Vogue Arabia replaces Saudi princess editor with man

Vogue Arabia, the style bible that sought to put the Middle East on the international fashion map, has dismissed and replaced its Saudi princess editor after just two editions.

The announcement came one day after Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, the mother of three who previously set up a members-only fashion business introducing edgy designers to the Gulf, told media outlets that she had been sacked.

Nervora, the Dubai-based publishers, announced Friday that Manuel Arnaut, who began his career at Vogue Portugal, had been appointed editor-in-chief effective May 7.

He is the second man appointed to lead an edition of Vogue in less than a week, following the appointment of Ghana-born Briton Edward Enninful to British Vogue.

Even in the cut-throat world of glossy magazine publishing, it was an astonishingly quick exit for a woman widely known in fashion circles and feted for putting US supermodel Gigi Hadid in a jewel-encrusted veil on the inaugural cover.

"I refused to compromise when I felt the publisher's approach conflicted with the values which underpin our readers and the role of the editor-in-chief in meeting those values in a truly authentic way," Abdulaziz told Business of Fashion.

"I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in such a short space of time," the London-based website quoted her as saying.

Arnaut has worked for Conde Nast for more than a decade and oversaw the 2015 launch of Architectural Digest Middle East.

"The team and I are committed to working towards a Vogue Arabia that is the proud voice of the region, representing the strength and allure of the Arab woman," he said in a statement.

Nervora CEO Shashi Menon paid brief tribute to Abdulaziz, who was appointed in July 2016. "As the launch editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia, Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz has earned a place in the history of fashion and Vogue," Menon said.

Vogue Arabia launched an Arabic and English-language website last year and its print edition in March. It is published by Nervora under license agreement with Conde Nast International.

source: AFP