Dear readers,
Today is a landmark day for Style.com/Arabia. Thirteen months ago, following the Spring 2013 New York Fashion Week shows, we announced the launch of Style.com/Arabia with Condé Nast. We publicly launched the site one month later, and today marks the one-year anniversary of that launch.
We’ve long believed that the Middle East has been underserved by international and regional media, particularly with respect to fashion. Over the past few years, a spotlight has been placed on the region and the growing importance and power of this market. Regional governments have made visible investments in businesses and the fashion industry overall. All of this has only further underscored our belief in our cause and hastened our pace.
As the Middle East’s first Condé Nast fashion and beauty publication, a sister site of the industry stalwart Style.com, and our region’s first fully bilingual fashion publication, our mission is grandiose. Our cause and vision are clear. A vision dedicated to elevating the regional fashion scene to a truly global level — and to increasingly bringing the world to this region. A vision dedicated to supporting home-grown talents and to providing them an international platform to help them flourish. A vision dedicated to writing the tough stories and providing the necessary critique needed to move our region and industry forward. And a vision dedicated to helping to provide our burgeoning fashion ecosystem with the structure it needs and shaping it from within.
In the past year, we have published thousands of stories, and tens of thousands of words, all in English and Arabic. We have reached hundreds of thousands of readers from over 190 countries — nearly every country in the world. And our team of reporters and correspondents has traversed the globe to bring you the most in-depth, interesting information — and first.
There have been many notable milestones along the way. Here are a handful of my favorites:
Intimate interviews with industry heavyweights such as Viktor & Rolf, Karlie Kloss, and Luca Turin, as well as exciting new talents such as Tunisia’s eL Seed.
Countless runway reviews of marquee brands such as Saint Laurent, Hermès, Chanel, and Prada.
The appointment of the aforementioned Luca Turin, the award-winning author and subject of numerous best-selling books, as our staff perfume critic. His ongoing column, Message in a Bottle, is a must read.
And the growing visibility of our own Moez Achour, the Middle East’s first and most talented street style photographer, who in just two seasons with us has emerged on the international scene.
As a brand, Style.com/Arabia already spans many platforms — beyond our site there’s our iPhone and iPad apps, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. And yet, this is only the beginning. Our path stretches far off into the distance. Next month, our dedicated men’s section will officially launch. Over the next few months, and even more so over the next few years, there will be much more coming. And we will continue to work passionately and tirelessly to serve you, our readers.
Thank you for joining us on this remarkable journey, one step at a time.
Yours,
Shashi Menon
CEO & Publisher, Style.com/Arabia
