Life

Fashion is my happy place. My entire career has been shaped by the creativity and ingenuity of the people and brands that shape how we dress and present ourselves to the world. Having spent over 20 years sitting in the front rows of ready-to-wear, haute couture and menswear shows around the globe, I have seen first-hand how fashion can shift, in the space of a 10-minute runway presentation, the cultural conversation.

So it should come as no surprise that the team leaned into this month’s theme, The Sartorial Issue, with gusto. We fully embraced the colour of the season with our fiery cover shoot, which shows off the best red looks each brand had burning bright in their collections, Woman On Fire (page 36). And we have a number of features on women who are shaping different aspects of the fashion landscape in the region, from the premium luxury space, Shop Girl (page 32) to the showrooms, Bi-coastal Brilliance (page 50) and an oral history of the building of the region’s first model agency, Bareface, Picture Perfect (page 82), not to mention highlighting the one-to-watch Saudi brand Rebirth, Dream Weaver (page 28).

We also celebrate the news that Emirati Women’s Day has now been, rightfully, expanded to a month-long celebration with an interview with Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi and five other leading Emirati women, Six Women, One Legacy (page 70). As well as a profile, The Ties That Bind (page 78), of Her Excellency Reem Bin Karam, the director general of Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council.

Finally, I want to encourage all of our readers to go to the Emirates Woman website and cast their vote for this year’s Emirates Woman Awards. We are celebrating our 45th anniversary—yes, you read that right—and with that in mind, we have changed the awards to reflect more closely the accomplishments of the women we feature in our pages. Rather than linking the awards to a month, we have created new categories that better embody the different areas of excellence the female leaders of the region are making their mark. Happy voting and enjoy the issue.