Editor-In-Chief Olivia Phillips Introduces The Bicentennial Issue Of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
Reflecting on 200 issues filled with style and soul, Olivia Phillips presents the April 2025 issue of Bazaar Arabia
Can you remember March 2007? Maybe Ya Tabtab Wa Dallaa was on your iPod Shuffle. Maybe you were swooning over Jon Hamm in Mad Men. Maybe you were trying – but ultimately failing – to dodge the Juicy Couture phenomenon that draped the unsuspecting public (me included) in rainbow-toned velour. It was a far simpler time than we possibly could have imagined; pre-Covid, pre-BLM, pre-#MeToo… but thankfully one that made way for the very first issue of Harper’s Bazaar in the GCC – the oldest fashion magazine in the world setting up shop on our majestic, revolutionary, beautifully nuanced shores. An iconic, global fashion force landing in one of the most exciting regions on the planet. Local expertise; world-class standards.
It was a flag in the proverbial desert sand – and a foretelling of the fierce globalisation and connectivity that we were about to be thrust into thanks to the imminent launch of the iPhone. Two-hundred issues later, and while the world looks very different, our mission has remained the same. Simply, to be a guide to life. A compass and a mirror, a barometer and a chronicle – even when the times we’re reflecting seem to be the darkest. War, pandemics, cultural reckonings… arguably, that’s when we need magazines the most. In my five-and-a half years as Editor-in-Chief, there’s nothing I’ve become more sure of. The escapism they deliver; the community they galvanise; the conversations they inspire… there’s something truly beautiful – and important – in all of it. It is a rare privilege to steer one. Even rarer when it’s Harper’s Bazaar.
With 200 issues comes countless memories. We lit up the Burj Khalifa with our covers. Shut down Mall of the Emirates with Victoria Beckham. Styled Kim Kardashian as Cher, dressed Iris Apfel in Arab couture and partnered with Creative Space Beirut to uplift underprivileged Lebanese youth. We shot royalty of all kinds; from Queen Rania to Rihanna, Yousra, Iman and Bella Hadid. We made Elyanna fly, picked Sheryl Sandberg’s brain and shared a sandwich in the staff canteen with Tyra Banks. One particularly memorable evening, I was even summoned to get on a call with The White House. Over the past 18 years, we’ve made waves worldwide and made change closer to home. And the ride is far from over.
The world – and the industry – may still be in flux, but we promise this: among it all, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia will remain a champion of women, a platform for authentic Arab voices, and a meaningful force for good. Fashion with feeling, I’ve always called it. Style, but more importantly – soul.
Editor-in-Chief: Olivia Phillips. Acting Editor-in-Chief: Sophia Serin. Creative Director: Marne Schwartz, Tamim Mortaza; Vice President: Farrah Taylor. Group Managing Editor & Words: Natasha Faruque. Art Director: Paul Solomons. Photographer: Mattia Guolo, Vladimir Marti. Movement: Jamie Neale, Adrien Galo. Production: Steff Hawker, Jean-Marc Mondelet. Make-up Direction: Anna Sadamori, Raffaele Romagnoli. Set Styling: Camille Rousseau. Videography: Maycon Dehan. Fashion: Gabriela Cambero, Charlotte Marsh-Williams. Hair Direction: Jean-Luc Amarin, Adam Garland. Nail Artist: Nafissa Djabi, Leyla Mistry. Photography Assistants: Alessia Azzolini, Alessio Spanu, Manfredi Prestigiacomo, Macky Navarro; Videography Assistants: Larissy Leandro. Production Manager: Gijo Thomas. Image Editor: Jemima Joy. Production Coordination: Erin Steel, Chloe Christodoulou, Marina Moravenova. Hair Assistants: Tracey Nguyen, Yihan Jen, Ziyan Zhang, Wenting Zhangn, Bella Hudgell. Make-up Assistants: Ismahane Benabbou, Natalia Bokan, Roberto Meloni, Sitara Nash, Gabriel Leggieri. Nail Assistants: Yasmine Hilali. Editorial: Milli Midwood, Meeran Mekkaoui.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia April 2025 Issue