D1 Editorial

On Bringing Elegance Back

Since my first letter for Deenathe1st everything has changed. Seasons have shifted: be it scorching summer to crisp fall, from haute couture to ready-to-wear, and from our launch to being a brand that is four months young, now in post-launch status. Things move fast, and nothing at the hyperspeed quite like the fashion industry. Having attended scores of shows in New York and Paris, co-hosting a couture luncheon with FIT to celebrate Simon Porte Jacquemus, and cutting the ribbon on my first ever product collaboration, a few months has felt like a year punctuated by hard work and joy.

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes have been the universal theme for me as we announced D1st X Larroudé. See the full collection and campaign here, lensed by Kevin Tachman. Vogue Runway broke the news to the world on 25th September, our posters landed in special locations across NYC and Paris, and we’ve almost sold out of the metallic wedges within days. So, really, it’s wedges, wedges, and more wedges, people.Interestingly Prada showcased a collection in Milan during fashion month for SS25 which doubled-down on our instinct that the wedge is back. Raf & Miuccia / Marina Larroudé and myself are in alignment. Shop the collection here. 
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Our commitment to passing the microphone to Arab voices in fashion and speaking to legends in the fields of photography and fashion academia has seen a busy schedule in the podcast studio and across the editorial desk. While many cool people were vacationing across the Gulf or balmy parts of Europe, we were in hyper-focus writing and recording mode. Check out our podcast episode with Princess Nourah (founder of Nuun Jewels) and Sotheby’s to explore how Saudi Art is becoming increasingly global, alongside dedicated episodes with the likes of award-winning photographer Albert Watson OBE, on the power of image-making in culture. We’ve interviewed the newly-appointed Editor-in-Chief of Dazed MENA, Ahmad Swaid, had photographer Michel Haddi join us as Contributing Visual Editor, deep-dived on the challenges of navigating the fashion industry with multiple designers, and so much more. 
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It’s fascinating exploring the golden, analogue era of the world - for me this was the ’90s - when concepts like ‘screen time’ and ‘social likes’ were non-existent, Sade was in the charts, and if you didn’t turn up to an atelier to see a collection, you wouldn’t know what you are missing. No less, magazine culture was the only zip-wire into the fascinating lives of the designers, artists, and culture-creators. There’s no better person to welcome onto a podcast to get real on this subject: Dana Brown, writer and formerly Deputy Editor of Vanity Fair, joined me on a nostalgic reverie and gently brought me/the audience back to 2024.

The guest-list for our future editorials are nothing short of strong, so keep checking back in with us here at Deenathe1st.com, on Spotify/Apple Podcasts @FirstsbyDeena, and on IG @byDeenathe1st. Fashion month was enchanting because of the people, but there’s something disillusioned about what’s on the runway right now. Elegance needs a comeback and we’ll do our part to bring that about.And as far as it goes for the future, we are cooking up another collaboration. It will be anything but predictable.

Keep it chic.

Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz