By Jou Pabalate

Month long fashion festivals kick off to signal the start of Ramadan Season. Shopaholics, are you ready?

The Ramadan Caravan at Harvey Nichols
May 22 – July 22
Last year, they brought the best of India in Riyadh and now Harvey Nichols is vetted to draw fashion lovers into their Al Faisaliah Mall department store with top designers from the Kingdom and the GCC. Nadya Hassan, hot fashionista and editor of Fierce Diaries from the UAE have been sourced to host the exclusive launch.

Alaan Crate
Pre-Ramadan: June 9 – 15
Phase 1: June 22-27
Phase 2: June 30– July 5
Alaan Artspace wowed everyone with their popup marketplace last year and it looks like we’ll be seeing the same enthusiasm in repeat this time around.

Stuff we love:
THIS/Hada
We came across a cool new take on the miswak during Saudi Design Week, which we hope would get the young Riyadhis to appreciate and use it more again. What began as a student project by Leen Sadder has turned into a viral design success story. The THIS miswak cutter case was crowd funded through Zoomaal.

Themar Ramadan
May 21 – July 31
Our friends at Maison Bo-M are back with the Riyadhi season staple event: Themar Ramadan. This year, get ready to get transported to Turkey, with a theme inspired by the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Themar Ramadan will present a fine selection of more than 25 designers offering a beautiful range of kaftans, abayas, fine jewelry and accessories, home décor, gift items, handicrafts and more.

Cath Kidston Celebrates First Flagship Store in GCC
Apparel Group, a Dubai based fashion and lifestyle conglomerate, celebrated the launch of the first flagship store in the GCC, located on Olaya Street last April 1. The launch featured two London taxis covered in CK’s iconic prints displayed at the entrance of the shop. (zgardensantamonica.com)

Maison Bo-M Riyadh Turns Five!
The house of fashion, chic design and art recently celebrated its fifth year anniversary with an intimate and elegant ladies night on May 5. Stylist Aisha Wali presented the trends for SS2015 and saw the launching of Aziz Alnoman flower shop and the new design service of Layal Saker. The night was topped with lovely hors d’oeuvres and cocktails by renowned delicatessen Fauchon.

NEW COLLECTION
The boutique located in Kingdom Center, introduces Summer Styles that transition from day to night.

New in the City O-100 Introduces the Art of Scent in Riyadh

A game changer is what we’re calling O-100. At Destination, we’re quick to give praise when something new and positive opens in the city. Hence, we couldn’t wait to share with you our latest discovery in the Riyadh luxury shopping landscape.

O-100 unveiled its boutique last May to VIP guests and tastemakers who, like us, couldn’t deny the top-Riyal experience the boutique has to offer. Located at Aqaria on Olaya St, the ambience is reminiscent of stores in St. Germain, Paris (not making this up, for some reason people were interestingly in consensus and specific).  Other than being magically transported outside of the Kingdom, what makes O-100 the It boutique of the year is the brands they have so carefully curated and brought in, much to the delight of well travelled Riyadhis who have for a long time opted to get their “scentses” satisfied elsewhere. What’s our favorite, you may ask? Diptyque, prices start at SR 400 and up, Byredo, Atelier Cologne and Le Labo with their personalized labels, and Tola, with their contemporary take on oriental scents and Bakhoor. The boutique is bound to be a favorite for those wanting
to shop for a gift that keeps on giving this Eid. We are impressed. Thank you, O-100.