Will there ever be a Vogue Arabia

Will There Ever Be A Vogue Arabia?

The booming Middle-Eastern economy has been drawing some of fashion’s big names to its shores, and with that a furay of fashion media have flocked to Dubai, the newly annoineted Arab fashion hub. Only one magazine remains absent from news stands, the worlds most prestigious, Vogue.

Hiba Mohamed looks at why the luxury lifestyle monthly has not made an appearence in the region yet and will it ever?

It is mid December, the air is cool in Dubai. Breezy winds wave past a group of women draped in long ebony garments, as they float towards the grand entrance of Burj Al Arab hotel. This mammoth of a building lies on a man-made island with soft blue skies and oceans surrounding it. Inside, flocks of veiled women emerge from the cloakroom into the segregated wedding reception in hot-off-the catwalk haute couture.

The banquet is filled with a riot of colours; one woman stole the show with a crimson Dior a/w12 gown that was molded to her every curve a and a full skirt that fell like a gushing waterfall. Another showstopper glides past, in a nude backless frock that was tailored to fit her like second-skin, she stood tall and elegant in the signature Ellie Saab dress. The need for exclusivity also goes up in demand, with hundreds of guests invited to each event, typically, Arab clients don’t want to spend thousands of Euros on a dress only to arrive at an event and find some one else wearing the same garment. It is up to the house to make sure this doesn’t happen. Haute couture salons are known for keeping detailed records of each client’s purchases, in order to avoid selling a gown to members of her social circle attending the same functions. Karl Lagerfeld once told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia that he had a client cancel an order because she saw it on the red carpet. Catherine Rivière, Dior’s long time salon director, tells Reuters “We ask our client as many questions as possible, and make sure we know which members of her family are also purchasing pieces. This level of detail is crucial as

we can not afford not afford to make mistakes.” The huge power of Islamic currency has been a tremendous driver in the way that all major Western fashion houses have run their businesses in recent years; writes Alexandra Shulman. The UAE’s luxury market is said to be worth £600 million according to a Euro Monitor report (2011) and fashion’s major players have duly taken note.

Chanel has nine stores in the Gulf, Hermes opened its 3rd UAE store in May last year and Harvey Nichols recently opened its third Middle-Eastern franchise in Kuwait. In the same wave, there has been an explosion of fashion media launching regional editions, with Marie-Claire [lower Gulf] setting the pace in 2008, followed by Marie-Claire Saudi Arabia in 2009. In the same year Harpers Bazaar Arabia went into publication and Elle Arab world launched in 2010. On the local front, there have been some strong Arab Fashion publications coming through in the last couple of years; Velvet, founded by Sheikha Hend Al Qassem is a magazine that beautifully merges Eastern traditions with Western elegance. Al-Qassem says, “our in-depth knowledge of local culture allows us to develop/create content that appeals to and protects local sensibilities.” With a multi-cultural team, the local magazine has come to be known as the Vogue of the Gulf, “Velvet is no longer benchmarked against local lifestyle/fashion magazines, but reputable international titles,” Adds Al-Qassem.

And yet, the world’s most influential fashion magazine, Vogue, has not made its appearance on this internattional newsstand.

In 2007 a Dubai publishing company approached Conde Nast with a proposal to publish Vogue Middle East but Chairman Jonathan Newhouse rejected it, in a statement to the Press Gazette, he noted that while there were many potential Vogue readers in the Middle East, “unfortunately they live in the same general region as some of the most militant and violent elements.” Following these comments in a leaked email to Emirates Daily, Newhouse went on to explain, “within the Arab world there is an element which accepts Western values. There is also a powerful fundamentalist, religious element, which rejects Western values, […] freedom of expression, and equality for women and expression of sexuality, to name three values associated with our publication. Our company has no wish to impose its values on a society, which does not fully share them. And we do not wish to provoke a strongly negative, even violent reaction. So I will simply avoid it by never entering the market. And I will sleep better at night.” Conde Nast never confirmed the email but nonetheless it has sparked some valuable discussions about prevailing stereotypes associated with the Gulf.

Alex Aubry, a curator, fashion/cultural historian and writes for Harpers Bazaar Arabia; launched The Polyglot in response to Condé Nast’s decision to not publish a Middle East edition of Vogue. The blog aims to challenge perceptions about the Middle East by bridging cultures through a shared appreciation for art, fashion and design creating a platform for cultural understanding. British Vogue contributor, Kathleen Baird-Murray reveals that although many of the international brands did not want to comment [for her feature ‘Beyond the Veil,’] worried that ‘any story about Muslim fashion might be too loaded with potentially contentious religious associations,” she insists, that stereotypes of the past are going away.

“The Sex and the City film showed an over-the-top version of Arab fashion but there is a different appreciation of style in the Middle-East and Arab

women are starting to own it.” Young designer Lama El-Moatassem graduated from CSM in 2001, returned to Doha to launch a line of Kaftans; Toujouri. “I wanted to incorporate my culture, with contemporary fashion,” she says. There has been a recent shift in sartorial taste in the Gulf, Women’s fashion awareness has increasingly become more acute, due to the uptake of popular social media platforms. Hermes Chief Executive Patrick Thomas told Reuters at Paris Fashion Week, 2011, “these markets for a long time preferred a more ostentatious type of luxury and now want a more refined and discreet style.” “Brands today are discovering they need to cater do the increase in the number of Muslim women working, mostly young customers who are more conscious of international brands,” writes Baird-Murray.

“Today with the advent of social media and more access to the Middle East and frankly the development of cosmopolitan dynamic cities all over the Middle East it is easier to get to hear our voices.”

Former Vogue Fashion features director and editorial director of Luxup, Harriet Quick tells Baird-Murray that Luxup’s clients from the GCC countries were increasingly buying more and more avant-garde designers, like Balenciaga, Jonathon Saunders and Christopher Kane. Many of the customers at Harvey Nichols Riyadh are young female professionals, and according to Saudi Harvey Nichol’s CEO Reema Bandar Al-Saud, these young women are cautious with spending their own money, and are looking for easy to wear, chic work attire. Bandar-Al Saud adds, “our customers value exclusivity and quality the most. They are very current in their fashion exposure so timeliness of product display is important.”

Paula Reed, fashion director of HN Kuwait tells Vogue readers that at the

Kuwait launch ‘the personal shopper introduced me to a client who quizzed me on what stock we had; did I know what our competitors had; did I realize that in another nearby mall they already had the X, Y, and Z bags from a certain brand and would we be getting A, B and C? These women are very discerning shoppers; there’s no such thing as throwing a look together, it’s all very considered. I thought it would be a glitz parade but there were women who were wearing that Celine look in a very chic way,” explains Reed.

Things are changing in the region and it is safe to say that the mood in Conde Nast may have also changed.

The publishers recently opened Vogue café in Dubai Mall and this May, sees the launch of Conde Nast Traveller, Middle East. Newhouse says in the press release, “Following the recent launch of the magazine in China, it’s a natural step for the number one travel title to enter the Middle East, and it will be the first Condé Nast brand available in this market.”

Conde Nast International’s new markets account manager, Graham Kirk, says the media powerhouse is a “conservative company, traditionally run by a Jewish family.” He says Conde Nast’s view to the Middle East’s is not quite as conservative as it used to be.’ Some Islamic factions of Arab society may well be disapprove with the launch of a regional edition of yet another western publication, however past magazine launches have generally been welcomed. Alex Aubry says, “I don’t see a resistance. But one has to be clear and understand from the beginning what the brand represents and who your target audience is. It’s impossible to be everything to everybody, but somehow find a balance.” Baird-Murray says, whilst researching her feature she was met with open arms, “everybody seemed so happy to talk, it was as if they felt like, at last their industry is getting some recognition.” Bandar-Al Saud says the Middle-Eastern market is much more accessible now; “Due to the private nature of our communities here access was previously limit

ed. Today with the advent of social media and more access to the Middle East and frankly the development of cosmopolitan dynamic cities all over the Middle East it is easier to get tohear our voices.” On the other hand there are some who believe that a magazine like Vogue would not work in the region. London based, Saudi designer Hanadi Al kaed says I really don’t think its a good move, it would lower the quality of what Vogue is and what it has been.

Arab magazines feature fully covered women in editorials and this is limiting. Styling for editorial will have to be done in a certain way, for something like Vogue you want to have the freedom of doing whatever you want.” Saudi Arabia’s strong religious identity may clash with Vogue’s editorial style. Kirk says, that Saudi Arabia will not be a specific target as it would mean changing the way we style editorial, to keep the local editions in line with Conde Nast’s strategy; ‘the overall result of a local edition of Vogue has to be the same as all the Vogue editions everywhere else.” Kirk adds, “there are very cosmopolitan areas of the Middle East and we are looking at all the Conde Nast titles not just vogue.’ Aubry says; “the luxury consumer market in the Middle East grew exponentially with the 70s oil boom, but it has been there for some time. Unlike countries in South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe which recently got their own editions of Vogue, the Middle East isn’t an emerging luxury market in the sense that there has always been a luxury consumer there since the 50s.”

Until recently the Arab luxury retail market has been somewhat neglected, the International power brands ‘have taken a long time [...] to catch on to this important market,’ writes Baird- Murray. Those who could afford to shop used to travel abroad but a high level of fashion brands are now available for the first time in the Middle East. Without luxury brands in local malls, magazine publishers would struggle to attract advertisers (like the big luxury brands),“luxury brands need a eason to advertise in

t magazines. If a brand like Dior or Chanel has a lot of stores in Dubai, or Beirut it has a reason to advertise because it is trying to appeal to locals. This is one of the major factors hat could eventually convinceConde Nast to launch a Vogue in the region.” Graham Kirk, New Markets account manager at Conde Nast International, says one of the main things he is looking for when considering an emerging market are the presence of international luxury brands. “I don’t know how to say this but, we look for a cluster of Louis Vuitton stores in a country before we start considering it. Louis Vuitton is our biggest advertiser, their presence in a market is a strong indication that other big brands will follow suite.”

Kirk has been working at Conde Nast for 2 years and says that the

“I don’t know how to say this but, we look for a cluster of Louis Vuitton stores in a country before we start considering it. Louis Vuitton is our biggest advertiser, their presence in a market is a strong indication that other big brands will follow suite.”

Middle East has been his main focus.

He has travelled extensively across the region to take in what works and what doesn’t. He says ‘this sort of thing takes a long time, a decision is not made and then over night a publication is launched, we have to know if the market can support any of the Conde Nast titles including Vogue and then we have to find the partners that can pull off the publication.”

Although nothing is finalized, Kirk says, we could be seeing Vogue Arabia’s inaugural issue in the next

12 months. In most cases Kirk works on licensing one country, however publishing an entire region proposes a whole array of issues. The Middle East is one of the most diverse groups of nations. It is a melting pot of cultures, religions, languages, and ethnicities and that’s not to mention the millions of people spread across the world due to the Arab diaspora.

“There is a tendency to lump the entire Middle East into one group, when there are so many interesting as well as subtle differences that we often forget. As soon as any magazine comes to the surface that is trying to represent a region, you have to keep in mind you are trying to speak to someone in Beirut, Jeddah, and a Qatari girl living in L. A. All these women may have markedly different notions of what it means to be an Arab woman today, or even their approach to fashion. There is a huge difference between a Vogue Qatar or Dubai as apposed to a Vogue Middle East, which would take a much broader/regional approach,” explains Aubry. “What is important is to realize that each Gulf Nation has its own voice and style and that is what makes our region so dynamic,” Bandar-Al Saud confers. Kirk says, “I travelled to the Middle East to see if it is possible to publish a regional magazine and no one got it right.

We don’t want to treat the Arabian edition as if it is produced in one country made for a whole different country – if we can pull the Middle East together it will be much more effective for us. An advertiser will set aside one million to split in one territory, and then another million in somewhere that is central like Dubai.” Lebanon may be different to the rest of the Arab world, it has a bigger market and is likely to attract separate advertising money; “we would approach the Levant regions separately, however due to the political situation, nothing will happen until things settle down there,” explains Kirk. Does the answer lie in the Marie Claire approach, launching a separate magazine for the lower Gulf and one specifically for Saudi

Arabia? Kirk says, “We can’t justify separate editions for say, Qatar and Kuwait right now, we will probably go for one edition with Dubai at the heart of it.”

Dubai has emerged as the region’s fashion capital; this month sees the launch of Fashion Forward an event aiming to nurture industry growth by showcasing homegrown talent.

The presence of local talent is crucial to a magazine’s editorial content, Kirk says, “without local fashion designers and content relevant to that market, a publication cannot thrive. Vogue’s regional editions are platforms to promote the fashion industry within a country.” Baird-Murray says, “I think there should be a Vogue Arabia, there are lots of young and emerging designers coming up from from the region.”

For Al Kaed regional designers are not up to standard, ‘they are all the same, they make all the same abayas, everything looks like its coming from the same minds. Over priced and nothing special,’ the designer adds.

“we had to decide who we were- do we choose to be positive members of the world and flourish that way or do we allow others to define who we are?”

Bandar Al-Saud says that although the community is very supportive when it comes to the local design movement, what Saudi is lacking is “the support network for those designers in terms of materials, supplies and manpower. What you would find in most design districts is still underdeveloped,” she adds.

Western retailers are also starting to recognize the breadth of Middle-Eastern design talent, Moda Operendi’s CEO, Aslaug Magnusdottir tells Baird-Murray, that she is

looking at recruiting Middle Eastern designers.

It is clear that much has changed in the Middle East in the last twenty years, and particularly sicnce the 9/11 tradegies. The Muslim world was forced to question their identity; Bandar-Al Saud says in Vogue, “we had to decide who we were- do we choose to be positive members of the world and flourish that way or do we allow others to define who we are?”

Time has a way of healing old wounds, through a shared appreciation of Fashion, cultural bridges have been built over time, transforming perceptions of the Middle East. “2001 divided people, but now fashion is starting to bring people together,” notes Baird-Murray.

At a time when so much is in flux it is important to remember the region’s rich cultural heritage, that history is such a powerful tool to harness in a magazine, says Aubry, “in some generations of the Middle East there is a disconnect with their history, especially when it comes to the region’s engagement with modernity. In the 1930’s Baghdad for example, was a thriving cultural metropolis where the arts flourished thanks to a cosmopolitan mix of Muslims, Christians and Jews. At the same time there are many examples of emancipated women dating from the 1900’s -1920’s in Tunis, Egypt and Palestine, while the 1960’s and 70s saw women from the Arabian Gulf traveling overseas to get higher degrees and coming back to their countries as the first lawyers, educators and doctors. This is also the history of the region and somehow if you are going to have a magazine like Vogue, it needs to convey those histories as well. One can’t build a future unless they understand their past (both the good and bad). One cannot expect other people to understand this legacy unless one steps up and shares it with others.” ‌•