Brazilian model Cindy Mello is latest celebrity to don Lebanese label Georges Chakra

Brazilian model Cindy Mello attended the charity gala LuisaViaRoma for UNICEF over the weekend. (Getty Images)
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Updated 01 January 2023
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Brazilian model Cindy Mello is latest celebrity to don Lebanese label Georges Chakra

DUBAI: Brazilian model Cindy Mello is the latest celebrity to step out in a sparkling creation from Lebanese designer Georges Chakra.

The model was attending the charity gala LuisaViaRoma for UNICEF, held on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy, and sponsored partly by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by CINDY MELLO (@cindymello)

RSIFF is is the founding partner of the charity night, which raises funds in support of UNICEF’s projects around the world.

Mello, who has more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram, opted for a peach embroidered gown from Georges Chakra’s spring-summer 2022 collection.

The model also wore the label at the charity gala’s summer edition in Italy earlier this year when she appeared in a draped sequined knit maillot gown with a black velvet belt that added a feminine touch to the creation.

The glitzy dress, from the designer’s fall/winter 2022 haute couture collection, featured a long train and plunging neckline.

Apart from Mello, other celebrities to have championed the Lebanese designer include Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, Brazilian model Adriana Lima, singer and television show host Nicole Scherzinger, and K-Pop star Victoria Song.

The Oscar-nominated actress Bakalova stepped out in a glittering black gown from Georges Chakra at the 35th edition of the European Film Awards earlier this month, held at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik.

The actress opted for a piece from the label’s fall-winter 2023 couture collection, featuring a fitted, sheer bodice with see-through sleeves.

Bakalova made her debut with her portrayal of the character Milena in the 2017 movie “XIIa.”

However, she stepped into the limelight playing the role of Tutar Sagdiyev in the 2020 mockumentary “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” winning the Critics’ Choice Movie Award and gaining a nomination for the Academy Awards.

The actress was most recently in “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” released on Disney+, where she voiced the character of Cosmo the Space Dog.


Writers boycott Adelaide Festival after Randa Abdel-Fattah is dropped

Updated 09 January 2026
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Writers boycott Adelaide Festival after Randa Abdel-Fattah is dropped

DUBAI: A wave of writers have withdrawn from the Adelaide Festival’s Writers’ Week, prompting organizers to take down a section of the event’s website as the backlash continues over the removal of Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the 2026 program.

The festival confirmed on Friday that it had temporarily removed the online schedule listing authors, journalists, academics and commentators after participants began pulling out in protest of the board’s decision, which cited “cultural sensitivity” concerns following the Bondi terror attack.

In a statement posted online, the festival said the listings had been unpublished while changes were made to reflect the growing number of withdrawals.

By Friday afternoon, 47 speakers had already exited the program, with more believed to be coordinating their departures with fellow writers.

High-profile figures stepping away include Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, Sarah Krasnostein, Miles Franklin Prize winner Michelle de Kretser, Drusilla Modjeska, Melissa Lucashenko and Stella Prize-winning poet Evelyn Araluen.

Best-selling novelist Trent Dalton also withdrew from the event. He had been scheduled to deliver a paid keynote at Adelaide Town Hall, one of the few Writers’ Week sessions requiring a ticket.