Saudi Gazette “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love,” the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said. In COPIA's case, friendship and couture merged to fulfill this philosophical notion. Introducing Rania El Sadek and Serra Kirdar: The insatiable duo met through mutual friends and found themselves on a journey that led to a mutual goal of acceptance, dreams and, of course, haute couture. The women are a class apart in understanding couture; they see beyond the trained mind. For them, the thought of luxury was not enough. They had to collaborate to prove they can transcend borders, reel in vintage and pure couture to maintain their premium luxury concept in the Middle East. They knew they had a way to do it, and it was only a matter of time until COPIA's dreams coalesced and came to life. COPIA was born in Dubai as a communication and luxury lifestyle management company working with brands in the fashion, lifestyle and luxury sectors. The premium brand earned its reputation for being a sensational wonder with its distinctive services and brand prodigies. Luxury brands and powerful names from New York and beyond were brought to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). COPIA in essence draws in foreign flavors that are unknown to generic trends, and capitalizes on its premium exclusivity. It offers brand representation and management, distribution, VIP offices, private sales, lifestyle consultancy, traditional and digital public relations and publicity, strategic partnerships, bespoke events, concept development and consultancy and product placement. Through strong networking and an intimate understanding of the region and its consumer trends, they conjured up events and concepts of introducing, connecting and positioning brands within the lifestyle world. The founders of COPIA said they “spot” brands that have yet to enter and make it into the Middle East and develop growth strategies to effectively build and expand their brand. Their strategies represent key elements and capture the essence of the brand while bearing in mind local market trends. Rania El Sadek addresses the Saudi Arabian market for the very first time in an exclusive interview with Saudi Gazette. SG: How did you and Serra get together? Rania: We met through friends and quickly realized we both shared the same perspective on life and the future potential for luxury lifestyle. SG: Do you have a mission statement? Rania: To provide a unique edge to luxury within a totality of a lifestyle. SG: Do you define yourselves as being fashion-forward? Is there a business philosophy to your brand? Rania: It goes beyond fashion for fashion's sake. It is a philosophy of a lifestyle that embraces fashion among other components of luxury and the appreciation for quality, and of course how this is all presented through our communication arm. SG: What do you plan to achieve and what can we expect from COPIA in the near future? Rania: We are working toward becoming leaders within luxury lifestyle management through strategically evolving the various elements of the COPIA brand. From building our resort-buying side of the business to entering the Asian market of retail to becoming a key player in the lifestyle PR realm — these are all part of what we're working on in this phase. SG: How would you introduce COPIA to your selective audience in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia? Rania: By offering a holistic approach to luxury. Our outreach includes brands that have yet to be over-exposed or have presence in the Middle East market. We provide access to bespoke and unique items that cannot be attained in any other way in the region and in some cases globally. SG: How is the UAE sphere conducive as an environment for a business program like COPIA? Rania: The UAE is an ideal hub from which to grow and develop COPIA's strategy. It straddles both East and West, and with our strategy, this works perfectly as the Asian market is very much key to our expansion plans. SG: How did COPIA come about? Tell us about the destination and the way forward for both of you and COPIA. Rania: It was a very organic, seamless process whereby we both understood and recognized each other's areas of strength and decided that a merger between our respective experiences would be a great and complementary fit for developing a lifestyle management company as defined by the next level of luxury. SG: What is the basis of your clientele selection? Rania: All of our clients have been through referrals and it is very much based on what we like and what fundamentally fits our overall vision and brand integrity. We represent brands that we believe in and would have great potential in the Middle Eastern market. As COPIA's founders sit amid a crowd that look more like a fashion mosaic, the duo evokes something the legendary French designer Coco Chanel once said: “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” __
