Crowning Glory of Motherhood: A Letter From Our Editor | Harper’s Bazaar January 2024
Bazaar Arabia’s Group Editor in Chief Olivia Phillips sits down with Her Royal Highness Sheikha Mahra to discuss their exciting entry into motherhood
It is a great honour and privilege to be revealing this month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia – one of the most prestigious we have ever produced in our 15-plus years of publishing the magazine. Her Highness Sheikha Mahra Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – daughter of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai, and Zoe Grigorakos – cuts an elegant, regal figure as our very first cover star of 2024. A moment that also marks Her Highness’ first-ever magazine cover and accompanying interview. An honour indeed.
Additionally, and on a very personal level, this issue is all the more special for me in a couple of ways. Firstly, I’m delighted to have been granted a rare audience with Her Highness, who shared her wisdom with me on growing up half-Greek, and her impending foray into the beautiful world of motherhood – both things we serendipitously happen to share. On that note, this will be my final Editor’s Letter for a while as I head off on maternity leave. We already have some incredible, iconic plans for Bazaar this year which I will be proudly watching unfold – but for now with a baby bottle in one hand and Sophie the Giraffe in another.
My partner (understandably) scolds me for saying this, but since I took the reins at the end of 2019, I’ve jokingly referred to Bazaar as my first baby. As I now await my first actual baby, a daughter, I’m even prouder to be part of creating a magazine whose heart beats to uplift women. I can’t wait to teach her a lot of things – but mostly just how brilliant it is to be a girl, and how much power she can have if she is fearless enough to claim it.
Photography: Vladimir Marti. Styling: Nour Bou Ezz. Editor in Chief and Words: Olivia Phillips. Make-Up: Alberto at Alberto Make-Up. Hair: Ebraheem AlSoleman. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Hair Stylist’s Assistant: Sam Asaad. Lighting Assistant: Mark Anthony Navarro. Fashion Assistants: Charlotte Marsh Williams & Christina Leighton.
Special thanks to Sofia Khan and Al Seef Heritage Hotel.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s January 2024 issue.
