Boundary-breaking, genre-defying and unprecedented: the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics got the 2024 Summer Games underway with a pulsating energy and unique show that will never be forgotten. Here are five memorable moments: - The uninvited rain - Opening ceremony mastermind Thomas Jolly, a renowned French theatre director, had carefully choreographed every minute of the festival along the banks of the River Seine. But there was one factor he could not plan for -- the weather.
The opening ceremony had the misfortune to take place as heavy summer downpours descended on Paris even as forecasts showed days of hot sunny weather ahead. As the national teams paraded down the Seine on boats, they sought to make the best of the situation, likely hoping the damp would have no impact on health before events. Renowned French classical pianist Alexandre Kantorow was drenched as he performed on a Paris bridge without any cover, while social media users expressed concern for his equally unprotected instrument.
Ironically, the piece he played was "Jeux d'eau" ("Water Game") by Maurice Ravel. An image of Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer meanwhile went viral showing him refusing to wear the standard plastic poncho to stay dry -- showing classic British defiance in the face of poor weather. - The great comeback - Canadian singer Celine Dion, who had been battling a rare illness, made a spectacular comeback by singing from the Eiffel Tower at the climax of the ceremony with a rousing version of the "Hymn to Love" by Edith Piaf.
Showing pitch-perfect intonation and hitting the notes with ease, she serenaded a captive Paris as the cauldron lit by France's most-decorated track athlete Marie-Jose Perec and three-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Teddy Riner soared into the Paris sky in a balloon. Last month she vowed she would fight her way back from the debilitating rare neurological condition that has kept her off stage. Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.
- A French classic - Some 80 artists from the celebrated Moulin Rouge cabaret performed the iconic cancan dance that dates back to the 1820s, in pink costumes specially designed for the occasion. The famous music however was given a new electronic touch that set the tone for an evening that sought to put a new twist on classic French culture. As the teams began their parade down the Seine they were serenaded by an accordion player -- dressed in the obligatory French outfit of beret and blue-striped T-shirt -- precariously perched on a bridge.
- Defying discrimination - There had been a racist backlash on social media and criticism from the extreme right when it emerged that French Malian singer Aya Nakamura was to perform at the opening ceremony. But with President Emmanuel Macron himself backing her involvement, she and her dance troupe swung their way into a medley of her hits and a song by the great Charles Aznavour. In an eloquent symbol, she received backing from the musicians of France's Republican Guard and performed against the backdrop of the Academie Francaise, the austere guardians of the French language.
A sequence of dancing promoting tolerance of sexual and gender identities ended with the actor Philippe Katerine appearing as the Greek God Dionysus naked and painted pink, with strategically placed flowers covering his modesty. In possibly Jolly's greatest coup de theatre of the entire ceremony 10 statues of pioneering French women surged up from the waters of the Seine in a bid to inscribe their achievements in minds forever. They included the French writer and activist Olympe de Gouges who was guillotined in 1793, Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor who spearheaded the legalisation of abortion in France, and feminist activist Gisele Halimi.
- Eclectic music - No-one could accuse the opening ceremony of being rigid in its choice of music with the city pulsating to all styles from classical, to opera, to pop to electro. The ceremony did not stint on star power with Lady Gaga appearing to perform a French music hall classic and homegrown stars like the rapper Rim'K also performing at the ceremony. But perhaps the biggest cheer came for the French metal band Gojira who appeared on platforms high on the Conciergerie, an iconic building in the French Revolution, the first time a metal band has appeared at an Olympic opening ceremony.
The co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel pleaded not guilty to US drug charges on Friday after being flown to Texas in a scheme allegedly orchestrated by another top leader of the notorious trafficking ring. Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as "El Mayo," co-founder of the cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other co-founder, were taken into custody in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, US officials said. Zambada, 76, who faces charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder, appeared before a US magistrate judge shortly after his stunning arrest and entered a plea of not guilty, according to court documents.
He was remanded in custody and is to appear in court again on July 31. President Joe Biden welcomed the arrests of the two cartel leaders and said the United States "will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives." "Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl," he said.
The Mexican authorities said they were not involved in the operation, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador described as "an important advance in the fight against drug trafficking." Lopez Obrador said he expected a "complete report" from the United States on how the men were taken into custody. "There must be transparency," he said.
The situation was calm on Friday in Sinaloa's state capital, Culiacan, where furious gunmen went on a rampage in 2023 after the arrest and extradition to the United States of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, another son of Sinaloa co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. El Chapo was convicted of drug charges in New York in 2019 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison. The Mexican defense ministry sent 200 members of the special forces to the cartel heartland on Friday to reinforce security.
US media quoted law enforcement sources as saying that the arrests were the result of a sting operation in which Zambada was unwittingly lured across the border by Guzman Lopez, who is in his mid- to late 30s and faces US charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin and other drugs. - 'Internal battle' - Guzman Lopez is one of El Chapo's four sons; they are known collectively as Los Chapitos, or "The Little Chapos." According to a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) report released in May, Los Chapitos were engaged in an "internal battle" against Zambada, their father's former partner.
CNN, citing a US law enforcement official, said the US authorities exploited the "rift" in the cartel to capture Zambada. The official said Zambada boarded a plane with Guzman Lopez for a flight that he believed was intended to inspect property in Mexico near the US border. Instead, the plane landed in El Paso, where both men were arrested.
The Wall Street Journal said the operation had been in the works for months. NBC News said Guzman Lopez may have decided to surrender and was "under the impression he would receive more favorable treatment if he brought with him another major cartel figure." - 'Enormous blow' - DEA chief Anne Milgram said Zambada's arrest "strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.
" And the capture of El Chapo's son marks "another enormous blow to the Sinaloa Cartel," Milgram said. The low-profile Zambada, who has never served time in prison, had cultivated close connections with Mexico's federal police and military and has been wanted in the United States for decades. His son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, was arrested by the Mexican authorities in 2013 and extradited to the United States.
Zambada Niebla testified against "El Chapo" at his 2019 trial and revealed details of the cartel's smuggling operations, claiming his father had a "bribery budget" of $1 million per month, much of it going to high-level Mexican public officials. The US State Department had offered a reward of $15 million for the arrest of Zambada and $5 million for the capture of Guzman Lopez. Victims of the cartels' ultra-violent turf wars include rival gang members, security personnel and journalists, among more than 450,000 people murdered since the government launched a military offensive against drug cartels in 2006.
The United States saw more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl accounted for about 70 percent of them. CONTINUE READING Show less U.
S. authorities announced Friday the return of another artwork stolen by Nazis to the family of Fritz Grunbaum, the Austiran-Jewish cabaret performer and collector who originally owned it. The return of "Seated Nude Woman," an expressionist drawing, is the latest such work to be handed back to the family of Grunbaum, who along with his wife Lilly was killed in the Holocaust, with their artworks sold off by the German regime and scattered, with some even going on to be displayed in museums.
The drawing, by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele, was returned at a ceremony Friday by another Austrian-Jewish family, who purchased the piece without knowing that it had been stolen. Both Grunbaum and his wife died in concentration camps during World War II. Works by Schiele had been declared "degenerate" by the Nazis, with many of them confiscated and auctioned or sold abroad to finance the Nazi war machine.
"Seated Nude Woman" turned up in the hands of a New York art dealer decades later, who then sold it to Ernst and Helen Papanek, two Austrians who had fled the Nazis in 1938. "The experience of the two families serves as yet another reminder of the evil and brutality of the Nazi regime," the Papanek family said in a statement. "We believe that returning the drawing is the right thing to do.
" Arrested by the Nazis in 1938, Grunbaum, a critic of the regime, was forced to sign over his power of attorney to his spouse, who was then made to hand over the family's collection of hundreds of artworks before she was forcibly sent to a concentration camp. This drawing is the 11th piece to be returned to the Grunbaum family's collection. "The recovery of this important artwork -- stolen from a prominent Jewish critic of Adolf Hitler -- sends a message to the world that crime does not pay and that the law enforcement community in New York has not forgotten the dark lessons of World War II," Timothy Reif, a relative of Grunbaum said.
Since his election in 2021, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has overseen the recovery of almost 2,100 antiquities stolen from more than 30 countries, valued at around $250 million. CONTINUE READING Show less Fashion is a dynamic business. Most apparel brands make at least two to four collections per year .
While selling current seasonal collections, brands plan for the next ones at least a year in advance, identifying market trends and materials. The selling window is around three months, and unsold inventories represent financial loss. Fast fashion companies introduce new lines even more frequently, reducing the amount of time needed to design, produce and market new items.
Tech and fashion The fashion industry is familiar with experimenting with technological frontiers. Some of the most significant technological breakthrough are laser cutting, computer-aided design and more recently, the use of 3D printing in early 2010. The fashion industry has experimented with basic AI and other cutting-edge technologies .
One example is the Gucci Garden , the label’s collaboration with virtual world platform Roblox in May 2021 to celebrate the brand’s centennial. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are another area of innovation, as seen with the Dolce & Gabbana Genesi Collection in collaboration with UNXD, a digital luxury marketplace. This collection sold for US$6 million, setting a record for NFT sales .
Fashion companies also use blockchains for product authentication, traceability and digital IDs, including those integrated by LVMH/Louis Vuitton , product authentication and traceability. Additionally, companies have incorporated augmented reality into marketing and retail strategies to create immersive and interactive customer experiences. Game-changing technology In 2021, fashion companies invested between 1.
6 and 1.8 per cent of their revenues in technology . By 2030, that figure is expected to rise to between three and 3.
5 per cent. Generative AI could become a game-changer for the fashion industry, adding between US$150 and US$250 billion to operating profits within three to five years . While the fashion sector has only started integrating AI, the opportunities and challenges it presents are evident across all business processes.
Generative AI could help fashion companies improve their processes, bring their products to the market faster, sell more efficiently and improve customer experience. Generative AI could also support product development by analyzing large social media and runway show datasets to identify emerging fashion trends. Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft have teamed up to open an in-house AI innovation lab for identifying and responding to trends, informing product development and improving customer experiences.
Designers could use AI to visualize different materials and patterns based on past consumer preferences. For example, the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation is collaborating with IBM and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York on the Reimagine Retail project , which uses AI to analyze consumer data and design new fashion collections. Designers can also convert sketches and mood boards into 3D designs and 3D print them to speed up prototyping.
Iris van Herpen, a Dutch fashion designer, used AI to imagine and execute the visuals of her fall/winter 2023 collection . NOWNESS looks at Dutch designer Iris van Herpen’s imaginative uses of AI. AI and sustainability AI helps in creating more sustainable fashion practices by optimizing the use of resources, recycling materials and reducing waste through more precise manufacturing processes and efficient supply chain and inventory management.
For example, H&M uses AI to improve its recycling processes , sort and categorize garments for recycling and promote a circular fashion economy. AI can improve operations and supply chain processes by optimizing inventory management, predicting sales based on historical data, and reducing overstock and stock-outs. Brands like Zara and H&M already use AI to control supply chains , promoting sustainability by optimizing stock levels and reducing waste.
Zara also introduced AI and robotics into their retail stores to speed up online order pick-ups. AI-powered virtual try-on solutions allow customers to see how clothes will look on them without physically trying them, enhancing the online shopping experience and reducing return rates. Virtual try-ons are already a reality in digital companies, such as prescription eyewear retailer Warby Parker and Amazon .
Another example is Modiface , acquired by French multinational personal care company L’Oréal in 2018, which provides AR-based virtual try-ons for makeup and fashion accessories. Virtual try-ons help buyers make decisions and reduce returns. (Shutterstock) Effective campaigning AI can also deliver customized customer experiences.
Some brands, such as Reebok and Versace , invite their customers to use AI tools to design products inspired by the brand’s feel and look. AI-powered tools can help marketing teams target and maximize the impact of their communication campaigns, potentially reducing marketing costs. The fashion business includes everything from small companies to global chains, haute couture to ready-to-wear, mass market and fast fashion.
Each brand must understand where AI could generate value for their business without diluting their brand identity. The biggest challenge, however, is to avoid homogenization. Generative AI should not replace human creativity but create new spaces and processes.
Creativity and innovation remain the soul and heart of any fashion brand, and AI should be a tool to enhance and support them. As fashion designer Hussein Chalayan has said, “ fashion will renew itself through technology, new fibers, new ways of making clothes .” AI pitfalls Fashion companies should be prepared to manage the associated risks with new technologies, particularly regarding intellectual property, creative rights and brand reputation.
One of the primary issues is the potential infringement of intellectual property related to training data. GenAI models are trained on vast design datasets, often containing copyrighted works. This can lead to legal disputes over originality and ownership .
A related risk is bias and fairness in generative-AI systems, which may present reputational challenges for brands that rely on the technology. The ambiguity surrounding creative rights in the age of AI is another concern. It’s challenging to determine who holds the creative rights to a design, whether it’s the designer who conceptualized the idea, the developer who built the AI or the AI itself.
This ambiguity can dilute the authenticity of a brand’s creative expression, potentially harming its reputation if consumers perceive the brand as less innovative or authentic. Luana Carcano , Lecturer, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .
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