Happy Not Perfect: A Letter From Our Editor | Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s October 2020 Issue
We have dedicated this issue – our 150th! – to imperfection in its many perceived forms. Bazaar editor in chief Olivia Phillips shares why our flaws should be cause for celebration
It’s 10 years this month since Instagram muscled its way into our lives, at first innocuously, then insidiously, and finally, laughably, without even having to try, like a bigger kid taking your lunch money.
Did you know that last month, more than one billion people posted photos to Instagram? And for all its wonders (see: galvanising social movements, democratising art, fashion, speech…), it’s lasting legacy will no doubt be how it completely overpowered human nature; one big dopamine hit that rocked and rewired the world.
It’s pretty apt timing, then, that this month also plays host to World Mental Health Day on 10th (along with Less Than Perfect Day on 1st and International Failure Day on 13th), a trifecta of tribulations that so many of us – myself included – battle with on a frighteningly regular basis.
And not to entirely point the finger of blame squarely at, well, those little squares, but the advent of social media as a whole has certainly correlated with an uptick in mental-health issues among young and old alike, taking our basic instincts for comparison and scrutiny and dialling them up to 100, with the added bonus of total addiction thrown in.
So what to do? We’ve dedicated this issue to imperfection in all its messy glory, with a view to embracing it, unpicking the learnings that can be found in it, and finally, importantly, shattering the stigma that surrounds the mental-health issues it can create. The message? It’s OK to be imperfect – and it’s OK not to be OK.
We enlisted the help of two Middle Eastern mental-health professionals – Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said and Dr. Saliha Afridi – to respectively share how we can all improve our mental health right now (p.55), and to speak candidly about her own battle with perfectionism (The Perils of Perfection, p.86). If a psychologist can bravely own up to her own inner struggles, then we all can.
Our talented cover girl, Moroccan-Spanish actress and star of Netflix’s Élite, Mina El Hammani, also shares her view on tackling this, by way of learning to live truly in the moment – a valuable, recurring piece of advice throughout the issue. Read her story on p.88.
It wouldn’t be an issue on imperfection without touching on beauty ideals, so turn to p.190 where acid-attack victim and model, Katie Piper, tells us how she’s rewriting the rules around the industry, demanding it to change. Elsewhere, we asked 10 regional powerhouse women to share their biggest failures, and how they used them as a springboard for eventual success (Perfectly Imperfect, p.78).
I’m delighted to be putting out such a meaningful issue on the occasion of our birthday – this marks the 150th issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia – and we’re celebrating, true to form, with a collection of the most empowering quotes, life lessons and bon mots that our esteemed cover stars and interviewees have told us over the years. What have we learned? In Words To Live By on p.62 we share all our wisdom.
I hope you’re inspired by the issue. Here it is – imperfectt.
Editor’s Picks…
Sunglasses, Dhs807, Kaleos
Ring, Dhs6,243, L’atelier Nawbar
Jumpsuit, Dhs18,628, Oscar de la Renta
Bag, Dhs8,596, Gucci
Lipstick, Byredo Makeup
Sandals, Dhs1,395, By Far
From Olivia’s (WFH) Desk…
Netflix’s The Social Dilemma had me both gripped and turning my phone over this month, “Checkmate, humanity,” being a particularly harrowing quote I took away from the documentary that explores our addiction and vulnerability to social media
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Langage by Gretchen McCulloch, Dhs39
Poetic Shirt, Dhs1,395, S.A.R.K London
Happy Not Perfect, Free, Apple App Store
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s October 2020 Issue