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Words by alex aubry
➤
styleThe
Bazaar joins Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz on
a buying trip to New York for her store D’NA in Riyadh
as designers pay tribute to the visionary retailer
saudi to soho
In the sleek lobby of her SoHo hotel, Deena Aljuhani
Abdulaziz intently studies her iPad; carefully mapping
out her first day of the New York autumn/winter 2012
collections. “It used to be that only certain designers with
a distinct point of view would show on the runway.
Today anyone with a corporate sponsorship can put on
a fashion show,” observes Deena of a calendar that has
ballooned to accommodate over 300 shows.
To make her point, she
flips through her schedule;
regularly updated by her office
in Riyadh. Each hour of the
day is colour-coded to signify
a show, buying appointment or
business meeting; leaving little
time for a lunch break. “With
so many names on the calendar,
you have to navigate through
a lot of noise to discover the real
talent,” she notes.
Yet it is precisely her ability to
pinpoint fashion’s future stars,
which has made her one of the
most influential Middle Eastern
players on the international
fashion scene. Since launching
the iconic Riyadh-based D’NA store/gallery in 2006,
together with childhood friend Manal Al Rashid, Deena
has carved out a niche for herself amongst noted retailers
such as 10 Corso Como’s Carla Sozzani, Maria Luisa
Poumaillou, and Colette’s Sarah Lerfel.
Deena on her way to the Prabal
Gurung show in a green Marni fur
coat, lion cuffs by Rodarte and
Marni printed leather clutch
Bazaar imagines
Princess Deena
Aljuhani Abdulaziz
wearing new season
Haider Ackermann
En route to the Theyskens’
Theory show. Deena wears
snake double ring by
Loree Rodkin, bird ring by
Istanbul-based jeweller Sevan
Biçakçi and vintage Christian
Louboutin fur clutch
At the CFDA’s recent
celebrations to mark its 50th
anniversary, Deena was the only
Arab retailer amongst a roster of
fashion heavyweights
Deena opened
D’NA in Riyadh
in 2006 with her
childhood friend
Manal Al Rashid
(above and right)
illustrations:aliciamalesani.photographs:toddmcintire.alexaubrey
meet the
mostimportant
middle
eastern
womaninfashion

2. At a time when European designers cornered the
luxury market in the Middle East, Deena made it her
mission to introduce Saudi women to a new generation
of American designers. Today the roster of labels she
stocks at her members-only store includes an eclectic mix
of pieces by Alexander Wang, The Row, Suno and
Opening Ceremony to name a few.
Convincing some of the world’s most desirable
and cutting-edge talents to stock their wares at
her boutique was no easy feat, especially when
one considers the amount of back room
negotiating that goes on within the industry
to ensure exclusive contracts between
retailers and designers.
Talent Scout
One of the first labels she signed up was
the Iranian-American designer Behnaz
Sarafpour. The pair first met at Barneys
New York and became close friends.
According to the designer, Deena set
herself apart from other retailers early
on. “As a buyer, clothes aren’t simply
atransactionforher,butanopportunity
to develop and nurture relationships
with designers,” she explains. “At D’NA,
she’s created this unique environment where art,
fashion and design come together, and she
knows instinctively how to show a designer’s
work in the best possible light,” adds Behnaz.
“I remember first meeting Deena when she
was being fitted for her wedding dress at Azzedine
Alaïa,” recalls Sophie Théallet, the New York-
based French designer who was Alaïa’s right
hand for over a decade. “She was a very
young girl then, but at the time I was
impressed by her knowledge of fashion, and
years later when I launched my own line, she
was one of the first retailers to purchase
my collection.”
illustration:aliciamalesani.photographs:toddmcintire.alexaubrey.gettyimages
130|Harper’s BAZAAR|March 2012 March 2012|Harper’s BAZAAR|131
styleThe
STYLE DNA
Deena’s choice of Alaïa, a fashion insider’s
favourite, for her big day comes as no surprise
when one considers that she has been
reading Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue since
the age of 12. Even her taste in movies
often slants towards a certain aesthetic;
she cites The Earrings of Madame de...,
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, All About Eve and
Eyes of Laura Mars as some of her
favourite films.
She also credits her tall and slender
mother with nurturing her early
love of fashion. “She would dress
in elegant pantsuits and could tie
a scarf around her neck like a well
seasoned Parisienne. I’ve always
considered her the epitome of chic
and the ideal Saint Laurent woman,”
smiles the Saudi retailer.
For Deena, who grew up in Riyadh, fashion isn’t
simply a business but a passion. “Growing up in
the early ’90s, one couldn’t simply Google
information about a designer or a fashion house.
Instead we had to seek out that knowledge in other
ways, through magazines, books, and the few
television shows that covered fashion at the time,”
she remembers, citing an early education that
would contribute to her success in the industry.
EARLY ADOPTER
New York Fashion Week will find Deena
crisscrossing uptown, downtown and all
points in between in search of elusive talent.
“I will walk up 10 flights of rickety stairs, or
visit an out of the way loft in Chinatown to
see the work of a designer I believe in,” she
says of her devotion to spotting raw talent.
Currently on her radar is Creatures of the
Wind, a quirky Chicago based-label known
for fusing craft, folk and punk references
into its feminine collections. “Fashion for
me is like any other art form. You have to
develop a critical eye over time in order to
single out unique talent,” says Deena, who was the first
retailer to purchase Jason Wu’s début collection, amongst
plenty of others. Indeed many of the young talents she
supported early in their careers have since won coveted
rodartea/w12
juancarlosobandoa/w12
SophieThÉalleta/w12
prabalgurunga/w12prabalgurunga/w12
ohnetitela/w12
Deena pairs a minimalist
green coat with fringe
dress by Marni and a
Celestina mother of pearl
clutch for the shows
Council of Fashion Designers of America
(CFDA) awards, a fact not lost on individuals
in the industry. At the CFDA’s recent celebrations
to mark its 50th anniversary, Deena was the only
Arab retailer amongst a roster of fashion
heavyweights.
“She was the first to buy my collection when
I launched it, and her early support helped me
build my business,” recalls the designer
Prabal Gurung, the name behind one of
New York’s most coveted labels. Her early
patronage has meant that designers will
frequently go out of their way to produce
one-off pieces for her store, a rare practice in
an industry that has become increasingly
corporate in nature.
FIVE YEARS IN FASHION
When it came time to celebrate her store’s 5th anniversary,
Deena tapped friends such as Kate and Laura Mulleavy
of Rodarte, Giles Deacon, Consuelo Castiglioni of
Marni, Isaac Mizrahi and Erickson Beamon to
re-imagine the D’NA logo. The resulting installation
of original art work by some of fashion’s biggest
names points to her unique relationship with the
designers she carries.
Industry tributes flowed in
when DN’A celebrated five
years recently
Deena was the only Arab retailer invited
to the opening of the CFDA’s IMPACT
exhibition. Her favourite hairstylist Garren,
signs a copy of his article in Interview
magazine, “To Deena, a woman of style.”
Deena’s notes and
sketches from the Rodarte
and Creatures of the Wind
A/W12 shows (left)
Isaac Mizrahi
sent greetings
D’NA logo by
Erickson Beamon
Marni re-imagines
the D’NA logo
➤
Prabal Gurung’s
A/W collection

3. photographs:toddmcintire.alexaubrey
illustration:aliciamalesani
March 2012|Harper’s BAZAAR|133
styleThe
During a visit to Ohne Titel, the edgy label designed
by Alexa Adams and Flora Gill, Deena scans the racks of
clothes, quickly selecting pieces for her store. “What sets
her apart from most buyers is that she thinks like an
editor. Buying appointments with her are relatively easy
because she knows exactly what will work for her clients.
At the same time she always selects the strongest pieces
in the collection,” observes Flora.
PERSONAL STYLE
It is Deena’s approachable attitude and professionalism
which have caught the attention of designers and
magazine editors alike, among whom her unique sense of
style does not go unnoticed. “I still remember the first
“If I can’t have control over
my vision for the store, I wouldn’t
have opened it in the first place”
Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz
Deena places an order at Honor,
the coveted New York label
designed by Giovanna Randall
time I met her. She came to our studio to view the
collection in an amazing fur dress by the Paris-based
Turkish designer Dice Kayek,” recalled Alexa Adams of
Ohne Titel. “It’s always a treat to see what she will be
wearing at each appointment, as it’s an opportunity to see
how a real client wears a designer’s pieces,” she continues.
Despite celebrating her 5th year in business, Deena
is already planning her next move. “We are constantly
thinking outside the box in terms of how to create
a unique experience for our customers. It’s not simply
about expanding the store’s presence, but creating
a positive brand that bridges cultures through a shared
appreciation for all things fashion and design.”
Dnyriyadh.com; +966 1 419 9966
CREATIVE COLLABORATION
Entering the Rodarte show last month, one of the most
anticipated presentations of the week, Deena navigates
her way through a throng of editors and buyers, receiving
nods of recognition and greetings from the likes of Linda
Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman and Net-a-Porter’s Natalie
Massenet. Taking her front row seat, she eyes the crowd
intently, for Mrs. Aljuhani is also a shrewd observer of
the fashion industry. “When you’ve worked in this
business for a while, you realise how small a world
fashion is. Everyone will either know you or have heard
of you at some point.”
Despite building friendships within the fashion world,
she makes it clear that in order to nurture talent one also
needs to provide constructive criticism. “I try to
support talented young designers, but if the
ideas aren’t executed well or the quality is lacking
then I can not place them on my sales floor.
Smart designers will often listen to buyers in
order to understand the needs of their clients,”
she explains.
“She doesn’t simply pick out clothes for the
store,” agrees L.A.-based designer Juan Carlos
Obando. “We will often sit down and dissect
a collection to rework it for her specific clients.
I consider her a collaborator, who is an amazing
colourist and has the ability to make me look at my
collection in a fresh way.”
CLEAR VISION
Unlike other prominent retailers, you won’t find
a gaggle of assistants trailing behind Deena. She is very
hands on; selecting, inspecting and ordering each item.
“If I can’t have control over my vision for the store,
I wouldn’t have opened it in the first place,” she confides.
Inspecting a look on a model
from Suno’s A/W12 collection
Bazaar imagines a model
showcasing Sophie Théallet’s
collection during an A/W12
buying appointment
Deena’s invitation to the
Ohne Titel show nestles
amongst a vintage orange
Prada bag and Christian
Louboutin fur clutch
n
The Rodarte studio provides
a wealth of buying options
for Deena (right)
Autumnal hues
at Rodarte
Deena snaps Rodarte’s
debut shoe line for
A/W12
132|Harper’s BAZAAR|March 2012