thought couture was “irrelevant,” adding that he never really “understood the glamour behind it.”

“Now, I feel like I’m doing a Ph.D. in couture,” he explained.