• by Sara Guaglione , July 6, 2016

Condé Nast International is launching Vogue Arabiaonline this fall, with a Saudi princess tapped to spearhead the new edition.

Vogue Arabia’s Web site will display content in both Arabic and English, marking the first time the publisher will roll out a bilingual site. The print version of Vogue Arabia is planned to launch in 2017 and will be the 22nd international edition of Vogue.

The most recent new editions created were Vogue Ukraine and Vogue Thailand in 2013.

“It makes sense to start with digital,” Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive of Condé Nast International told Business of Fashion. “In the past, the focus was always to produce the print product first, with the digital product as a secondary play. Now digital is front and center and at the forefront of any business strategy.”

Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz has been appointed editor-in-chief. She is married to a member of the Saudi royal family and is the co-founder and director of exclusive boutique D’NA.

“The Arab world consists of 350 million people, and they never had a Vogue,” Abdulaziz told the Financial Times. “The time has come, and it has been a long time coming.”

Vogue Arabia will be distributed in several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. BoF also reports that Condé Nast International plans to distribute the new magazine edition in cities like London, Paris and Milan.

Per a WWD report, Saudi Arabians are the second-largest international shopper market in London, right behind the Chinese, and followed by the Qataris.

For Vogue Arabia, Condé Nast International will continue to partner with Dubai-based media company Nervora. The two companies currently collaborate on the Style.com/Arabia Web site, which will soon relaunch to become the new Vogue Arabia.

Caterina Minthe, the current managing editor of Style.com/Arabia, will become Vogue Arabia’s features director.

Other fashion titles already circulating in the Middle East and North Africa region include Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Elle Oriental and Marie Claire Arabia.