World of Fashion 2021: Meet The Speakers
With less than one day until the festivities commence, Bazaar is excited to introduce you to the brilliant minds, industry movers and shakers, and hosts who will be making an appearance on stage in the coming days…
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Mall of the Emirates will be exploring, unpacking and celebrating this elusive theme throughout this year’s World of Fashion, a five-day affair where some of the most brilliants minds from the region – and beyond – will be invited to debate, debacle and share their thoughts on the evolution of style, art and sustainability in a post “New Norm” era.
From Tuesday, October 12 through to Saturday, October 16 join us in the central atrium to experience talks with the industry’s most innovative designers, make-up masterclasses, styling sessions, a children’s tea party and much more.
Here, Bazaar is pleased to introduce you to a few of our World of Fashion 2021 speakers, who will be making an appearance on stage in the coming days.
Coperni Founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant
Sébastien Meyer (Creative Director & Co-founder) and Arnaud Vaillant (CEO & Co-founder) seem to have found what it takes to make an emerging brand exciting and surprising. Coperni, born in 2013, is one of the most innovative brands of our times. Coperni is a French womenswear brand based in Paris created by Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant.. Their first collaborations brought together their different backgrounds, Sébastien’s expertise in fashion design and Arnaud’s business background. Their first projects were rewarded by the 1er Prix Podium Jeune Styliste in 2009, the Prix Jeune Espoir (discerned by the Institut Supérieur de Commerce in 2012), as well as the 1st Prize of Mod’Art International in 2010.
It is in 2013 that Sébastien decides to create Coperni with the help of Arnaud, who also works at Balenciaga. They immediately win the ANDAM First Collection Prize.
They are distributed at Colette, Le Bon Marché, the Webster, Opening Ceremony (NY, LA and London) and www.thecorner.com amongst others.
Jessica Michault, Deputy Editor of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
Jessica Michault is the deputy editor of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. She is also an award-winning journalist, public speaker and Fashion, Luxury, Beauty consultant. Michault’s 60 Second Fashion Reviews have brought fashion show criticism to the social media sphere and her in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of fashion’s leading movers and shakers, via her Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, has created another avenue for fashion lovers to connect with the industry. She has worked with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron, Mulberry and the Puig group and her articles have been published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and she spent 16 years working at the International Herald Tribune as its online style editor alongside the iconic Suzy Menkes.
Coperni Founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant will be in conversation with Jessica Michault at World of Fashion 2021 on Tuesday, October 12 at 19:30.
Susan Holt, Managing Director at ITP Media Group
Susan Holt is the Managing Director of ITP Media Group with a team of over 150+ on brands including Time Out, Harper’s Bazaar and Arabian Business. She has been in the UAE since 2007 and has launched over 20+ media brands. In 2009 she launched the Arab Woman Awards, now held in association with UN Women, to raise awareness of the significant achievements of women from the UAE. In 2017 Susan led the strategy for ITP Live – now the region’s largest influencer and digital content agency. She has an MA from Kingston London, a BA (Hons) from Sheffield plus has attended executive training at Harvard Business School and Yale. Susan is an angel investor with WAIN, the Gulf region’s first investor group to support female entrepreneurs, and is on the committee of the Abu Dhabi Dream Ball, an annual gala to raise funds for MENA based refugees.
Susanne Mikhail, Regional Director of UN Women Office for the Arab States
Ms Susanne Mikhail (Egypt/Sweden) is the Regional Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for the Arab States. In this capacity, she leads UN Women’s normative, programme and coordination work in the Middle East and North Africa. Susanne brings with her over 20 years of experience in development and humanitarian work in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Before joining UN-Women, she was Director of Humanitarian Assistance at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), managing Sida’s single largest budget, covering over 25 countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. With a long experience from UN system, including as the first Head of Office and Resident Programme Coordinator of UNICEF in South Sudan as well as the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia, and UNICEFs Office for Emergency Operations, her experience from some of the most fragile settings including active conflicts, includes both humanitarian work as well as programmes gearing towards accelerating the transition to development. Prior to UNICEF, she worked as Regional Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa for ECPAT International. She has also supported World Bank’s programmes on economic development in fragile settings. In 1999, Susanne started her international career at the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A national of Sweden and Egypt, Susanne holds a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from the Uppsala University of Sweden.
Sue Holt and Susanne Mikhail will be hosting the Arab Woman Awards at World of Fashion 2021 on Wednesday, October 13 at 14:00.
Rosemin Manji
Rosemin is a Canadian entrepreneur and TV Presenter based in Dubai. She enjoys sharing beauty, fashion and lifestyle related content.
Rosemin Manji will be hosting “Holiday Heat With Fenty Beauty: A Make-up Masterclass” at World of Fashion 2021 on Thursday, October 14 at 11:00am.
Olivia Phillips, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia Editor-in-Chief
With over 15 years of fashion and lifestyle journalism experience, Olivia’s international media expertise has seen her work for global industry leaders including Net-a-Porter, Grazia, Refinery29, Matches Fashion, Stylist (UK) and Jimmy Choo. Headhunted from London in 2014, she has spent seven years championing, supporting and engaging with the fashion landscape in the Middle East, as well as interviewing style’s biggest names for print, video and live audiences – from Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney to Angela Missoni and Victoria Beckham.
Bunyamin Aydin, Founder of Les Benjamins
Bünyamin Aydin was born in Neuss, Germany, and relocated to Istanbul, Turkey at age 12. The Les Benjamins brand is a coalescence of founder and designer Bünyamin Aydin’s interests in drawing, photography, and art. “The brand is a touch point for people to enter our world. I want people to feel part of our movement, which begins with the East.”
In 2017, Aydin’s work caught the attention of Nike. Aydin was commissioned to be part of a global campaign titled Vote Forward; where he was selected as 1 of 12 designers to imagine the future of Air Max. This partnership later developed into a program of custom Air Force 1s, when Nike commissioned Aydin to create 100 Istanbul-inspired Air Force 1s, sold at a pop-up event. These projects have positioned Aydin as Turkey’s foremost sneaker authority, and a collector whose eye drifts towards limited edition and autographed models. Aydin is a passionate photographer and a proud ambassador of Leica. He also spends his spare time as a music curator and DJ, both internationally and in his hometown of Istanbul. While Aydin is firmly rooted in his Turkish heritage, he is also an avid traveller and explorer.
Bünyamin Aydin will be in conversation with Olivia Phillips at World of Fashion 2021 on Tuesday, October 12 at 19:30.
Laura Kell, Group Digital Producer at Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
Digital Editor of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Laura Kell has over ten years of experience creating online content for a multitude of digital platforms, Laura Kell joined Harper’s Bazaar Arabia as Digital Editor in March 2020. The former Senior Content Manager on ITP Live, ITP Media Group’s talent and influencer marking division, has had her work published in Arabian Business, HELLO! Middle East and on xoJane (formerly Jane Magazine). Originally from Vancouver, Canada she has been based in Dubai since 2017.
Laura Kell will be hosting Penhaligon’s Heritage Scent Empire, in Conversation With Retail Education Manager Dominic Collingridge, on Friday, October 15th at 11:00.
Andrea Brocca
Andrea Brocca – is the world’s youngest couturier who’s fashion career started with an Internship with Alice Temperlyin London who he met at World of Fashion 10 years ago. He recently graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2021 and had his debut show at Paris Couture Fashion week over the summer. His pieces have been featured on Lady Gaga and TatlerUK as well as the May edition of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
Andrea Brocca will be in conversation with Olivia Phillips at World of Fashion 2021 on Friday, October 15th at 19:30.
Marina Fedorova
Marina Fedorova is one of the most prominent contemporary figurative Russian artists residing and working in St. Petersburg and Munich. She studied painting, design, and graphic arts at the Nicholas Roerich Art School in St. Petersburg. Later she graduated from the St. Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design (formerly known as the Vera Mukhina Art School) where she majored in Fashion Design and Illustration.
Fedorova’s artworks were acquired for the permanent collections of the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art (St. Petersburg), as well as by several private collectors, such as Laurent Boutonnat, Pierre-Christian Brochet, Ilya Lagutenko, and Artemiy Troitskiy.
Marina Fedorova was the official graphic designer of the 7th International Ballet Festival MARIINSKY. In 2008, she was named the Artist of the Year for the Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne. The same year saw a nomination for the prestigious Kandinsky Prize and participation in the Christie’s Charity Gala Auction at the State Russian Museum in 2010 and in the London Auctions in 2016.
Kristel Bechara
Born in Lebanon and based in Dubai, Kristel Bechara is an award-winning contemporary artist who has quickly established herself as the rising star of the Middle Eastern art world. Recognised for her dynamic patterns and expressive colours, Kristel’s artwork consists of the revolutionary creation of photographic imagery using oil, acrylic and giclée printmaking mediums to depict complex emotions and also portray the human condition.
Kristel’s work has been displayed around the world to great appreciation and demand, especially from galleries in Tokyo, Milano, Brussels, London and France. She has received high acclaim in UAE as well, notably winning the UAE Resident Artist Award at the 2018 World Art Dubai for her collection, Beauty in Diversity.
Kristel currently works on her art from her studio in Onyx Tower, Dubai while her gallery is located at Gate Avenue, Dubai International Financial Centre.
Kristel Bechara and Marina Fedorova will be in conversation with Jessica Michault at World of Fashion 2021 on Saturday, October 16 at 14:00.
Maria Tash
For over two decades, Maria Tash has revolutionized the fine jewelry and piercing industries by creating innovative designs under her NYC based eponymous label. With a unique perspective that lives at the intersection of beauty, fashion and jewelry, Tash has carved a unique position as a founder, innovator and designer. She has developed a technique through which each client’s personal style and anatomy guide a bespoke combination of studs and rings, combined to best flatter the wearer. Art meets science with Tash’s approach to both design and piercing, driven largely by her desire to deliver not only a look but a feeling of beauty to her audience. A designer at heart, Tash’s jewelry is defined by its quality, workmanship and innovation. At the core are her Threaded Studs, Clicker Rings and True-fit navel curves, each designed with precision and accuracy for piercing and how they sit on the body. In the pursuit of making her jewelry as flush to the skin as possible, Tash developed invisible set diamonds, which are notched and set below the crown, creating the bezel-less look of a suspended stone.
Maria Tash will be chatting with Laura Kell via livestream at World of Fashion 2021 on Saturday, October 16 at 18:30.
Check back soon for more information on how to register to attend World of Fashion 2021.