2020: 2.0 A Letter From Our Editor | Harper’s Bazaar Arabia January 2021 Issue
As a fresh year, a new era and better days await us, Editor in Chief Olivia Phillips takes a look into the future for what’s to come in 2021 and beyond…
The challenge with writing a bouncy, upbeat letter of hope for January – surely the only kind of letter anyone wants to read at the start of any new year, let alone this one – is that if there’s one thing that 2020 taught us, it’s that nothing is certain. So as we step – or perhaps hobble – out of the shadows of the towering annus horribilis that was 2020, I can’t promise that everything to come will be perfect, or wonderful… or even vaguely less precarious. But what I can say with some certainty, is that – regardless of the waves we have all learned to surf – there is always, always sunshine to be found somewhere.
For us, and for this issue, that means looking ahead to the excitement and innovation of the future; be it fashion’s newfound digi-romance (shopping meets artificial intelligence and virtual reality, and, honestly, tech has never been sexier), or how to biohack your brain (it’s a thing) to enter the new year with improved mental health, focus and positivity.
We spoke to Dr. Kristen Willeumier and emerged considerably more optimised for 2021; while elsewhere, we explored skincare’s crystal-charged new dawn, interviewing Emma Goodman, the holistic healer and secret weapon behind Hollywood’s ubiquitous glow, as well as sat down with HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, AKA Saudi’s famed ‘Vegan Prince’, to talk Veganuary, sustainability, and if we really will all be eating lab-grown meat in the very near future.
But as uplifting (and – let’s be honest – fun) as it is to consider the riveting, emergent paths of possibility, there’s also great comfort to be found in that which is enduring; from Hermès to Bottega Veneta, we celebrate the timeless beauty of craft.
Last but certainly not least, to our cover star – the illustrious Balqees Fathi, who celebrates a decade in music this year. Just like the rest of us, 2020 has unearthed some hard-won truths for the singer, but she has emerged wiser, stronger, and more inspired; three silver linings we should all be wrestling from the cold grip of 2020 and taking with us onward – into the light…
Editor’s Picks…
Sunglasses, Dhs1,220 Celine
Dress, Dhs8,895, Bottega Veneta
Earrings, Dhs1,305, Chloé
Ring, Dhs1,176 Maison Margiela
Bag, Dhs2,305 Tom Ford
Bag, Dhs2,305 Tom Ford
From Olivia’s Desk…
The Undoing: Not only reminded me how much I enjoy Hugh Grant’s plummy British accent, but how brilliant a serious actor he is, capable of far more than just prancing around to The Pointer Sisters in Love Actually (as enjoyable as this still is, obviously).
Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval, Dhs135
Hypernature Candle Set, Dhs515, Boy Smells
Frozen Cookie Dough, from Dhs45 for six, For Real Dough Dubai
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s January 2021 Issue