🎙️ The Ensemble: The Elite Descends on Davos, Norway Messages on Greenland, & Fashion Mourns its ‘Last Emperor’

Plus as Iran remains largely cut off from the world, the importance of the creator economy takes center stage in Washington

I’ve rarely been one to be at a loss for words but what we’ve seen unfold in Iran this month is truly beyond comprehension: a nation forced into darkness with no communication lines to the outside world while regime forces and imported militias cracked down on protestors demanding change. Human rights groups say fatalities exceed 10,000 whereas Iranian officials report a much lower number. As the internet remained disconnected, last week I landed in Washington from London and moderated a conversation including Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna following the introduction of the Creator Bill of Rights. He’s a Representative from California - home to the largest Iranian diaspora in the world and Silicon Valley. We discussed how people in Iran fighting for basic human rights can be supported by creators and tech companies. In our upcoming reporting, we’ll be looking at what exactly that looks like.

Davos 2026 Draws A-List Guests and Alpine Chic

Gold prices are soaring as private jets descend into Davos this week for the World Economic Forum. Founded in 1971 on a Swiss ski resort as a gathering for European business leaders (mostly white men), the forum has evolved into an exclusive networking event for the elite. Davos 2026 brings together over 60 heads of state along with business leaders, academics, and journalists to confront challenges around inclusive AI, global trade, the triple bubble, and a rupture in the global order. This year’s Interim Co-Chair and BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink, a supporter of stakeholder capitalism whose firm manages $14 trillion in assets, is re-wiring the forum and attracting an A-list cast, including Nvidia C.E.O Jensen Huang; David Beckham; Emanuel Macron in eye-catching ‘Top Gun’ aviator shades that triggered a flurry of memes and speculation on social media, causing manufacturer iVision Tech’s website to crash; California Mayor Gavin Newsom, who presides over the fourth largest economy in the world after the US, China and Germany; Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick; and President Trump, whose repeated jabs at Europe drew gasps and nervous laughter, prompting European leaders to ask a senior official “Is this America? And is the post-World War II era definitively over — or is there any hope it comes back?” Women leaders still struggle to shape the dialogue, making up only about 28% of the forum’s attendees.

While the relevance of the snowy gathering has come under fire in recent years, Trump’s presence as a disruptive dealmaker leveraging conflict for economic advantage is highlighting the stakes of executive solidarity on the global stage. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew a rare standing ovation in a powerful speech encouraging “middle powers” to oppose hegemony, a sentiment mirrored in a recent report naming the U.S. the “principal source of global risk in 2026”. Fink has proposed a new venue for the conference, calling on leaders to “show up and listen in the places where the modern world is actually built” like Dublin, Detroit, Jakarta, and Buenos Aires. If you’re still finalizing your wardrobe for this week’s power-dressing catwalk, try layering an alpine chic silhouette in tech-forward fabrics and sustainable sourcing with a performance parka, cashmere gloves, and waterproof après-ski boots, as icy mountain roads make Davos hard to navigate in heels.

Sources: The New York Times, Financial Times (story), Business Insider Africa, The Independent, Chanel, NDTV (images)

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Norway Messages Trump on Greenland

In further signs the US is viewed as a risk factor on the global stage, Denmark is moving troops to Greenland after Trump demanded it hand over the territory or face a trade war and potential military action. Although Trump has since toned down his rhetoric and signaled from Davos a “framework for a future deal'“, Norway’s Foreign Minister sent a strong message to Trump and Eurasian leaders with energy ambitions in the Arctic, signaling Norway’s readiness to stand up to threats to international law at a time when “fundamental principles are being questioned”. The conflict has sent the stock market into a freefall and tested US-Europe relations, with a recent survey finding only 16% of Europeans and 25% of Britons view the U.S. as an ally with shared values. Norway is stepping up boots on the ice in Greenland, invoking NATO and the UN Charter as frameworks for greater NATO cooperation and the collective right to self-defense. Global tensions are translating to fashion trends, with red baseball caps from Greenland protest rallies and social media posts sparking a buying spree around the world in a defiant rebrand of Trump’s MAGA as “Make America Go Away”. Meanwhile, Norway released Trump’s text messages to Norwegian President Støre linking his aggression over Greenland to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Acknowledging he was no longer thinking “purely of peace” after he was snubbed by the Oslo-based Nobel Committee, Trump’s message shows how revenge is weaponized in geopolitical power plays and symbolic warfare.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Guardian, Reuters (story), Al Jazeera, Unilad, The Mirror US (images)

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Brand vs Blood: The Beckham Family’s Crisis of Control

While the global elite gathers in Davos to navigate the icy terrain of stakeholder capitalism, a different kind of high-stakes conflict is erupting in the world of heritage brands. The Beckham family, once the gold standard for British soft power and unified brand management, is facing a diplomatic crisis that no amount of polished PR can mask. The rift erupted on social media where Brooklyn Beckham issued a six-slide Instagram statement accusing his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, of undermining his marriage, manipulating press narratives and prioritising “Brand Beckham” above family ties.

For years, rumours skirted the edges of tabloids and magazine pages, and whispers about a fractious relationship between the Beckhams and Brooklyn, now married to actress Nicola Peltz Beckham. But Monday night’s Instagram stories have dragged the royal-level celebrities into uncharted public territory. Brooklyn’s account said his parents tried to interfere with his relationship before his April 2022 Palm Beach wedding, including claims that Victoria cancelled designing Nicola’s dress at the last minute and that David would only meet Brooklyn in London if Nicola wasn’t present. Perhaps most explosive, Brooklyn claims his mother “hijacked” his first dance with Nicola, with Marc Anthony unwittingly announcing Victoria to the dance floor in front of 500 guests, leaving Brooklyn feeling “humiliated”. What resonates is not simply celebrity intrigue, but the tension between public brand and private reality. The Beckhams, long hailed as a model of modern family success, now find themselves navigating a very contemporary drama: how to manage personal conflict in an age where every silence, statement and photo becomes part of the narrative.

Sources: Reuters, The Independent (story), BBC, SkyNews (images)

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Mourning the King of Roman Couture

Valentino Garavani, global style icon, pop culture sensation, and last of the legendary 20th-century couturiers, died on Monday in Rome at age 93. Distinguished by his pursuit of beauty as a powerful creative tool and his adorable entourage of pugs with Goyard collars and their own morning beauty rituals, Valentino set the bar for elegance and luxury. Preferring glamour over business, he created an impeccable image of high society that infused his personal life and generations of Italian style. Dubbed ‘the sheikh of chic’ by Women’s Wear Daily, Valentino founded a fashion empire in 1959 on perfectly-placed bows and ruffles after studying in Milan and Paris, paving the way for subsequent Italian designers like Armani and Versace. Known for his signature red gowns inspired by women who caught his eye at a premiere of the opera Carmen in Barcelona, Valentino considered red an iconic element of the brand.

A master of his craft, he was famous for dressing the political elite, shaping state power and garnering prestige as “the most important Roman in fashion since whoever invented the toga”. He fashioned the cream lace dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore to marry Aristotle Onassis; the fur-collared suit Farah Diba wore to flee Iran when her husband, the shah, was deposed in 1979; and the dress Bernadette Chirac wore when her husband Jacques was sworn into office as France’s president in 1995. A stylish counterpoint to the ‘tortured artist’, Valentino confessed in an oral history “I am not suffering. I want to be happy when I design a dress.” His taste for levity is a breath of fresh air in today’s heavy political climate, which recently inspired a menswear show from Prada featuring long, tight, lean silhouettes on the runway with discomfort, uncertainty, and a critique of corporate masculine power woven into the collection. While Prada’s deconstructed tailoring signaled a rejection of the political elite, Valentino cherished outfitting the aristocracy. In an interview with The New Yorker, Valentino hoped to be remembered “as a man who pursued beauty wherever he could.”

Sources: The New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Arabian Business (story), British Vogue, AP News, The New York Times, Instagram (images)

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And Finally… Influencer Visas Are Trending

Influencers and OnlyFans models now make up about half of all applicants filing for O-1B ‘exceptional artist’ visas in the US, with many sharing their visa journeys on social media. Creator-based immigration is on the rise around the globe, with the UAE offering a creative/ influencer pathway to its Golden Visa. The trend signals a shift in how artistic merit is assessed in the global digital economy, sparking debates about what it means to ‘succeed’ as an artist and impacting creators’ freedom to move. First proposed in 1972 by John Lennon’s attorney to avoid deportation by President Nixon, the ‘exceptional artist’ visa was formalized by Congress in the Immigration Act of 1990.

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