The lure of luxury
I was quite a rebellious child and still am. I’m always trying to find ways to make my own decisions,” says Selina Neri, the co-founder of the Dubai-based online boutique Dadu Luxe, which launched last month. It was this desire to go against the grain that pushed Neri to leave her childhood home of Italy and venture out into the world, leading to her eventual run-in with Dadu Luxe’s original founder, Dur Fayez. Dadu Luxe was first envisioned in 2006, when Fayez launched the Dadu accessories boutique in her native city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. But it was only when Fayez and Neri met in London in 2011, and were able to combine their common interests of fashion and luxury, along with their modernistic approach to style, that the Dadu Luxe website was fully conceptualised.
The online boutique offers customers a personalised face-to-face shopping service, where Dubai-based personal shoppers will arrange a one-on-one appointment for clients to try on pieces from Dadu Luxe’s selection in the comfort of their own homes, and bespoke fashion events where clients can shop in the most intimate and exclusive surroundings. The site currently boasts 34 international designers, offering a mix of luxury fashion and accessories brands – including Elie Saab, Alessandra Rich and Jason Wu – as well as contemporary designers and collaborative, one-off pieces, exclusively available on the Dadu Luxe website. For its launch campaign, Dadu Luxe teamed up with the local designer Essa to create a limited-edition ka an collection. “We have the most gorgeous collections,” Neri says. “From Chantilly lace, taffeta and jacquard by Alessandra Rich to cascading chiffons by Elie Saab, to perfectly cut silhouettes by Roksanda, Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung, to luxurious silks and intricate embellishment by Maiyet and Peter Pilotto, not to mention flats and heels by Sophia Webster, Tabitha Simmons and many others. We selected the brands we love and wear and whose philosophy, quality and creativity is in line with the spirit of Dadu Luxe.”