5 Women Changing the Face of Vintage Shopping in The MENA Region
These treasure hunters are doing it, one piece at a time…
What do a Tom Ford-era Gucci velvet suit, a 1950s Dior Bar jacket, a 1968 Courrèges space- age gown and a Prada shift dress from the Autumn/Winter 1998 collection all have in common? Firstly, finding one of these holy-grail items will elicit a serotonin boost like no other. Secondly, if you’re wearing one of these, the chances of an outfit clash at your next social engagement are next to zero. Thirdly, owning at least one of these pieces unofficially makes you a collector, not a shopaholic.
We spoke with five women who know the thrill of the vintage hunt better than anyone – so much so, that they’ve founded businesses dedicated to the curation and sharing of pristine pre-loved pieces. After all, true vintage lovers don’t gatekeep – it’s all about the skill of the hunt.
Juny Breeze
Model, Influencer and Founder of Juny Breeze Vintage
Juny Breeze is more than just a pretty face. The Moroccan- Egyptian multi-hyphenate is a model, influencer and owner of the eponymous vintage store, Juny Breeze Vintage. Born and raised in Paris, where she still lives and works, Breeze credits her mother for instilling her with an appreciation for vintage.
“My mother was already thrift shopping as a teenager [in Casablanca, Morocco],” Juny tells Bazaar. “Coming from a modest family, the only ‘stylish’ clothes she could afford were the ones given away by rich, old ladies in Paris, sold for charity at a store called ‘El Bal’ in Casablanca.” Juny’s mother quickly learned how to identify tailor-made Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, which she’d pick up for Dhs20 a piece.
Evidently, Juny inherited her mother’s eye for fashion. Her Instagram, a curated selection of impeccably styled outfits, has garnered more than 162,000 followers. It was through the platform that she started selling pieces from her personal collection, going on to set up her namesake vintage store, Juny Breeze Vintage, in 2020.
It’s not always easy saying goodbye to special pieces, Juny tells us. “I still remember how I shed tears over selling this incredible Moschino runway set from the late ’90s. But I know the woman who bought it and it made her day when she received it. That cheered me up!” The vintage treasures Juny will never part with? A Saint Laurent suit, a purple Thierry Mugler dress and a Courrèges nylon set from the 1960s. We don’t blame her.
Lina Sabry
Founder of Reeborn Vintage
We have a vintage Gucci bag to thank for the birth of Reeborn Vintage – although founder Lina Sabry’s love for treasure hunting dates back to her childhood. But more on that later.
“In 2018, I found an incredible, vintage Gucci Boat Pochette,” says the Egyptian-born, Abu Dhabi-based businesswoman. “It was the first designer item I ever bought myself, and it was a bargain! It definitely encouraged me to keep buying vintage, which led to me eventually selling my finds.”
As you’d expect, Reeborn Vintage is the place to go for vintage bags, as well as shoes and sunglasses (amongst other treasures). There are Carrie Bradshaw-worthy Fendi baguettes and technicolour Takashi Murakami x Louis Vuitton pochettes and, of course, some iconic Gucci pieces. “As a kid, I would dig through my mum, aunty and grandmother’s closets and pick out random things that I wanted to keep for ‘when I was older’,” laughs Lina. “I still have those pieces! I was always collecting. Literally – since I was around 10.”
Before she founded Reeborn Vintage, Lina worked as a full-time graphic designer and collected vintage as a hobby. “I’d used the pieces I collected for styling shoots with my friends,” she says. “By 2019, I had collected a large amount of rare pieces that I hadn’t seen people in the UAE wear or own and I wanted to create something with what I had. I decided to drop everything I was working on and shift my focus, and it’s been the best decision I ever made.”
Sarah Faisal al Saud
Director of Baraboux
If you’re into hard-to-come-by ’90s Prada, John Galliano for Christian Dior, pristine Ann Demeulemeester, and Tom Ford-era Gucci, you’ll find your spiritual home in Baraboux. The website – and London space – is helmed by 24-year-old Sarah Faisal al Saud, who inherited the brand once owned by her mother, and transformed it into a vintage boutique.
“Baraboux in itself came from my name,” Sarah says. “It was a nickname me and my cousin had come up with for ourselves, coming from ‘Scooby Dooby Do’ and becoming ‘Sarah Bara Boo’, which my mum took on and added the ‘oux’,” she explains.
The pieces that Sarah, who moved to London eight years ago, and her team source are the stuff of dreams. “One of my recent favourite finds is a Gucci by Tom Ford sparkly dress from Spring/Summer 1997 that Victoria Beckham once wore,” she says. “Another is a beautiful white dress designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga’s Spring/ Summer 2001 collection.”
Sarah’s love for fashion runs in the family. “My personal experience with clothes began in Saudi, going into my aunt’s closet and playing dress up,” she explains. But if there was one designer that she has a particular predilection for it would be the work of Miuccia Prada. Sarah has amassed a serious collection for the store. “We’ve managed to source 75 pieces from Miu Miu and Prada’s Autumn/Winter 1998 collections,” she reveals. Be still our beating hearts.
Tatiana Fayad
Founder of Nouvelle Vague and Co-Founder of Vanina
As an avid collector of vintage, Tatiana Fayad was frustrated by the lack of vintage stores in Lebanon and beyond. That’s why, in 2018, she decided to take matters into her own hands and open Nouvelle Vague – a Beirut-based vintage boutique and e-commerce platform. “I knew it wasn’t an easy task because the market was still very niche,” she says. “But I felt a strong desire to introduce vintage shopping to Beirut’s most fashion-savvy clientele.”
So Tatiana did just that. Nouvelle Vague is a vintage lover’s paradise, its physical and virtual shelves abundantly stocked with rare designer finds as well as non-label vintage that catches Tatiana’s discerning eye. “I am always on the lookout for designer pieces such as vintage Ungaro, Thierry Mugler, Escada and Versace, but my favourites are always lesser-known designers that are exquisite in terms of tailoring and quality,” she recounts.
Tatiana is forever on the lookout for those extra-special pieces. A Christian Dior by John Galliano newspaper dress, a 1980s classic quilted Chanel bag and a grape-hued Versace dress from the late 1990s are all high on her current wish list. And when she isn’t curating dream vintage, she’s working on Vanina, the Lebanese label and social enterprise she co-founded.
Tatiana’s husband then joined as CEO of Nouvelle Vague. “It took me a couple of years but I am glad that I finally convinced him to take the entrepreneurial leap,” she says. “I have big dreams for Nouvelle Vague and I am very excited for what’s next.”
Zineb Ismaili
Founder of Ayam Zamane and Maison Perenne
Rabat-based entrepreneur Zineb Ismaili had been working in the corporate world until the pandemic and subsequent lockdown gave her time to pause for thought and reroute her career path. “Being home and having more time to rethink my habits was a catalyst for making a decision to leave the corporate world,” she says. “I asked myself, what is my ikigai [a Japanese word that roughly translates to a ‘reason for being’]? Vintage clothing came naturally to me, as it links one of my most important values, sustainability, and one of my biggest passions, which is fashion. And this is how Ayam Zamane was born.”
Zineb sources around 800 pieces a month for Ayam Zamane, including vintage Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Escada. Select pieces are then showcased via Instagram Reels, and followers can buy via the platform, at once-a-month pop-ups (which take place all over Morocco) or at Ayam Zamane’s new flagship store.
“My mother is the person who transmitted this love of vintage to me,” Zineb reveals. “She buys consciously with respect for the fabric and the designer process. She also takes very good care of her pieces and gives them a second life.”
Zineb has taken this mantra to the next level with the launch of Maison Perenne, an upcycled clothing brand she founded with her sister, as an extension of Ayam Zamane. “Maison Perenne uses unsold items from Ayam Zamane to create stylish, unique pieces,” she explains. “We design trousers from blankets, kimonos from silk scarves and jackets from patchwork fabrics to give them a second life – a noble one.”
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s September 2023 issue
