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About
“If the electricity grid suddenly lost power, we could simply ask Deena to restart it,”
… reflects a colleague of Deena Abdulaziz, acknowledging the natural force of energy that exudes from the Saudi entrepreneur. "It surprises many because upon first meeting one doesn't expect such power to emanate from someone so graceful and composed."
Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz is a Saudi-American, born in Santa Barbara. She has lived in Riyadh, Paris & New York, where she currently resides. Deena is a dynamic entrepreneur focusing on the luxury fashion industry & was the co-founder, alongside a close childhood friend, of the successful Riyadh-based concept store, D'NA. In 2006, Deena became known as a trusted buyer with expertise in bridging Western & Middle Eastern consumer audiences and spotting new design talent ahead of the curve. The Doha store followed, and D'NA became synonymous with introducing emerging fashion talent to the Arabian Gulf region. In 2015, Deena was the founding editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia, conceptualizing its mission statement as a "love letter to the Middle East". Deena has since been honing her craft as a buyer, visiting showrooms & studios across the world, and preparing for her magnum opus.
Deena's commitment and passion is laser-focused on her family and nurturing the next generations of image makers and fashion creatives. With a boundless enthusiasm for learning detail, many who know her remark on the encyclopedic knowledge she possesses of popular culture and modern fashion history. Coupled with her instinctive buyer's eye, her career has focused on celebrating authentic Arab talent and paving a way for more regional voices to be given exposure. Deena will launch her landmark podcast series, titled "First", in 2024.
Deena is a revered global style icon leading sartorial trends; she is a consistent street style reference on the fashion month circuit having been photographed by the likes of Sandra Semburg and Phil Oh, delivering fresh outfit inspiration to multiple generations.
Aged six, Deena opened the pages of her mother's copy of British Tatler, and so a love story began between the young girl living between two cultures and fashion photography. In those foundational early years, as she witnessed the graceful way her mother would ritualistically practice self-care and dress daily, an understanding was formed of the importance of clothing for a person's well-being and self expression. One lesson was clear - elegance is something one naturally has, irrespective of wealth or wardrobe depth. Magazines became the window to the fashion world for teenage Deena, her bedroom walls pasted in tear sheets from iconic shoots: Peter Lindbergh and Horst P. Horst photographs, and the Supers would catch her gaze as she paced around her space dreaming up her own vision of a future where children in East and West don't seem so unusual to one another... and where fashion would one day be truly universal and speak to all cultures with respect. These iconic images would have fresh meaning one day soon.
With the advent of digital media, the world has become smaller and more complex but there is one modern woman who can lace it all together without forgetting the excellence of fashion's past. The mission is simple but bold, to challenge the perception of the Gulf in the West with new storytelling that will inspire today's global citizens. Elegance is all.
Deena is listed in the Business of Fashion's BoF 500.
For Creative Partnerships: It has never been more important to understand the intricate nuances of the Gulf region than it is today. Applying her deep knowledge and expertise of luxury fashion/art/beauty/media/buying, Deena can effectively advise leading creatives on their collections and fine-tune strategies to embrace the discerning Middle Eastern consumer and generate meaningful growth for premium brands.
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