Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz confirms she was sacked from Vogue Arabia

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Apr 13, 2017

One moment she was being feted as the new fashion star of the Persian Gulf, as she celebrated the launch of Vogue Arabia in the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar with Naomi Campbell and Lauryn Hill. The next, Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz had left her position as founding editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia – after a mere two issues.
 

“I didn’t leave. I was fired! And I shall be releasing a statement about what happened later today,” Princess Deena told Fashion Network in a phone call.
 
Vogue Arabia is made under license with a Dubai-based publishing company Nervora, which began the title last year as a website in English and Arabic. Its debut March issue featured Gigi Hadid on the cover; April starred Imaan Hammam, an Egyptian/Moroccan beauty.

“They (Nervora) are in breach of contract and they shall be hearing more from my lawyers,” the princess added.
 
A notably elegant woman, the princess was already a celebrated figure in fashion circles – having attended the runway shows in Europe for several seasons as the founder and buyer of private Internet boutique D’NA.
 
Ironically, as recently as Friday night’s launch event for 200 guests, featuring local nobility, uber-models and Gulf VIPs, Jonathan Newhouse, the president of Condé Nast International – which controls all Vogues outside of the US - was fulsome in his praise of the fashionable blue blood at the launch party for Vogue Arabia.
 
“It is a great honor and joy to be here this evening. This was a dream. To launch Vogue Arabia, this beautiful magazine... And I want to recognize the brilliance and the glamorousness of our incredible editor Princess Deena. I’d like to congratulate her and her team who have brought this about. Thank you for sharing this wonderful evening with us,” Newhouse said.
 
Minutes before, Princess Deena spoke: “This very unlikely step has materialized. I would like to thank Condé Nast and Mr. Jonathan Newhouse for making this happen!”
 
Her sacking comes as a real surprise, for under the terms of the standard licensing agreement with a foreign publisher who produces Vogue, Condé Nast retains the right to appoint the key roles of editor-in-chief, publisher and art director.
 
The princess’s tenure had been somewhat melodramatic. While in the Paris attending the couture season, she had confided to friends that she had been at loggerheads with Condé Nast about her debut cover. It featured Gigi Hadid, her face covered in a veil, which the publishers, she claimed, viewed as having failed to exploit the uber models star power.