<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11898473" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cardi-b" source="Orion">Cardi B</keyword> and <keyword id="12039604" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="offset" source="Orion">Offset</keyword> recently gifted their daughter $50,000 for her 4th birthday. </li><li>Cardi B told <keyword id="14447341" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vogue-singapore" source="Orion">Vogue Singapore</keyword> in an interview that she worries about giving her children "too much." </li></ul><p>Cardi B says she sometimes worries about giving her children too much.</p><p>The "Hot Shit" rapper recently expressed her concerns about spoiling her kids in an <a href="https://vogue.sg/cardi-b-cover-story/">interview with writer Amelia Chia for Vogue Singapore</a>. This comes days before the rapper and her husband Offset gifted their daughter <keyword id="14447340" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kulture" source="Orion">Kulture</keyword> $50,000 for her 4th birthday after a trip to Candytopia on July 13, <a href="https://people.com/parents/cardi-b-and-offset-gift-daughter-kulture-50000-cash-for-4th-birthday/?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&amp;utm_content=new&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_term=62cf0558bebb4a0001482df7">according to People Magazine</a>. (Offset posted a video to Instagram of Kulture holding a stack of cash that he encouraged her to call "50.")</p><p>"They need to know to never feel comfortable. Don't ever feel like, 'I'm going to get it because I'm Cardi and Offset's kid,'" she told Vogue Singapore in an interview released on July 11. "They are never going to know what struggle feels like, so they might not have that hunger I had to leave the streets."</p><p>Cardi B has openly discussed <a href="https://www.complex.com/music/2018/04/cardi-b-struggling-with-fame">the struggles</a> she faced growing up in the Bronx that lead her to work at an Amish deli before getting a gig at a strip club and becoming a rapper and reality television star on <a href="https://www.insider.com/love-and-hip-hop-then-and-now-2018-10">"Love &amp; Hip Hop New York."</a></p><p>"Even though my kids are well-off, I want them to know that when you work for things and achieve it, it's more respected — especially when people see that you bust your ass for it," she continued. </p><div type="image" title="Cardi B Offset" height="2075" width="2767" msid="92863224" hostid="261" sizebytes="398988"></div><p>Cardi B (whose birth name is Belcalis Almánzar) and Offset (Kiari Cephus) also have a 7-month-old son named <keyword id="13627101" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wave" source="Orion">Wave</keyword>. </p><p>They additionally co-parent the three children Offset had before they married in September of 2017: Kalea, 7, Kody, 7, and Jordan, 12, from previous relationships. Cardi B described the children as a "blessing" in an <a href="https://www.essence.com/celebrity/cardi-b-offset-a-safe-house/">April 2022 interview with Essence</a> that also included a photo shoot of the blended family. </p><p>After revealing to the Vogue Singapore reporter that she enrolled her daughter Kulture in swim lessons, dance lessons, and private tutoring sessions, she asked, "Am I doing too much? I just want my daughter to be good." </p><p>"I want her to have a little bit of something forever. I can't swim, so I want my daughter to be able to swim," she added.  </p><p>"I want her to do amazing things when she grows up. She can jet-ski or go on a boat. I want her to be smarter than me — just be the better version of me."</p>

Cardi B says she sometimes worries she's 'doing too much' for her kids

Amid the global crypto meltdown, <keyword id="6356662" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="singapore" source="Orion">Singapore</keyword>, which has a clear licensing and regulatory framework, is going to act tough on crypto platforms in the coming months, a top <keyword id="167953" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="monetary-authority-of-singapore" source="Orion">Monetary Authority of Singapore</keyword> (<keyword id="281847" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mas" source="Orion">MAS</keyword>) executive said on Tuesday.<br /><br />MAS Managing Director <keyword id="224150" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ravi-menon" source="Orion">Ravi Menon</keyword> said that the key lesson from the upheaval in the global crypto industry is clear: Investing in cryptocurrencies is highly risky.<br /><br />"MAS and relevant government agencies will take firm enforcement action if any entity is found to be conducting illegal activities or performing regulated activities without a license," he said after releasing the central bank's annual report.<br /><br />Menon said that reviews and public consultations are underway, among international standard-setting bodies and regulators, to strengthen regulation in the crypto areas.<br /><br />"MAS is targeting to consult on proposed measures in the next few months," he added.<br /><br />Governments the world over, including in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, are planning tough action against cryptocurrencies as the crypto world faces heightened uncertainties.<br /><br />In India, Union Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> said in the Lok Sabha on Monday that the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) has recommended framing of regulations for cryptocurrencies.<br /><br />The Indian government wants an international collaboration if such a ban has to be put into effect, said <keyword id="679937" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sitharaman" source="Orion">Sitharaman</keyword>.<br /><br />Menon said that some crypto players that have come under strain have been reported by the media as being "Singapore-based".<br /><br />"In reality, these so-called 'Singapore-based' crypto firms have little to do with crypto-related regulation in Singapore," he mentioned.<br /><br />"Vauld is currently not licensed by MAS nor has it sought any exemption from holding a licence under the Payment Services Act. It has submitted a licence application, which is pending review," Menon informed.<br /><br />The crypto industry globally is still evolving and regulation is still catching up with industry trends.<br /><br />MAS has sent repeated warnings against retail investments in cryptocurrencies.<br /><br />Next month, the authority will organise a dedicated seminar to share its strategies to develop Singapore as a digital asset hub.<br /><br />"We will explain our position on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, blockchains, tokenisation, smart contracts and digital assets, etc -- their risks and opportunities; shortcomings and potential," said Menon.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/food-items-when-sold-loose-wont-attract-any-gst-says-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/92993947.cms">Food items when sold loose won't attract any GST, says Nirmala Sitharaman</a><br /><br /></strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/fixed-deposits-back-in-vogue-as-crypto-stock-market-get-hit-by-global-headwinds/articleshow/92983763.cms"><strong>Fixed deposits back in vogue as crypto, stock market get hit by global headwinds</strong></a><br />

Singapore to to act tough on crypto platforms in the coming months

THE BIG HAUL: This Teenage YouTube Shopping Star Makes Half-A-Million A Year And Has More Fans Than Vogue

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gisele Bündchen says she balances her own schedule with her kids' by taking care of herself first.</li><li>The supermodel spoke to <a target="_blank" href="http://wsj.com/style/gisele-bundchen-routine-cookbook-family-e0a184df">The Wall Street Journal</a> about co-parenting with Tom Brady.</li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gisele-bundchen-jump-out-of-window-model-2023-9">Gisele Bündchen</a> says she balances her own schedule with her kids' by taking care of herself first.</p><p>The supermodel spoke to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-gisele-bundchen-announce-divorce-2022-10">The Wall Street Journal</a> about what her life has been like since she and Tom Brady <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-gisele-bundchen-announce-divorce-2022-10">divorced</a> in 2022.</p><p>"When my kids are with me, they have so many activities. It's difficult to manage my schedule and their schedule," Bündchen told the Journal. "The most important thing for me every day is to put the oxygen mask on me first."</p><p>Part of her self-care routine involves going to bed at 10 p.m. and waking up at 5 a.m., she said.</p><p>"I like to have lukewarm water with a little lemon and Celtic salt. Then I do my stretches, which I call my asana, for about 15 minutes, then 15 minutes of meditation. Then I walk my dog, feed my dog, and then my day starts," Bündchen said.</p><p>The former Victoria's Secret Angel also shared that her daily routine changes depending on whether she's with her kids.</p><p>"I have my kids sometimes, sometimes I don't have my kids. There's a different ritual when I'm with them and when I'm not," Bündchen said.</p><p>The 43-year-old shares <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gisele-bundchen-and-tom-brady-relationship-timeline-2018-11">two kids</a> with Brady: son Benjamin, 14, and daughter Vivian, 11.</p><p>Bündchen isn't the only celebrity mom who has spoken out about prioritizing self-care in order to take care of her children.</p><p>In January 2019, Jennifer Lopez told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a25725553/jennifer-lopez-second-act-interview-2019/">Harper's Bazaar</a> that motherhood made her realize she had "to be better and do better" for herself and her kids. Lopez shares <a target="_blank" href="https://people.com/all-about-jennifer-lopez-kids-emme-max-7498326">twins Max and Emme</a> with her ex-husband Marc Anthony.</p><p>"There's something about being responsible for another human being that makes you go, 'Okay, what am I doing for myself? How can I take care of someone else if I can't even take care of myself? How can I teach them how they should be treated if I allow people to treat me in a way that's not nice? How can I teach them to be hard workers if I'm not working hard?'" Lopez told Harper's Bazaar.</p><p>Former Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio told <a target="_blank" href="https://vogue.sg/vogue-celebrities-on-motherhood-and-selfcare-beauty-secrets/">Vogue Singapore</a> in October 2020 that she tries to make time for herself every day. Ambrosio shares <a target="_blank" href="https://people.com/alessandra-ambrosio-family-vacay-with-son-and-daughter-7562981">one daughter and one son</a> with her ex Jamie Mazur.</p><p>"What I've focused on since having kids is creating time to take care of myself. Even if it's just 15 minutes in the morning for meditation, stretching or yoga — it helps me get centred and ready to conquer whatever the day is bringing my way," Ambrosio told Vogue Singapore.</p><p>Having parents who are able to manage their own stress can help <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-support-kids-resilience-coronavirus-pandemic-according-to-pediatricians-2021-2">build resilience in children</a>.</p><p>This makes it critical for parents to follow the cliché of putting their own oxygen mask on first, Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a school psychologist in Connecticut, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/will-kids-be-developmentally-delayed-from-social-isolation-coronavirus-2020-3">previously told BI</a>. "Toddlers aren't going to feel our anxiety if we're not a hot mess ourselves," she said.</p>

Gisele Bündchen abides by the classic airplane crisis guidelines to take care of her kids

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 2019, the Nepali American designer launched a collection that he called "an ode to the American dream."</li><li>The collection included sashes that posed the question, "Who gets to be American?"</li></ul><p>In 2019, as a part of his Spring/Summer 2020 collection, designer Prabal Gurung had models walk down the runway wearing sashes that read "Who gets to be American?" He referred to the collection as "an ode to the true American dream."</p><p>In a <a href="https://prabalgurung.com/blogs/the-journal/my-american-dream-prabal-gurungs-personal-essay-for-vogue-arabia">personal essay</a>, the designer calls himself a "global citizen," having lived in Singapore, Nepal, India, Australia, London and the US. Gurung currently holds American citizenship. The SS20 show was particularly special as it marked the collection's 10th anniversary, and Gurung's 20 year anniversary of moving to the US.</p><p>In the show notes, Gurung writes, "Though my roots lay with my family in Nepal, this country is my home. America is where my heart is."</p><p>He also tells a story of sitting in a business meeting, and being met with an accusing, "Well, you don't look American, so how can you define what America is?"</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTxldi-ljlM" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Prabal Gurung (@prabalgurung)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>He continues, "As <keyword id="11996591" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="immigrants" source="Orion">immigrants</keyword> continue to birth this 'new America,' we must remember all versions of our history and take ownership of our past while forging a new legacy. Amidst the deep wounds that are severing the unity of our country, I continue to seek the America I came here to be a part of—the America that I know is still there."</p><p>Gurung ends his show notes by writing, "I want all immigrants to know that they are seen, that their voice matters, and that their existence matters."</p><p>Roses (the national flower of the US), denim, patchwork, and other typically American elements were all heavily featured in the collection.</p><p>In 2021, the <keyword id="13796062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="costume-institute" source="Orion">Costume Institute</keyword> and the <keyword id="12240815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="metropolitan-museum-of-art" source="Orion">Metropolitan Museum of Art</keyword> announced two exhibition themes that would, in part, be answering the same question that Gurung posed in his SS20 show. The first, which launched in 2021, was "In America: A Lexicon of <keyword id="11893303" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fashion" source="Orion">Fashion</keyword>," with the same corresponding <keyword id="11931630" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="met-gala" source="Orion">Met Gala</keyword> theme. Visitors who entered the exhibition were immediately greeted by Gurung's infamous sash.</p><p>The second exhibition, launching in 2022, is "In America: An Anthology of Fashion." The Met Gala theme to kick-off the exhibition is "Gilded Glamour," celebrating the fashion of the age of industrialization in the US.</p><div type="image" title="Prabal Gurung and Venus Williams attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021" height="2459" width="3279" msid="91274796" hostid="261"></div><p>Both exhibitions came on the heels of the Black Lives Matter movement, which asked every industry—including the world of fashion—to grapple with questions of diversity and inclusion. Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/met-gala-there-2021-2022-theme-in-america-a-lexicon-of-fashion-an-anthololy-of-fashion">told Vogue</a> that "American fashion is undergoing a Renaissance." He continued by saying that young designers are "at the vanguard of discussions about diversity and inclusion, as well as sustainability and transparency."</p><p>In an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBoQHgpBX3/">Instagram post</a> from May 1st, Gurung wrote, "I have always wanted my work to start some critical conversation in culture in any small way possible.I am not always successful. But it is genuinely humbling to realize my work had any part in inspiring/influencing or just simply starting the conversation for these last two [Costume Institute] exhibitions."</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBoQHgpBX3" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Prabal Gurung (@prabalgurung)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>Gurung grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, and studied fashion in New Delhi, India, where he worked under designers such as Manish Arora. In 1999, he moved to New York where he interned under Donna Karan. Ten years later, he released his own collection. Since then, the designer has dressed the likes of Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton. In 2021, he created gowns for Venus Williams, Teyana Taylor, Claire Danes, Gemma Chan, among others at the Met Gala. </p>

Designer Prabal Gurung asked, 'Who gets to be American?' That question helped inspire two Met Gala themes.

<ul><li><strong>By 2024, the private data of almost three fourths of the world’s human population will be covered by stringent privacy regulations.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The rising demand for <keyword id="149953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="privacy-rights" source="Orion">privacy rights</keyword> and transparency will create a centralized privacy user experience (UX) and enterprises will drive their own effective privacy programmes.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Over the next one year, a large number of organizations will include a Data Privacy or Protection Officer in its <keyword id="14297933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CXO-suite" source="Orion">CXO suite</keyword>.</strong></li></ul>A recent report by Gartner, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/document/4014350">Top Trends in Privacy Driving Your Business Through 2024</a>, has set the path for trends in data privacy and protection for the <keyword id="6356323" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="enterprise" source="Orion">enterprise</keyword> over the next two years. The report works on the fact that <keyword id="6715869" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-regulations" source="Orion">data regulations</keyword> will cover information about 75% of the global population over the next two years.<br /><br /> “By year-end 2024, Gartner predicts that 75% of the world’s population will have its data covered under modern privacy regulations. This regulatory evolution has been the dominant catalyst for the operationalization of privacy,” said Nader Henein, VP Analyst at Gartner. <br /><br />“Since most organizations do not have a dedicated privacy practice, the responsibility for operationalizing these requirements is passed onto technology, more specifically security, under the umbrella of the CISO’s office.”<br /><br />In this period, companies will need to budget for data privacy at an annual average of more than $2.5 million. This would include privacy programmes, technology, and skills to ensure compliance with increasingly strict regulations. The focus will need to be on these aspects:<br /><br /><strong>Data Localization<br /></strong><br />This will be a critical focus since privacy laws seem to be heterogeneous, and the context of privacy will need to be relevant to the country of operation. Since the launch of GDPR in 2018, over 60 jurisdictions globally have enacted or proposed privacy and data protection laws; countries that include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, the US, Singapore and Thailand, and counting. Data localization will allow for the laws to be enforced as applicable in any particular region. This will increasingly become the priority for data privacy planning.<br /><br /><strong>Use of Privacy-Enhancing Computation (PEC)<br /></strong><br />With the increasing proliferation of AI models and the complexity of data gathered through these channels, a tool for safer data processing and analyzing data will be desirable. This would help overcome the challenges due to multiparty data sharing, working with data from risky origins or doubtful bases. Gartner states that PEC will be commonly used over the next two years in large companies for business analytics, intelligence, or computing analytics.<br /><br /><strong>Adoption of AI Governance<br /></strong><br />AI-based modules have been found very efficient for data analytics but research has shown an increased risk of data privacy breaches through them. Most of the AI processing in companies today takes very little cognizance of the data leakages it might inadvertently allow. The need of the hour is strict AI regulations and governance, and enterprises are becoming aware of this need very fast. Over the next two years, companies will bring together all aspects of data privacy and integrate them into a single, easily manageable, and transparent UX portal for data and consent management. By 2023, a third of all organizations will have adopted this strategy. One of the basic tasks of enterprise infrastructure will be a platform that will be handling the requests and the processes for consent and preference management (CPM).<br /><br /><strong>CXO Reshuffle in the New Normal<br /></strong><br />As the world opens up after two years of the pandemic, the surfeit of data-driven by rapid and urgent digital transformations across the board- will need a whole new paradigm to handle privacy. In addition to the CPM and PEC, there will be the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) or the Chief Data Privacy Officer, to manage the entire nine yards of data privacy- compliances, tools, technologies, customer connections, and safe business analytics. The new role is now beginning to take shape over the next two years, it will be a normal designation. <br /><br /><strong>The Advent of Data-protection-as-a-Service (DPaaS)<br /></strong><br />Leveraging the panic around the gargantuan volumes of data being generated by unplanned and in many cases, knee-jerk digitization, many companies are now offering a Ready-to-go Data Protection Kit, as a service model. The market for DPaaS is expected to touch USD 19 billion by 2026. The demand for this service will burgeon in the coming months, because of its inherent ability to offer scalable, flexible, agile data privacy and management tools, at optimized cost.<br /><br />With privacy and security now taking the same path, there will also be rapid adoption of Data and Privacy management services.<br /><br />As workplaces become hybrid for a much longer-term than earlier anticipated, the risks of data proliferation, as well as privacy of market or consumer data, have become much higher. <br /><br />Over the last two years, companies have created their solutions to meet the challenge of data privacy and secure access, and over the next two years, they will reap the benefits of this foresight.<br /><strong>SEE ALSO:</strong><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-shuts-it-used-car-and-quick-commerce-businesses/articleshow/92480954.cms" style="">Ola shuts it used car and quick commerce businesses</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/the-third-phase-of-analytics-is-in-vogue-and-how-is-it-working-for-organizations/articleshow/92482821.cms" style="">The third phase of analytics is in vogue and how is it working for organizations</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/digital-twins-market-to-surge-as-e-tailers-enhance-their-offerings/articleshow/92483249.cms" style="">Digital twins market to surge as e-tailers enhance their offerings</a><br />

Three fourths of human population will be covered by data regulations

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gothic-inspired interior decor is back in trend — think skulls, bats, and even Ouija boards.</li><li>For many homeowners, Gothic-inspired decor is a reflection of their ghoulish tastes and a chance for self-expression.</li></ul><p>An elaborately carved headboard with bat patterns, black tin ceiling tiles, and dark curtains that glow red in the light welcome visitors to Katrina Johnson's bedroom.</p><p>In fact, it's become a party trick for her and her husband, Scott Johnson, to reveal the space when they have guests over.</p><p>"We would keep the door closed, and as soon as they walk into the bedroom, there would be such shock and amazement because I don't think they were expecting to see that," Johnson told Insider.</p><div type="image" title="A photo of Katrina Johnson's bedroom." height="3024" width="4032" msid="98270842" hostid="261"></div><p>"It's always fun to like see people's reactions when they see the room for the first time," she added.</p><p>When the couple — who live just outside of Los Angeles — bought their first house together in August 2021, they knew that the plain, cookie-cutter interiors had to go. </p><p>As metalheads and "lovers of all things dark," the all-white aesthetic that the house came with was not their style at all, Johnson said.</p><div type="image" title="Katrina Johnson and her husband Scott at their wedding at First Congregational Church Los Angeles" height="4014" width="5339" msid="98270845" hostid="261"></div><p>They swapped out the original floors for charcoal-colored vinyl flooring, and painted the walls in varying shades of grey, dark blues, and deep reds. </p><p>The house is still a work-in-progress but they're planning to have a different theme for each room — and Johnson's documenting the transformation on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thejohnsonlair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>.</p><p>"They're all gonna be dark, but our bedroom is very much a vampire aesthetic. Downstairs, we're going for a medieval or cathedral vibe, with some dragons and swords," Johnson said.</p><div type="image" title="A collage showing a statue of a medieval knight and a dragon-inspired corbel." height="3072" width="4096" msid="98270846" hostid="261"></div><p>Although Johnson can't modify the exterior of the house due to the homeowners association, being able to design the inside is a dream come true, she said.</p><p>"I've always kind of leaned towards the darker things in life," she added. "This house was my opportunity to create some of that vision that I've had in my head for so long." </p><h2><strong>Making goth cool again</strong></h2><p>The Johnsons are part of a growing community of homeowners who are embracing <a href="https://www.insider.com/home-decor-trends-be-popular-in-2023-from-interior-designer">an aesthetic that's inspired by the Gothic style</a> — think dark color palettes, ornate furniture, and even creepy collectibles.</p><div type="image" title="Naomi collects dark Victorian and Gothic-inspired decor items like skulls, Ouija boards, and wall art." height="463" width="618" msid="98270847" hostid="261"></div><p>"Gothic styles have had an endless series of reinventions and reprises through history," Roger Nelson, an assistant professor of art history at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Insider.</p><p>"As well as going in and out of vogue in fashion, design, and popular culture over the last half-century, Gothic art and architecture was also repeatedly revisited in Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries, and after," he said.</p><p>The beginnings of Gothic architecture in Europe were inspired by Western Asian styles — specifically Islamic architecture in Persia, which is present-day Iran, Nelson said.</p><div type="image" title="View of the facade of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris" height="2336" width="3114" msid="98270848" hostid="261"></div><p>Characterized by <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-gothic-style-an-introduction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">features</a> such as pointed arches, flying buttresses, and stained glass windows, some prominent examples of Gothic architecture can be seen in buildings like the <a href="https://www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/notre-dame-cathedral/#:~:text=Notre%20Dame%20Cathedral%20is%20a,out%20in%20the%2019th%20century." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Notre Dame Cathedral</a> in Paris and <a href="https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/architecture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Westminster Abbey</a> in London.</p><p>The Gothic literary genre —<a href="https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/10/18/brief-history-gothic-horror" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> named after</a> the castles and ruins where the stories are often set — deals with elements of terror and the supernatural, à la Mary Shelly, Edgar Allen Poe, and Bram Stoker.</p><p>"During that period, the impact of the Bubonic plague or "Black Death" was one reason for the recurrent imagery of death and decay in Gothic architecture and architectural design," Nelson said.</p><h2><strong>Indulging an appetite for the dark and the macabre</strong></h2><p>For many homeowners, the Gothic style isn't about following a trend. Rather, it's a reflection of their own ghoulish tastes.</p><p>"My personal style is always evolving, but growing up, I felt drawn to darker styles and themes — think Tim Burton movies and "Goosebumps" books," Naomi, a 29-year-old homeowner from Pennsylvania, told Insider. She asked that only her first name be used. </p><div type="image" title="A corner of Naomi's bedroom." height="560" width="747" msid="98270849" hostid="261"></div><p>Naomi lives with her partner Victor, outside of Philadelphia, in a ranch-style house that she bought at the beginning of last year. </p><p>She describes her style as a mix of dark Victorian and Gothic, characterized by her collections of curios and other oddities inspired by those time periods.</p><p>Like the Johnsons, Naomi uploads photos of her home on an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wheretheshallowsbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram account</a> that's dedicated to the witchy aesthetic. </p><p>Framed illustrations of owls, paintings of mythical creatures, and even vintage photographs of old places and strange figures are artfully arranged to cover almost every inch of bare wall in her home.</p><p>It's no question that these are her favorites, Naomi said: "I live in a house with limited square footage, so maximizing the wall space allows me to embrace my style without taking up too much floor space."</p><p>Most of these items she found at thrift stores or antique stores, while the wall art comes from artists that she follows online. She also admits to buying Halloween decor from places like At Home, HomeGoods, and TJ Maxx — and leaving them out year-round.</p><p>"I've moved around quite a bit throughout my life. I was so used to moving every year that I didn't hold on to much and embraced a very minimalist lifestyle," Naomi said. "Now that I have a home, I have so much more freedom to decorate it exactly how I want."</p><p>But it's not always easy to find items that are to your liking, especially if you have unconventional tastes.</p><div type="image" title="Rebecca Arnett and her husband Lee started their own Gothic decor brand The Blackened Teeth in 2018." height="1180" width="1574" msid="98270850" hostid="261"></div><p>Just ask Rebecca Arnett, a 33-year-old from South Wales, UK, who founded a Gothic home decor brand after not being able to find items that she liked.</p><p>"I decided I had to make it myself," Arnett told Insider. In 2018, she started her business <a href="https://www.theblackenedteeth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Blackened Teeth</a>, with her husband Lee. </p><p>Some popular items from her store include <a href="https://www.theblackenedteeth.com/collections/lamps-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skeleton lamps</a>, <a href="https://www.theblackenedteeth.com/collections/bookends/products/skull-wooden-bookends?_pos=1&amp;_sid=c7a61379a&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skull bookends</a>, and <a href="https://www.theblackenedteeth.com/collections/anatomy-candles/products/spine-soy-candle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spine-shaped candles</a> — all of which are designed and crafted in-house by Arnett and her team of eight.</p><p>Arnett's love of the Gothic aesthetic stems from her teenage years listening to punk, rock, and metal music. Since young, she's also had a fascination with death.</p><p>"Death has always been openly spoken about in my family. As a child, I observed my grandmother being an avid collector of unusual urns," Arnett said. </p><p>Over time, she added, the urns became a symbol of how beauty can be found even in the macabre.</p><div type="image" title="A collage of items that Arnett sells: skeleton lamps, skull bookends, and spine-shaped candles." height="3072" width="4096" msid="98270851" hostid="261"></div><p>Although her family always understood her passion, they questioned her decision to leave her retail management career to go all-in on her business, Arnett said.</p><p>"I got questions such as, 'Do you think that there are enough people who like Gothic stuff, that you can make a business out of it?'" she added. "My answer to that was, well, the clock is ticking and I better take the plunge now and find out."</p><p>As it turns out — there is a market for ghoulish decor.</p><p>Most of her clients are female and tend to be aged between 25 to 40 years old. Although the store ships worldwide, the most popular shipping destinations are the UK and the US, Arnett said.</p><p>"We fill a gap in the market that I identified very early on through my own struggles, and that's producing higher-end Gothic home decor products that you don't even need to be goth to appreciate and love," she added.</p><h2><strong>Not just for Halloween — or the goths</strong></h2><p>The best part of the Gothic aesthetic is its versatility.</p><p>Although Instagram hashtags such as #gothicinterior and #gothicdecor throw up thousands of photos of elaborately-decorated rooms, that's not the only way to appreciate the style.</p><p>"Gothic home decor can be as full on as you like or as minimalist as you like," Arnett said. Even adding small touches in the form of ornaments or wall decor pieces can change the feeling that the space exudes, she added.</p><div type="image" title="A Vampirina dollhouse that Naomi thrifted and painted black. It was originally pink and purple." height="494" width="659" msid="98270852" hostid="261"></div><p>Even if you're on a budget or can't find an exact piece that you like, DIY is always an option, Naomi said.</p><p>"I was lucky enough to find a Vampirina dollhouse at a thrift store last year. It was bright pink and purple, but I spray-painted it black and now it's one of my favorite pieces," Naomi said. "I love finding affordable pieces at thrift stores and modifying them to fit my personal style."</p><p>In recent years, Arnett has also seen an increase in customers who are buying Gothic decor items to complement their non-Gothic style homes.</p><p>They are also especially popular among people living in rented apartments who need temporary ways to personalize their space.</p><p>"I think Gothic decor is growing in interest and has the ability to complement many styles of diverse interiors, from maximalist homes to clean, chic, white-walled homes," Arnett said. "You don't have to call yourself a goth or have black walls to be a Gothic home decor enthusiast." </p><div type="image" title="Naomi's collection of decor items include candelebras, dollhouses, and animal statues." height="686" width="915" msid="98270854" hostid="261"></div><p>For Arnett, Naomi, and the Johnsons, Gothic-inspired decor isn't just for the Halloween season; it's a reflection of their likes and beliefs.</p><p>"It doesn't mean that all Gothic lovers are morbid, it just means they can see beauty in darker subject matters where others may not," Arnett said.</p><p>That said, for Arnett, part of it is the beauty of impermanence. "I adorn my home with beautifully macabre Gothic decor as a reminder to myself and my guests that our time here is limited," she said.</p>

Too dark, too macabre: Meet the homeowners who have a taste for Gothic, ghoulish, and hauntingly beautiful interior decor

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/591dafdf63914790008b48bf-1300/jeff-bezos.jpg" alt="jeff bezos" data-mce-source="Brendan McDermid/Reuters" /><p class="source"><span>Brendan McDermid/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">American schools don't teach math the same way.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie use Singapore math to teach their kids mathematics.</strong></li><li><strong>It's an approach used predominantly in South Asia.</strong></li><li><strong>Singapore outperformed all other countries on a worldwide math exam.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO and <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/jeff-bezos-billionaire-worlds-richest-person-2017-10-1005840109" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">richest person in the world</a>, has amassed his <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/16/technology/business/jeff-bezos-business/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wealth by being creative</a> and trying out unorthodox solutions to problems.</p><p>It seems he and his wife MacKenzie use the same approach for their children's <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword>.</p><p>"We tried all sorts of things ... Mandarin lessons, the Singapore math program, and lots of clubs and sports with other neighborhood kids," <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/a-novel-perspective-mackenzie-bezos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacKenzie told Vogue.</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-families-teaching-kids-to-speak-mandarin-2017-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learning a second language has been proven</a> to offer educational benefits, and team activities help to create well-adjusted kids. But what exactly is the Singapore math program MacKenzie mentioned?</p><p>Singapore math is an approach to teaching mathematics in schools called the "mastery approach." It's particularly prevalent in Shanghai, China, and Singapore.</p><p>Under the mastery approach, students learn a specific concept before moving on to more complex ideas, in a rigidly linear progression, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alexei-vernitski-283687" rel="author">Alexei Vernitski</a>, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, wrote in <a href="https://theconversation.com/mastery-over-mindset-the-cost-of-rolling-out-a-chinese-way-of-teaching-maths-62508">The Conversation.</a></p><p>When using the mastery approach in Shanghai, students aren't broken into separate groups depending on their perceived intellectual abilities. Instead, students all perform the same work at the same time before mastering and advancing to the next concept together.</p><p>By contrast, US schools teach math using the "mindset approach," which aims to teach students to have a more intuitive understanding of math concepts and starts with a broader concept before breaking down a math problem into the specific steps for solving.</p><p>For example, "A mindset-approach teacher can introduce addition via joining two heaps of cardboard counters (or other props) together, explore properties of addition via activities, and only then break the process of adding numbers into procedural steps," <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alexei-vernitski-283687" rel="author">Vernitski</a> explained.</p><p>A 2015 study of 140 schools in the UK by the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/singapore-style-teaching-helps-solve-problem-of-maths-failure-says-new-research-10327085.html">UCL Institute of Education and Cambridge University</a> found that the mastery approach improved the speed with which students learned math skills.</p><p>And on the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pisa-worldwide-ranking-of-math-science-reading-skills-2016-12">2015 PISA</a> - a world-wide exam that tests 15-year-old in math, science, and reading - Singapore was the top-performing country in each subject.</p><p>Though unconventional in American schools, the Bezos family could be giving their kids an advantage in math.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lyfts-president-went-from-no-salary-to-running-a-11-billion-startup-2017-10">How Lyft's president went from taking no salary for 3 years to running a giant startup worth $11 billion</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qLM4k0sf-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Jeff Bezos teaches his kids math with a strategy that's made Chinese and Singaporean students the best in the world - but the US won't adopt

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="180909" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kamala-Harris">Kamala Harris</keyword> is choosing to spotlight Black, immigrant, and emerging American <keyword id="6" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="fashion">fashion</keyword> designers.</li><li>The vice president's <keyword id="7" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="style">style</keyword> choices are just one way that she is amplifying underrepresented talent. </li><li>She also sends subtle but meaningful messages with her pearls and Converse.</li></ul><p>Vice President <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a> is the first female, Black, and South Asian vice president, as well as <a href="https://www.insider.com/daughters-of-immigrants-vp-elect-harris-represents-hope-2020-11">the first person to hold the title whose parents were not born in the United States</a>.</p><p>Nothing can take away from Harris' historic election as vice president.</p><p>That said, in a society where women have experienced greater scrutiny than men for their appearance and what they wear, it's arguably the first time in US history that people are taking an interest in the vice president's fashion.</p><p>Even as she was campaigning and in the months leading up to the inauguration, Harris' fashion sparked conversation. For example, Harris' supporters often talked about her affinity for Converse sneakers, and she made a statement by wearing suffragette white for her victory speech. More recently, some criticized <a href="https://www.insider.com/anna-wintour-responds-kamala-harris-vogue-cover-controversy-2021-1">Harris' print cover for Vogue's February issue, saying it didn't do her "justice."</a></p><p>As vice president, Harris is marking a new era of power-dressing by giving a platform to Black, immigrant, and emerging American fashion designers and sending subtle but meaningful messages with her signature accessories.  </p><h2><strong style="color: #000000;">Harris' support of American designers and Black-owned brands makes a statement</strong></h2><h2><div type="image" title="kamala harris victory speech" height="1275" width="1700" msid="80871546" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>On November 7, 2020, Harris addressed the nation with then-President-elect Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware.</p><p>For her first official appearance as the vice president-elect, Harris wore an <a href="https://www.insider.com/kamala-harris-white-suit-style-statement-2020-11">all-white suit that was thought to include many powerful messages</a> - including a nod to the suffragette movement. Her pussy-bow blouse was also a potential reference to female empowerment and feminism, and as fashion and costume historian <a href="https://twitter.com/bronze_bombSHEL">Shelby Ivey Christie</a> wrote on Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/bronze_bombSHEL/status/1325274364540051456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1325274364540051456%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fkamala-harris-white-suit-style-statement-2020-110-11">monochromatic dressing often signifies "celebration in the Black community."</a></p><p>Harris not only sent a message of equality and hope with her powerful speech and nod to the suffragists, but she also made a statement by choosing a <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/street-style/a34608709/kamala-harris-white-suit-victory-speech/">suit</a> from Carolina Herrera, a <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/carolina-herrera-2">Venezuelan-born American designer</a> who has a long history of designing clothes for first ladies.</p><div type="image" title="kamala harris covid 19 memorial 2021" height="1233" width="1644" msid="80871547" hostid="261"></div><p>On January 19, the night before Inauguration Day, Harris attended a memorial ceremony honoring Americans who died from COVID-19. She chose a tailored jacket from the Black designer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kerbito/?hl=en">Kerby Jean-Raymond</a>, the founder of fashion label Pyer Moss. </p><p>As Insider's Samantha Grindell reported, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/kamala-harris-and-jill-biden-sent-messages-with-outfits-2021-1">vice president's choice to wear Pyer Moss</a> seemed to be her way of recognizing the brand's charitable contributions during the coronavirus pandemic, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-IzdOVjKUp/">which included donations of personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare</a> workers and an initiative to support small businesses.</p><h2><div type="image" title="kamala harris inauguration" height="3045" width="4060" msid="80871548" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>For Inauguration Day on January 21, <a href="https://www.insider.com/kamala-harris-inauguration-day-outfit-meaning-symbolism-2021-1">Harris made a bold statement in a purple outfit that was also packed with potential nods to bipartisanship and suffrage</a>.</p><p>Her look on that historic day sparked conversation for its possible message of unity, but it was also significant because Harris chose to spotlight two young Black designers.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKRcwbcMVLm/">Christopher John Rogers</a>, a designer from Louisiana living in New York City, made her shift dress and overcoat. Harris' shoes were made by Sergio Hudson, from South Carolina, who also designed <a href="https://www.insider.com/michelle-obama-inauguration-outfit-sergio-hudson-2021-1">Michelle Obama's inauguration outfit</a>.</p><h2>Harris is using her power to amplify underrepresented talent</h2><h2><div type="image" title="kamala harris prayer breakfast 2021" height="1019" width="1359" msid="80871549" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>In a similar way to former first lady Michelle Obama, <a href="https://www.insider.com/michelle-obama-wears-dresses-women-immigrants-african-americans-2018-12">who often wore designs from emerging Black-owned brands while in the White House</a>, Harris' style choices are just one way that she's using her power to shine a light on underrepresented creatives, Washington, DC-based stylist and "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lauren-A.-Rothman/e/B00CGQAR72">Style</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lauren-A.-Rothman/e/B00CGQAR72"> </a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lauren-A.-Rothman/e/B00CGQAR72">Bible</a>" author <a href="http://styleauteur.com/">Lauren A. Rothman</a>, told Insider.</p><p>"Spotlighting Black designers helps showcase underrepresented yet talented individuals and their teams who may otherwise have a challenge entering the currently fragmented retail space," Rothman said. "There are many designers, brands, and stores that I'm sure would love to be part of her style narrative."</p><p>Additionally, Harris' apparent choice to spotlight relatively young designers shows that she's investing in them a sense of confidence, according to Hazel Clark, a design and fashion studies professor at Parsons School of Design.</p><p>"These 'underrepresented' voices are, on the other hand, very representative of the diversity of the US population as a whole and of the diversity of bodies, races, genders, ages who wear and are interested in fashion, and who make conscious choices every day about how they look and what they wear as part of their self-identities and presentation in the world," Clark said. </p><p>Since being sworn in as vice president, Harris has continued to wear clothes by American designers, particularly designers of color who are immigrants. </p><p>For example, the day after the inauguration, January 21, Harris wore a garnet dress and matching coat by Prabal Gurung. The outfit was hand-tailored at the brand's studio in New York City, according to <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a35280786/kamala-harris-inaugural-prayer-service-outfit-prabal-gurung/">Harper's Bazaar</a>. <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/prabal-gurung">Gurung</a> was born in Singapore and raised in Nepal and India, and he's dressed other influential figures, including former first lady Michelle Obama.</p><p>On Instagram, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKUG7SUjDPd/">Gurung wrote about the significance of dressing Harris</a>, the daughter of two immigrants.</p><p>"I see @Kamalaharris in all her strength and grace, the child of an immigrant like myself, and I am reminded of the potential of this country," Gurung wrote. "The power to make dreams come true not just for a select few, but for everyone. I am reminded of my mother, sisters, and nieces who can now look to the highest office in the country and see themselves represented. They can see their dreams are possible."</p><div type="image" title="kamala harris altuzarra pantsuit" height="1196" width="1595" msid="80871550" hostid="261"></div><p>On January 22, Harris was pictured at the White House alongside President Biden. She wore pieces made by the designer <a href="https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/fashion-designer-joseph-altuzarra-05-his-background-inspiration-and-why-swarthmore">Joseph Altuzarra</a>, who was born in Paris and raised by a Chinese-American mother and a French-Basque father.</p><p>Harris has worn Altuzarra's namesake label on other occasions, including for <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/a34225242/kamala-harris-interview/">the cover of Elle's November 2020 issue</a>. </p><h2>The vice president also sends subtle but meaningful messages with her accessories </h2><div type="image" title="kamala harris sneakers" height="2600" width="3466" msid="80871551" hostid="261"></div><p>Harris' affinity for Converse shoes and pearls has become widely recognized among her supporters.</p><p>In fact, on Inauguration Day, some of Harris' supporters celebrated her by wearing similar sneakers and jewelry. Many <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-vice-president-inauguration-women-glass-ceiling-2021-1">shared their looks online using #ChucksAndPearls2021.</a></p><p>Harris sees the shoes as her "casual go-to," she told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeF8_UcrDz0&amp;feature=emb_titleitle">CBS News Sunday Morning</a> in January.</p><p>"You know, I grew up with Chucks. I just love them. They're comfortable," Harris said. Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, added that when he met Harris, she was wearing a pair of Chuck Taylors and jeans. </p><p>People seem to admire Harris' love for a shoe that's been a staple of American fashion for decades. It's also another example of her apparent support of US-based fashion brands, as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140606-art-on-canvas-converse-shoes">the Converse brand was founded in 1908 in Massachusetts</a>.</p><div type="image" title="kamala harris converse" height="1293" width="1723" msid="80871552" hostid="261"></div><p>Harris' signature pearls, on the other hand, are a symbol of her sorority, <a href="https://aka1908.com/about/history">Alpha Kappa Alpha</a>, the first historically Black intercollegiate Greek-letter sorority in America. She joined the organization while attending Howard University.</p><p>Glenda Glover, the international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and president of Tennessee State University, told <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/08/kamala-harris-pearl-necklace-symbolism-beyond-politics">Vanity Fair</a> that pearls signify leadership, as well as "refinement and wisdom."</p><h2><div type="image" title="kamala harris vice president nomination dnc" height="1855" width="2474" msid="80871553" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>Prior to Inauguration Day, Harris hinted that she may continue to send messages with other small style touches.</p><p>In a TikTok video shared by Harris' niece, Meena Harris, the vice president was shown in a neutral pantsuit and teal tube socks that read: "The future is female." The socks are currently <a href="https://www.social-goods.com/products/future-is-female-gym-socks">available for preorder on Social Goods for $13</a>, and benefits <a href="https://sheshouldrun.org/">She Should Run</a>, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to increase the number of women in public office. </p><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@meena/video/6917321590745107718" data-video-id="6917321590745107718" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@meena" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@meena">@meena</a> <p>IMPEACH NOW</p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Meena Harris" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6917321561636702982">♬ original sound - Meena Harris</a> </section> </blockquote> <p>The vice president's accessories will be one way that she celebrates her individuality through personal style while in office.</p><p>"Kamala Harris is the first woman to occupy this senior political role," Clark said. "She's going to have eyes on her, but she's not going to feel the pressure to be a fashion follower."</p><p>Likewise, Harris' support of American, immigrant, and Black talent through her policies - and as reflected in her clothing choices - will be just one of her many lasting impacts.</p>

Kamala Harris brings a new meaning to power-dressing

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e46faa62dae5c4e8e01d1b7-2400/img8558.jpg" alt="Mr and Mrs Smith James Lohan Tamara Lohan" /><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/">Mr &amp; Mrs Smith</a> is a travel club and online hotel booking service specializing in romantic getaways for couples.</li><li>The married cofounders, Tamara and James Lohan, came up with the idea for their company after a few underwhelming <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/400-million-luxury-hotel-secret-tunnel-harrods-luxury-travel-2020-1">hotel</a> stays early in their relationship.</li><li>Initially, the two partnered with select "tastemakers" to determine the best romantic boutique and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-luxury-hotels-europe-ranked-us-news-world-report-2020-2">luxury hotels</a>, releasing a guidebook with these reviews.</li><li>The Lohans eventually pivoted their business from solely printed guidebooks to the online hospitality space. Today, Mr &amp; Mrs Smith is a hotel booking website with over 1,300 villa and hotel partners.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>There's no shortage of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/underrated-travel-destinations-to-visit-in-2020-intrepid-travel-2020-2">travel</a> guides, rankings, and lists out there, but few focus on as specific a niche as <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/">Mr &amp; Mrs Smith</a>.</p><p>Billing itself as "the travel club for hotel lovers," Mr &amp; Mrs Smith is a boutique and luxury hotel booking service that curates a list of the best hotels in the world for romantic getaways. Their current roster includes over 1,300 properties, from a <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxury-hotels/brody-house">boho-chic hotel in Budapest</a> with nightly rates under $100 to <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxury-hotels/fregate-island-private">a private island villa in the Seychelles</a> that'll set you back nearly $5,000 for a single evening's stay.</p><p>Founded in 2003, the company was inspired by a series of "disastrous" weekend getaways experienced by its cofounders, married couple Tamara and James Lohan (now 47 and 49, respectively). The two met on vacation and struck up a holiday romance. In the early days of their relationship, they frequently took weekend trips - but by and large, the trips were a bust.</p><p>"When we were dating, we would search through the brochures - because it was pre-internet - and search through magazines and those really stuffy, big, thick doorstep brochures from various hotel brands," Tamara told Business Insider at a recent event for the release of their report <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/modern-love">"Modern Love: Exploring the future of romantic travel,"</a> in collaboration with futures consultancy company <a href="https://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/">Future Laboratory</a>. "And we'd arrive at the hotels and get bitterly disappointed."</p><p>"I often was the one that was booking them, because I was trying to impress her," James added. "And he was failing," Tamara interjected.</p><p>The two decided to create a guidebook of hotels that had the vibe they, a young couple on romantic weekend getaways, were looking for.</p><p>"I think, quite often, hotel inspectors were these long-faced, 80-year-old gray-faced men in my mind, going off and inspecting hotels and writing notes while chewing on their prawn cocktail on a Monday night, telling me what I was going to do with my gorgeous girlfriend on the weekend," James said. "And it didn't really match."</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e46fd264b661b4ff92ded22-2223/louis a w sheridan  casa fortunato-91.jpg" alt="LOUIS A. W. SHERIDAN - Casa Fortunato 91" /><p>The couple turned to their friends and friends-of-friends as tastemakers for help curating a "little black book" - the first iteration of Mr &amp; Mrs Smith. These early travel influencers included everyone from Felix Burton of the popular 1990s English electronic music duo <a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/40536-basement-jaxx-reissue-early-material/">Basement Jaxx</a> and the owner of famed VIP nightclub <a href="https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2013/03/londons-chinawhite-club-relaunches-as-libertine/">Chinawhite</a> in London to a former editor of the Sunday Times Style section.</p><p>Tamara, who formerly worked in marketing, and James, who ran nightclubs and an events company, would send their tastemakers - along with significant others - to the hotels they were considering for inclusion. In 2005, the cofounders <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35060319">expanded their business</a> from travel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Smith-Boutique-Hotel-Collection/dp/0954496477/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Mr+%26+Mrs+Smith+Hotel+Collection&amp;qid=1581711668&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-2">guidebooks</a> to a full-blown booking website.</p><p>Today, Mr &amp; Mrs Smith <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/about">employs more than 50 experts</a> in London, Ibiza, New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore. There are three membership levels: BlackSmith (the basic membership, which is free) and two paid services - <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/shop/membership/silversmith">SilverSmith</a> and <a href="https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/shop/membership/goldsmith">GoldSmith</a> - that charge an annual membership fee. The upper levels come with additional perks like an in-house concierge service, money back on hotel stays, and half-price offers.</p><p>In 2015, the BBC's Peter Shadbolt <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35060319">reported</a> that for each reservation made via the Mr &amp; Mrs Smith website, the booked hotel pays the company a commission (though hotel industry analyst Andrew Sangster told the BBC that "there doesn't seem to be any fixed rules or levels" when it comes to how much commission the hotels pay). Per Shadbolt, the two paid membership levels also provide a portion of Mr &amp; Mrs Smith's revenue.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e46fcdb3b62b74b70305784-2400/louis a w sheridan - awasi-33.jpg" alt="LOUIS A W SHERIDAN   Awasi 33" /><h2>What makes a hotel "boutique"? It's all about attitude</h2><p>The cofounders told Business Insider that due to their niche focus, their list of hotel partners is constantly changing. New properties are added, and existing partners that don't uphold the Mr &amp; Mrs Smith standards are cut.</p><p>James noted that while it's almost impossible for a hotel to get every criteria point right, "... you can definitely tell if something's a problem." He described the brand's customers as their new eyes and ears, while noting that the Mr and Mrs Smith team personally still also visits every single property.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e46fc842dae5c50f931d29a-2400/louis a w sheridan  the dutchess-58.jpg" alt="LOUIS A. W. SHERIDAN - The Dutchess 58" /><p>Like others in the industry, Tamara and James acknowledge that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-boutique-hotel-explainer-2020-1">the term "boutique hotel" is amorphous</a>. "The problem now is that everyone's on the boutique bandwagon, and so you have 2,000-room hotels that call themselves 'boutique.' So for me, it's an attitude rather than size," James told Business Insider. "Though of course size <em>is</em> an indicator. And the average size of our hotel is probably 40 bedrooms."</p><p>But, as Tamara noted, even large hotels can have an intimate sense of space: "There's some very large hotels where you walk into the lobby and you would not know that there are hundreds of rooms above you."</p><p>Moreso than size, Tamara and James and their team analyze a hotel's experience. </p><p>"We care more about how comfortable that bed is. Is it Egyptian cotton - or Indian cotton now, which is very in vogue? Is it the best and the most comfortable bed you've ever slept in? Can the barman mix me a perfect martini? These are the things that matter," James said.</p><p>"We do look at the sound, the lighting, the mood, the atmosphere, the type of service. Is it attentive but not too overbearing? It's about so many things and it's just about this feeling - it's a feeling that you can't photograph and you can't always write," he said.</p>

How a few 'disastrous weekends away' inspired one couple to create a booking service specializing in the world's sexiest boutique and luxury hotels

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119094.cms" /><br />
<br /> Every day, we see Indian women carrying off foreign-origin clothes with indescribable grace, but there is something special when it comes to <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword> beauties wearing the Indian traditional clothes.<br />
<br />
Of late, we have spotted many Hollywood beauties spotting this six-yard piece of clothing. Here is a look at these beauties and their sarees:<br />
<br />
<strong>Paris Hilton</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119121.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American socialite, actress and entertainer was spotted wearing a pink saree on her India Visit in 2011. She was here to promote her brand of handbags and accessories.<br />
<br />
<strong>Elizabeth Hurley</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119126.cms" /><br />
<br />
The English actress and model was seen wearing a light pink and silver saree in 2008 when she was promoting a charity event about breast cancer.<br />
<br />
<strong>Julia Roberts</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119139.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American actress and producer was seen sporting a green saree in her 2010 movie <em>Eat Pray Love </em>when she shot the film in India.<br />
<br />
<strong>Lady Gaga</strong><br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119151.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American singer and songwriter wore a grayish Tarun Tahiliani saree when she visited India in 2011.<br />
<br />
<strong>Victoria Beckham </strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119194.cms" /><br />
<br />
The English businesswoman and fashion designer wore a red saree in 2008 when she shot for Vogue Indian edition.<br />
<br />
<strong>Nicole Scherzinger</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119219.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American recording artist and television personality wore a black saree with a golden border in 2008 for Fashion Rocks, an event.<br />
<br />
<strong>Naomi Campbell</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119226.cms" /><br />
<br />
The British supermodel graced the Lakme Fashion Week India by wearing a black and golden saree in 2009.<br />
<br />
<strong>Jessica Alba</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119234.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American actress wore an orange saree while shooting a song for the movie <em>The Love Guru</em> in 2007-08.<br />
<br />
<strong>Halle Berry</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119239.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American actress and former model wore a red saree when she did the role of an Indian in a segment of the movie Cloud Atlas in 2012.<br />
<br />
<strong>Oprah Winfrey</strong><br />
<br />
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/40119246.cms" /><br />
<br />
The American media czarina has sported a saree many a times on her frequent visits to India.<br />
<br />
Apparently, this is a flourishing business for the export industry. We had a look at the data of the past month and found that during 9<sup>th</sup> Jul 2014 to 9<sup>th</sup> August 2014, India exported sarees worth $13,090,329. Out of this, 30% of the exports were done from JNPT port. Average value per shipment of saree exports in India is $2,04,536.<br />
<br />
The major countries to import sarees from India are UAE (27.79%), Malaysia (24.16%), the United Kingdom (8.8%), Sri Lanka(5.41%), Singapore(4.49%), the United States(4.35%), Sudan(3.29%), Mauritius(2.43%) and Canada (2.03%), while the rest of the world makes up the rest 17.25%.<br />
<br />
<em>Collage courtesy: Fotor</em><br />
<br />
<em>Data Source: <a href="http://www.infodriveindia.com/india-export-data/sarees-export-data.aspx">Infodrive India</a></em><br />
<br />


Sarees Making Their Way Into Hollywood: Here Is How

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546b886869bedd6d3b36ca04-1200-800/rtr3nab0.jpg" border="0" alt="petrobras president  Maria das Gracas Silva Foster"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">President of Brazil's Oil Company Petrobras Maria das Gracas Silva Foster attends a meeting of the supervision and control committee, discussing corruption allegations involving the purchase of a refinery in Pasadena, Texas, at the Lower House of Congress in Brasilia April 30, 2014.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>ON NOVEMBER 14th Brazilian police raided the offices of Petrobras, a vast state-controlled oil firm at the centre of a corruption scandal. Back in 2010 Petrobras was a symbol of Brazil's economic rise. It conducted the largest global equity raising on record, to pay for the development of fields off Brazil's coast.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Now, bribes are the least of it. Despite an investment binge its production growth has been anaemic. Its returns on capital and its shares have slumped. Its balance-sheet is shot, former executives have been arrested and its accounts may be restated. Petrobras is today an exemplar of something else: the lousy performance of state-owned firms.</span></p>
<p>Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language were "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." For investors the scariest words may be, "I'm from a state-owned firm and I want your capital." Across the world, big, listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that were floated, or raised mountains of equity, between 2000 and 2010 have had a dismal time.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5472358669beddda43a09f89-683-756/screenshot 2014-11-23 14.28.07.png" border="0" alt="Screenshot 2014 11 23 14.28.07"><p class="source"><span>The Economist</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Their share of global market capitalisation has shrunk from a peak of 22% in 2007 to 13% today. Measured by profits their decline is less stark, mainly because big Chinese banks continue to report inflated profits that do not accurately reflect their rotten books. Exclude them and SOEs' share of earnings has slumped, too (see chart). It will probably fall further.</p>
<p>In Russia, Gazprom, which the Kremlin once predicted would be the first firm to be worth $1 trillion, has crumpled: it is worth $73 billion today. India's mismanaged state-owned banks command miserly valuations compared with their private peers. Since 2009 the Shenzhen stockmarket's index, which is dominated by private firms, has rocketed past that of its rival in Shanghai, which is mainly made up of state companies, notes Sanford C. Bernstein, an analysis firm.</p>
<p>Once, investors swooned at the rise of China Mobile, a state-owned operator. Now they admire Xiaomi, a wily private handset-maker. Shares in Vale, a Brazilian miner in which public-sector pension funds have a big stake, have lagged those of its private-sector peers, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, by over 40% in the past three years.</p>
<p>Overall, the SOEs among the world's top 500 firms have lost between 33% and 37% of their value in dollars since 2007, depending on how one treats firms that were unlisted at the start of the period. Global shares as a whole have risen by 5%.</p>
<p>It was not meant to be like this. As the West slipped into a crisis in 2007-08, state capitalism supposedly took the business world by storm, particularly in the emerging world. It had two elements. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) gathered the excess savings that oil-rich and Asian countries accumulated, investing them overseas. And a new, hybrid kind of SOE was in vogue.</p>
<p>When Europe and Latin America privatised firms in the 1980s and 1990s, they often went the whole hog, with the state selling out completely--think of British Gas or telecoms in Brazil. But in the 2000s private investors were invited to play only a subordinate role, with the state keeping a controlling stake and making enlightened decisions in the interests of all. Investors lapped it up: they forked out more than $500 billion in SOE equity raisings between 2000 and 2012.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5450bed0ecad04981cf684df-1200-800/rtr23lph.jpg" border="0" alt="putin gazprom rosneft"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin</span></p><p class="caption">Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) speaks after a document signing ceremony as Gazprom's Chief Executive Alexey Miller (C) and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin (R) stand behind in Moscow, January 19, 2009.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">What went wrong? As trade surpluses and commodity prices have fallen, SWFs have accumulated cash at a slower rate and spent less on buying stakes in firms. In 2013 their investments were $50 billion, under half the level of 2008, reckons Bernardo Bortolotti of Bocconi University in Milan. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">SOEs, meanwhile, have been through hell. Tumbling commodity prices have hurt energy and mining firms. Sanctions have clobbered Russian firms. Corruption scandals have erupted, and not just in Brazil. Jiang Jiemin, PetroChina's ex-boss, was arrested in 2013, for example.</span></p>
<p>But at the root of the underperformance is what looks like a huge misallocation of capital by SOEs. Given licence by politicians, and with little need to pacify stroppy investors, their capital investment surged, accounting for over 30% of the global total by big listed firms.</p>
<p>More than $2.5 trillion has been invested in telecoms networks, hydrocarbons fields and other projects by SOEs since 2007. Gazprom built an alpine ski resort for the winter Olympics. Etisalat, a telecoms firm in the United Arab Emirates, blew $800m on an operation in India whose licence was cancelled after an anti-graft inquiry. To counteract the global slowdown after 2007-08, state banks went on a lending binge in China, India, Russia, Brazil and Vietnam. The resulting bad debts are only now being recognised.</p>
<p>As the balance-sheets of SOEs have grown faster than profits, return on equity has slumped from 16% in 2007 to 12% today, less than the 13% achieved by private firms. China's four biggest banks, with their inflated earnings, flatter this picture. Excluding them, SOEs' return on equity falls to 10%. Cash returns to investors are poor: SOEs' dividends and buy-backs are typically only 10-15% of the global total. Flabby and stingy, SOEs are now priced by investors at about their liquidation value.</p>
<p>For governments and managers of SOEs the immediate task is firefighting. While SOES' aggregate balance-sheet is passable, some companies are too indebted. Vietnam has had one big SOE default, by a shipyard. Petrobras has net debt equivalent to four times its gross operating profit. Rosneft, a Russian oil firm, must refinance $21 billion of bonds before April. Its bond yields have risen sharply and it wants state aid. Many SOE banks in the emerging world need to be recapitalised.</p>
<p>Next, investment levels and costs need to be cut, so as to lift returns on capital. There is little sign that this is happening yet. Natural-resources SOEs will probably be slower to react to lower commodity prices than their private-sector peers. All state firms find it hard to lay off people--the SOEs among the world's 500 most valuable firms employ 8m, and their workforce has risen by a fifth since 2007. Those in industries facing disruption from the web, particularly banking and telecoms, will probably need redundancy schemes.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/517d46d1ecad049237000007-700-393/8afcf0204fbd3b5e90f1fd19fb6f73b9.jpeg" border="0" alt="china telecom mobile"><p class="source"><span>Darley Shen / Reuters</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h3>Privatisation 3.0</h3>
<p>In the longer term, managers need to rethink how firms are run. Interviewed by The Economist in April, Xi Guohua, the chairman of China Mobile, talked of introducing incentive-based pay, awarding staff shares and establishing stand-alone units with freedom to innovate. "The old organisation will restrict our development and stand in our way, and we are fully aware of the urgency of such changes," he said.</p>
<p>China Mobile's efforts are part of a wider drive in China to make SOEs more efficient by deregulating prices and interest rates, introducing more private investors and increasing competition. Narendra Modi, India's newish prime minister, has a similar plan to open up Coal India, a notoriously inept monopolist, to competition and to resuscitate India's state-run banks.</p>
<p>Yet at the heart of all these efforts, a tension remains: who are SOEs run for? The public good, as interpreted by politicians? Or shareholders? Only some countries have resolved this, either by the state selling out completely, or by establishing robust mechanisms to keep firms at arms' length from the government, such as at Temasek, Singapore's state holding company.</p>
<p>Until this question is resolved the value-destroying impulses of SOEs will remain, and investors will be wary of both established firms and newcomers. That is why, as the box alongside describes, not a single foreign investor took part in Vietnam's latest flotation of a state firm.</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist</p>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT1mZmNiOWMyZThkNjE0MjA4NzEyMGY0NDgxYzMwM2I1ZSZwdWJsaXNoZXI9NzMwZWI4NmFiNTlmMGQ0MTkyNmFjNjViMDFmODNlMmY=" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p>

The Performance Of State-Owned Enterprises Has Been Shockingly Bad

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5aaeeecad04fd073df32f-451-358/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 6.26.53 pm.png" border="0" alt="china luxury avatar pyramid" style="color: #000000;"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bling-Dynasty-Chinese-Shoppers/dp/1118950291">"The Bling Dynasty"</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The New Silk Road is catering to millions of Chinese feeding a new Bling Dynasty. Within this substantial empire, many characters stand out.</p>
<p>Let me introduce you to five of them.</p>
<div class="page" title="Page 11">
<p>Spending time in China and meeting Chinese consumers abroad has shown that some stereotypical luxury consumers do actually exist. Rather than quote real people who may find it uncomfortable or rude, I have decided it was easier to present you with five avatars.These are representatives who embody the thoughts and feelings of luxury consumers coming from very distinct subsets of the Chinese culture.</p>
<p>Here they are. (See Figure I-1.)</p>
<h2>Calvin Li</h2>
<p>Calvin is 26 and is brand obsessed, loves logos and while he's not that affluent, he wants people around him-friends, family, business partners- to know he's succeeded.</p>
<p>He is what the managers of Coach would call a 'status lover', a somewhat disappearing breed of Chinese luxury consumers. He's after brands as he's eager to fit in to what he sees as modern China. </p>
<p>Calvin doesn't speak English and I don't speak Putonghua so every time we've hadto chat, I brought a friend along with me for translation purposes.</p>
<p>Calvin works as a manager in a textile manufacturer. He lives in Jinjiang, a third-tier city, and an hour away from Xiamen, where Calvin goes some evenings for fun.</p>
<p>His favorite brand is Louis Vuitton, but that's way too costly for him so midmarket imported brands like Calvin Klein work well. Three years ago, some Xiamen-based friends made fun of him as he was wearing suit labels outside the cuffs-these were the labels he was supposed to have cut off.</p>
<p>He is part of a few people in his entourage who bought brands that they thought were legit but ended up being interpretations of Western or Hong Kong-based brands: Qiaodan Sports (sued by Michael Jordan for using his Chinese name and a similar logo), Gio Amrami (instead of Giorgio Armani) suits and others.</p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5aeb96da8110023eca353-1200-858/454488692.jpg" border="0" alt="calvin klein china shoppers luxury"><p class="source"><span>Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Shoppers walk past a Calvin Klein billboard in Hong Kong.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Lewis Wang</h2>
<p>Calvin's older cousin-he's 30 now-runs a property business in Xiamen, the city known to some as China's Saint Tropez. He is very rich by local standards. He was smart to begin with and has great business acumen and connections.</p>
<p>His English is not great, and some mistakes he makes are opportunities for us to spend more time talking and laughing and less time understanding each other. But he's a real entertainer and as long as he can get by, he's happy with that.</p>
<p>He seems fearless and clearly is enjoying life to the fullest. He's a loud man, likes a drink-and a few more-but he's a great laugh. Lewis has no inhibitions and when I think of him, it reminds me of Dr Seuss's words: 'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind'.</p>
<p>A bit like Calvin, Lewis has 'nouveau riche' habits, loves brands but can actually afford quite high-end kit. Unlike Calvin, he's got a passport-like 4% of Chinese (or more than 50 million in total)-and he can afford to buy a Louis Vuitton bag and has travelled in many Chinese cities. He went to Taipei late 2011, to Hong Kong for the first time last October, to Macau earlier this year and dreams of Milan and Los Angeles for his first 'true overseas' trip.</p>
<p>I write 'true overseas' as Calvin, like most Chinese, considers Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau part of China.</p>
<p>He's what the press calls Tuhao: tu is dirt; hao is splendor; so the meaning is along the lines of 'parvenu peasant.' Chinese popular culture despises Tuhao and at the same time secretly is envious and jealous of them. Lewis bought the gold iPhone 5s that came out in 2013, the one Apple put out specifically for the Chinese market, known in China as the Tuhao Gold and in the Apple HQ as the Kardashian iPhone.</p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5afc06bb3f7ef6d092a81-1200-800/rtr37mth-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Louis Vuitton china shopper luxury"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/ Carlos Barria</span></p><p class="caption">A woman shops at Louis Vuitton in Shanghai.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Tiffany Ma</h2>
<p>Tiffany just started her first job in Guangzhou at age 22 in an advertising agency. She's ambitious, graduated from a good school but has limited revenues in this first job. She's never been abroad but would love to go to Seoul or Tokyo as they seem so refined.</p>
<p>Her English is conversational and fine. She recently started taking a few Korean lessons, just because it's cool, and she'd like to figure out what on earth the K-Pop bands she loves so dearly are singing about. She also follows many of the Korean soap operas that air on Chinese TV channels. She's the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese Office Lady (or "OL") and has relatively limited needs, so she has quite a bit of disposable income to purchase brands. She's connected, quite active on Internet forums and blogs and a first-time buyer of imported luxury brands. She won't be spending often but she'll be saving up to buy brands where she gets the sense that she's rewarding herself.</p>
<p>Her wealthier boyfriend-by that I mean he's wealthier than she is; she only has one boyfriend-bought her a Tiffany ring recently, and she was absolutely delighted. Yes, it cost more than a similar ring at a family jeweller but the blue box, the Tiffany guarantee and the discrete yet recognizable design thrilled her.</p>
<p>She is one of the 2 million Weibo followers of Angelica Cheung, the editor in chief of Vogue China and a veritable fashion guru. She likes brands with history and reads about them a lot.</p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5b26decad0435273df32e-1200-800/112294044.jpg" border="0" alt="china tiffany shanghai"><p class="source"><span>ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Actresses pose at the Tiffany &amp; Co. flagship store in Shanghai.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Brittany Chen</h2>
<p>Brittany is Tiffany's aunt though she's just ten years older. She's a marketing director for a fast-moving consumer goods company in Shanghai.</p>
<p>She's Chinese in her style and has a slight, recognizable accent when she speaks in English but if I hadn't met her in Shanghai, I would probably have never guessed she was a local as she could really be from anywhere, sounding as cosmopolitan as she does. Brittany goes to London for business and enjoys relaxing weekends in Taipei. She's planning to go to New Zealand with her husband and daughter soon.</p>
<p>She has known foreign luxury brands for a while and is very knowledgeable. Louis Vuitton doesn't do it for her. She likes more niche-y concepts like Miu Miu and Ce´line but has seen many Italian and French fashion brands and thinks British Burberry or Mulberry or American Tory Burch and Marc Jacobs are great alternative options.</p>
<p>Tiffany and Brittany are at the heart of the Chinese luxury market growth.They are putting pressure on traditional, historical brands as they are very knowledgeable and won't be moved by what most Chinese consumers have an interest in.</p>
<p>They know what they want, they are uncomfortable with brands that seem to cater too much for the Chinese, and they are much more subtle in displaying wealth than Calvin or Lewis.</p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5b3bc6bb3f71d7c092a81-1200-800/464366877.jpg" border="0" alt="chinese luxury shopper burberry"><p class="source"><span>Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Fashion editor for Sina.com Yumeng Cheung wears vintage jewellery, Burberry sweater, jacket from a Korean boutique and the bag is from China on day 2 of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014, on January 21, 2014 in Paris, France</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Hermes Zhou</h2>
<p>When I asked him where he was from, Hermes said he was Canadian even though I now know he was born in Beijing. True, he spent more time growing up in Vancouver and studying in the United States and London than in China, where his parents have a place-they are globetrotters too.</p>
<p>He speaks and writes English much better than I do; but hey, what do you expect, I'm French!</p>
<p>He's 34. After working for a leading American consultancy firm, he's now in asset management at a hedge fund, which has offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. For the past three years, he's been based in Hong Kong and is hopeful he can become a partner at the firm.</p>
<p>He buys his girlfriend Saint Laurent bags and Van Cleef &amp; Arpels jewellery and buys himself Herme`s clothes-though he will not go for the too-obvious H-buckle belt-and he always wears a pair of Tod's, at work or on weekends. He's into Italian wine, Japanese whisky, complication watches and Maldives holidays. His consumption profile is that of a very affluent New Yorker, Londoner, Parisian or Tokyoite more than that of other Chinese.</p>
<h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5b5beecad048a3e3df32a-1200-858/74856898.jpg" border="0" alt="china luxury shopper hermes"><p class="source"><span>LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">A woman shops at Hermés in Shanghai.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The Middle-Class Kingdom</h2>
<p>Our five avatars are relevant for luxury demand today.</p>
<p>Tomorrow, they will dominate it. (See Figures I.2 and I.3).</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Luxury demand is not just going to increase with consumers trading up. The bulk of the increase in sales should come mechanically from the fact that the number of Chinese nationals able to afford the products will increase dramatically.</p>
<p>Sales to Chinese should broadly triple over the next ten years.This may read like a bullish statement, but it is not if the basic metrics of income creation in China is considered.</p>
<p>In 2015, Chinese should represent about 20% of luxury consumers (or 75 million) and as much as 35% of sales, as their average spending is much higher than that of other nationalities. (See Table I-1.) The table below shows the evolution of luxury sales by nationality over the next ten years. </p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5abf86da8118316eca355-470-299/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 6.35.51 pm.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2015 01 13 at 6.35.51 PM"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bling-Dynasty-Chinese-Shoppers/dp/1118950291">"The Bling Dynasty"</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b5ac1769beddb142abc957-427-614/screen shot 2015-01-13 at 6.36.28 pm.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2015 01 13 at 6.36.28 PM"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bling-Dynasty-Chinese-Shoppers/dp/1118950291">"The Bling Dynasty"</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><em>Text and figures takes from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bling-Dynasty-Chinese-Shoppers/dp/1118950291">The Bling Dynasty: Why the Reign of Chinese Luxury Shoppers Has Only Just Begun</a>" by Erwan Rambourg; ISBN: 978-1-118-95029-6. Copyright © 2014 by Erwan Rambourg. Reprinted with permission of Wiley.</em></p>
</div>

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