Curated Conversations

"People I know, who used to be able to afford to go out on a daily basis [in Lebanon], are now unemployed. They don’t leave their houses because they don’t have enough money to put gas in their tanks."

8 months have passed since the tragic blast that shook the very heart of Beirut, and yet although Lebanon is no longer front page news, the country is facing some of the most difficult times in the country’s history. Rohma Theunissen caught up with Roni Helou, the acclaimed Lebanese designer who spearheaded the United For Lebanese Creatives crowdfunding initiative in August 2020, to talk about the extent of the country’s triple crisis, how it is impacting the people who live there on a daily basis and why talking about Lebanon is essential.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Roni Helou
Born in Lebanon in 1992, Roni Helou is a conscious ready-to-wear designer based in Beirut.
In 2016 upon his graduation from Creative Space Beirut, progressive fashion school that offers free design education, Roni showcased his collections at Fashion Forward Dubai for two seasons under the patronage of Rabih Kayrouz and the Starch Foundation. In 2017 Roni was awarded the Boghossian Foundation Fashion Prize, offering him a residency at Villa Empain in Brussels. His previous works were displayed at Les Nouveaux Créateurs in Paris as part of Exposition Mode émergente du monde arabe, co-curated by Institut du Monde Arabe.

More recently, Roni was named RTW winner of the first Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) edition launched in 2019. Furthermore, the brand's SS20 and RH’20/21 collections were exhibited respectively at Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks. Sustainability, free education, human and animal rights are at the heart of the RONI HELOU brand. Roni works to uphold these values in everything he does, from sampling to production and everything in between.

The Roni Helou brand has been featured in prominent international publications, such as The New York Times, Vogue US, British Vogue, Vogue Arabia, Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Elle India, WWD, The Business of Fashion, Wallpaper, DAZE, i-D and HUNGER TV.

As the GCC’s largest market opens its doors to the world, Rohma Theunissen caught up with Niche Arabia Founder, Marriam Mossalli to ask her the 5 things brands looking to enter the KSA market need to know. 

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Marriam Mossalli 
Marriam Mossalli is the founder of Niche Arabia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's premier luxury consulting agency, where she offers strategic planning, communication services, and marketing implementation for international brands entering or reestablishing their position in the Saudi market. A self-made female entrepreneur, she began her career in the fashion industry as a lifestyle editor and journalist, developing a global network of contacts that has allowed her, as a publicist and branding guru, to build a portfolio of blue-chip luxury companies, among them Mercedes-Benz, Fendi, Piaget, Harvey Nichols, and Christie’s. Marriam, who has the unique distinction of being the only Saudi national on the prestigious Business Fashion 500 list, recently published Under The Abaya: Street Style from Saudi Arabia, a photography book that explores the progressive attire of the contemporary Saudi woman. 

 About Niche Arabia 
The premier luxury communications agency since its inception in 2011. Through a multifaceted approach to publicity, marketing, branding, and consultancy, Niche Arabia generates creative initiatives that position its clients for optimal market penetration and sales in key markets throughout the Middle East. Featuring a portfolio of esteemed international brands from various industries such as automotives and FMCGs, to beauty and fashion, Niche Arabia has conceived groundbreaking events, media campaigns, and activations across the GCC, establishing itself as an invaluable resource for companies seeking to engage the Khaleeji consumer. Clients achieve strategically placed media coverage and publicity in collaboration with a world-class team of multilingual publicists, marketers, branding experts, and content creators, who drive business development through innovation while maintaining key brand positioning. 

“This is the first time we are opening our doors to allow people in but also for us to export our culture to the rest of the world. I think it’s a really exciting time.”

With Saudi Vision 2030 firmly underway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing an unprecedented metamorphosis. Rohma Theunissen caught up with Marriam Mossalli, Founder of the Kingdom’s premier luxury brand consultancy Niche Arabia, to talk about the evolution and changes taking place, the Saudi consumer and what it takes to succeed in one of the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Marriam Mossalli
Marriam Mossalli is the founder of Niche Arabia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's premier luxury consulting agency, where she offers strategic planning, communication services, and marketing implementation for international brands entering or reestablishing their position in the Saudi market.

A self-made female entrepreneur, she began her career in the fashion industry as a lifestyle editor and journalist, developing a global network of contacts that has allowed her, as a publicist and branding guru, to build a portfolio of blue-chip luxury companies, among them Mercedes-Benz, Fendi, Piaget, Harvey Nichols, and Christie’s.

Marriam, who has the unique distinction of being the only Saudi national on the prestigious Business Fashion 500 list, recently published Under The Abaya: Street Style from Saudi Arabia, a photography book that explores the progressive attire of the contemporary Saudi woman.

About Niche Arabia
The premier luxury communications agency since its inception in 2011. Through a multifaceted approach to publicity, marketing, branding, and consultancy, Niche Arabia generates creative initiatives that position its clients for optimal market penetration and sales in key markets throughout the Middle East.

Featuring a portfolio of esteemed international brands from various industries such as automotives and FMCGs, to beauty and fashion, Niche Arabia has conceived groundbreaking events, media campaigns, and activations across the GCC, establishing itself as an invaluable resource for companies seeking to engage the Khaleeji consumer. Clients achieve strategically placed media coverage and publicity in collaboration with a world-class team of multilingual publicists, marketers, branding experts, and content creators, who drive business development through innovation while maintaining key brand positioning.

On the Sole DXB’s 10-year anniversary, Rohma Theunissen asks Sole Partner, Raj Malhotra to share 5 things that he learned from his journey with Sole DXB that he wishes he knew when he was starting out. #BiteSizedConversations

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Raj Malhotra
Rajat moved to Dubai after having lived in Los Angeles, Kuwait, Italy, India, and New York. Having graduated from NYU in 2002, Rajat took a year-long sabbatical working on teaching at Project Renewal in NYC. In 2004, he moved to Dubai to establish a telecom and security business that grew to cover 11 countries from Vietnam to Algeria, of which he served as CEO MEA for 8 years. Rajat had also partnered with Sunny Rahbar, co-founder of the Third Line Gallery, on a collaborative project that had seen them host multiple curated exhibitions with NYC gallery, On Stellar Rays. In 2013, Rajat came on board as the fourth partner at Sole. More recently, Rajat built a private recording studio in Dubai, using it as a space for artists to collaborate.

About Sole
Founded in 2010, Sole is a leading platform for connecting communities through creativity and culture. The grassroots organization has built a rapidly growing community through its annual Sole DXB cultural festival, which saw over 36,000 people from more than 60 countries attend the eight annual edition in December 2019. Sole operated a boutique creative agency and published an annual print magazine. The creative agency has worked with numeous global brands including Gucci, Burberry, Saint Laurent, Farfetch and Jordan Brand. 

Our latest initiative is sole.digital, a feature-focused, mixed media site dedicated to bringing you the best in culture, first. We work with our roster of global contributors to present the people and ideas that will shape the future of fashion, music, sports, and visual arts, and to engage our audience in conversations on social issues like race, sustainability, and our environment. For more information on Sole, visit: https://www.sole.digital/

“There is a great space for us to be present digitally. To complement the things we are doing, not replace them. And that part I don’t think will ever go away, because if we get it right, why would we not want to continue doing that?”

At the end of 2020, Rohma Theunissen caught up with Raj Malhotra, one of the four partners at Sole to talk about the evolution of events and brand experiences as a result of the pandemic, everything the Sole team has been working on, the digital space, where the Sole brand stands today on its 10-year anniversary and what we can expect from the brand moving forward.

Note: As the UAE undergoes a second wave of the virus, this episode was recorded virtually to uphold social distancing practices.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Raj Malhotra
Rajat moved to Dubai after having lived in Los Angeles, Kuwait, Italy, India, and New York. Having graduated from NYU in 2002, Rajat took a year-long sabbatical working on teaching at Project Renewal in NYC. In 2004, he moved to Dubai to establish a telecom and security business that grew to cover 11 countries from Vietnam to Algeria, of which he served as CEO MEA for 8 years. Rajat had also partnered with Sunny Rahbar, co-founder of the Third Line Gallery, on a collaborative project that had seen them host multiple curated exhibitions with NYC gallery, On Stellar Rays. In 2013, Rajat came on board as the fourth partner at Sole. More recently, Rajat built a private recording studio in Dubai, using it as a space for artists to collaborate.

About Sole
Founded in 2010, Sole is a leading platform for connecting communities through creativity and culture. The grassroots organization has built a rapidly growing community through its annual Sole DXB cultural festival, which saw over 36,000 people from more than 60 countries attend the eighth annual edition in December 2019. Sole operated a boutique creative agency and published an annual print magazine. The creative agency has worked with numerous global brands including Gucci,  Burberry,  Saint Laurent,  Farfetch and Jordan Brand.

Our latest initiative is sole.digital, a feature-focused, mixed media site dedicated to bringing you the best in culture, first. We work with our roster of global contributors to present the people and ideas that will shape the future of fashion, music, sports, and visual arts, and to engage our audience in conversations on social issues like race, sustainability, and our environment. For more information on Sole, visit: https://www.sole.digital/

We get how busy things can get, which is why we have come out with a bite-sized edition of Curated Conversations that translates our guests’ key learnings into digestible, effective information that you can absorb in 5 minutes (or less) anytime, anywhere. We like to think of it as a crash course on-the-go to make sure you can rev up your career even when you only have minutes to spare. 

Real advice, real experts, real quick. That’s a promise. 

Having launched two successful brands in 2020, Judy Daghestani, Curated Today's Founder, sat down with Rohma Theunissen to offer her top 5 pieces of advice she would give to anyone looking to launch their career as a freelancer or a solopreneur.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Judy Daghestani
A graduate of University of Southern California’s MSc Marketing program, Judy Daghestani, is the founder of Curated Today and Dubai-based boutique market research and brand development consultancy LFHM Middle East in Dubai. Born and raised in Southern California and having worked for high-profile luxury and retail brands such as Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren & Bloomingdales and Harvey Nichols in Dubai, Judy is highly knowledgeable about our inter-cultural, Middle Eastern retail market and holds an avid passion for consumer insights and psychology. Judy partnered with ESMOD Fashion Institute in Dubai to teach Luxury Brand Development and also is the Co-Founder of EASTWAVE Concept, a virtual pop-up that supports MENA designers reach global audiences. 

“People are hopeful that’s for sure, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine. But overall, people are still selective of how they spend their money. Shopping isn’t top of the list.”

Kicking off the second season of Curated Conversations, Rohma Theunissen is joined by Curated Today's Founder, Judy Daghestani to talk about the evolution of the Curated platform, consumer mindsets in 2021, industry trends, sustainability, the COVID-19 vaccine and of course, the pandemic. As the UAE undergoes a second wave of the virus, this episode was virtually recorded to uphold social distancing practices.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Judy Daghestani
A graduate of University of Southern California’s MSc Marketing program, Judy Daghestani, is the founder of Curated Today and Dubai-based boutique market research and brand development consultancy LFHM Middle East in Dubai. Born and raised in Southern California and having worked for high-profile luxury and retail brands such as Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren & Bloomingdales and Harvey Nichols in Dubai, Judy is highly knowledgeable about our inter-cultural, Middle Eastern retail market and holds an avid passion for consumer insights and psychology. Judy partnered with ESMOD Fashion Institute in Dubai to teach Luxury Brand Development and also is the Co-Founder of EASTWAVE Concept, a virtual pop-up that supports MENA designers reach global audiences. 

"When people are stuck inside and are losing their jobs, how can you push nail polish when it's the last thing they are thinking about? I shifted to where I was trying to create an 80/20 effect where 80 percent of what I was writing about was talking about these matters and 20 percent focused on creativity and offering escapism to our readers."

Where does beauty stand today? In this episode, Rohma Theunissen sits down with Alexandra Venison, former beauty editor of Vogue Arabia to talk about her career, conscious consumption, making beauty relevant in the wake of social unrest and what it takes for beauty brands to succeed in 2020 and beyond.

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Alexandra Venison
Alexandra Venison is a beauty, health and wellness expert. Working in publishing for the last decade, her most recent roles have seen her as the Beauty Editor at Vogue Arabia and Online Editor at Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. 

Born in London, Alexandra moved to Dubai with her family in 2003. Instant love for the industry saw her intern with various talents and titles across the region. 

In 2009 she returned to her hometown and graduated with a first-class honour’s degree from the London College of Fashion in Broadcast Journalism. Moving back to Dubai in 2012 she began her career with the region’s leading title Emirates Woman. Since then she has worked with prominent brands and publications both locally and globally across beauty, fashion and lifestyle. Her skills include writing, styling, producing and shooting for both print, online and social. 

To date, Alexandra has interviewed some of the world’s leading talents. These have included celebrities, Anjelica Huston, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Kourtney Kardashian to designers Donatella Versace and Tom Ford, leaders in the beauty industry like Charlotte Tilbury, Peter Phillips and Tom Pecheux and fashion icons such as Gisele Bündchen and Cara Delavigne. 

Ever looking to expand her knowledge and skills, Alexandra has recently qualified from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (INHC) and as a Clinical Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy practitioner with the General Hypnotherapy Register. She currently lives in Dubai where she works as a freelance editor, content creator and consultant.

“In traditional retail, you buy stock and if it doesn’t sell, it moves into clearance. But for us, the longer you hold on to stock, the higher its value – and that is really unique.”
- Nohman Ahmed, Co-Founder of Presentedby

Retail in 2020 has been nothing short of a challenge. But amidst the turmoil, British-born luxury sneaker consignment retail concept, Presentedby is thriving. Having recently opened their third global flagship store at Level Shoes in Dubai Mall this month, Rohma Theunissen caught up with two of the brand’s co-founders, Nohman Ahmed and Ridwane Ettoubi to talk about the luxury sneaker market, their Middle Eastern customer, why the consignment retail model works and what it takes to sell $150,000 sneakers. 

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Presentedby
Headed by Ridwane Ettoubi, Presentedby has become a beacon of sub-culture and a destination for sneaker and streetwear obsessives attracting some of the biggest names in the music, sport and arts industry such as Neymar, Coi Leray, Sanchoo, Dave East, The Game and Gunna. 

 Since they opened their doors in 2017, Presentedby have now started expanding and having opened their consignment store in world-renowned Parisian Luxury department store Le Bon Marché in Paris earlier in 2020, and most recently at luxury department store Level Shoes in The Dubai Mall in Dubai. Each store they open continuously brings experiential retail experiences with its award- winning interiors and highly desirable product offering.   

 Presentedby is owned by Undercover Brothers, a privately owned group founded by brothers Riz, Imran and Nohman Ahmed who over the past couple of years have successfully attained and established three major companies; Crep Protect, Presentedby and KLEKT.  

About Level Shoes
Level Shoes is a globally recognized retail concept and destination dedicated to the world of designer footwear and accessories. The store offers a wide range of unique services; from shoe experts to foot therapies, culinary delights, a dedicated concierge service as well as a regional online shopping platform. The curated space is divided into 40 designer boutiques and five multibrand areas each designed with its own bespoke personality: Women’s Designer, Women’s Accessories, Women’s Contemporary, Men’s Designer, Men’s Accessories, Trends and Kids.

“What we are seeing now globally is a huge adoption in our users using the [new] tagging feature to find out more about these products. Over 130 million people around the world have already tapped on shopping tags since they launched around two years ago—making it easier for businesses [to sell products online].”

On Instagram's 10th anniversary, Rohma Theunissen sat down with Priya Patel, Product Growth Lead for Instagram and Facebook across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, to understand the evolution of social media as a result of the pandemic, the rise of social commerce on Instagram and how brands can leverage the platform to elevate their social media strategies.

Resources mentioned within the episode:
Facebook Blueprint:
https://www.facebook.com/business/learn
Facebook Blueprint for Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/categories/instagram 
Instagram Business:
https://business.instagram.com

Hosted by: Rohma Theunissen

About Priya Patel
Priya Patel is the Product Growth Lead for Instagram and Facebook across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. She has more than 18 years of experience in media and advertising including print (Financial Times), TV (BBC), agency and digital in the UK, Australia and Asia. Prior to joining Facebook, Priya spent five years at multinational company Google, where she was an instrumental part of YouTube’s commercial rollout across South East Asia. Priya relocated to the Middle East with Google in 2014 where she managed the Food and Beverage sector and led advertising strategy across MENA. It was in 2015 that she was appointed as Business Development Lead at Instagram where she works closely with brands and agencies to help them achieve their business objectives on the platform. In her spare time, Priya takes inspiration from Instagram to pursue her interests in cooking, travel and scuba diving.
Follow her at @priya7.