A model, mother, and businesswoman, Jelena Bin Drai is the vision of a lady who does it all. The Serbian-born beauty, who won the Miss Yugoslavia title in 1998, lives in Dubai and presides over two beauty salons, Vanilla by Jelena Ladies Salon and Spa and Chocolate by Jelena Gents Grooming Salon and Spa, as well as Asya’s Nursery, Al Das Medical Centre, together with her eponymous clothing brand.
Founded in Dubai, Jelena Bin Drai is a luxury clothing brand with elegance and comfort at its heart. Whether pret-a-porter or haute couture, Jelena uses exquisite craftsmanship and the highest quality fabrics to create chic and wearable collections with a contemporary, on-trend edge. Jelena’s personal style mirrors this aesthetic, preferring a simple style but with a feminine twist, and here we learn more about her favourite wardrobe items.
This couture dress is from my 2017 collection and is a piece that I never displayed for sale, as I became too attached to it! It is a mix of fabrics and techniques and I wanted to keep it for my daughter, as to me it is a piece of art. I will always tend to keep the original couture pieces that I design for my daughter as they are all so special and have been made with a huge amount of craftmanship.
Tom Ford ready-to-wear is usually too sexy for my taste, but I love to see his pieces on somebody else. However, I do love his accessories and this bag is everything to me, it is classy, modern, and cool. My husband also loves Tom Ford, so he surprised me one day with this bag and the matching shoes, however the shoes are just too high for me to wear regularly!
I prefer to collect jewellery, especially Van Cleef & Arpels, rather than shoes and bags as I feel it is a good investment and I am already looking forward to passing the pieces down to my daughter. My husband knows my taste and how much I love emerald so chose this collection for me, and I will wear the set whether I am on the red carpet or watching my son play football, I feel jewellery is meant for enjoying and not to be kept in the safe.
This stone is an amethyst and I was given it by a friend as a wedding present, and I have become particularly attached to it. I feel that it cleans my chakras, and from the moment it was given to me I have always kept it on my bedside table. It rejuvenates me and when I have low energy I keep it closer to me.
I have a few scents which I will sometimes mix and use at different times of the day, ranging from charcoals which I burn, to a spray, and an oil. As you can see, they are sitting on top of a personalised box, and this was a gift from my best friend.
Because I am always very busy I usually send my driver to my favourite stores with pictures of items I have seen. Everyone knows him, and the store assistants will pack up what I have requested, adding in a few extra pieces that they think I will like. These Manolo Blahnik pumps are a pair which he sourced for me.
I originally bought this Bottega Veneta travel set for my husband, however I ended up keeping the bags for myself! They are the ideal combination of functionality and style, together with a lot of space inside, and I can use just them when going abroad for a week as I am very organised when packing, taking just the necessary items.
I love the smell of the paper when I open a book, and I order a large number of books regularly throughout the year from a publishing house in Serbia. I use books to unwind at the end of the day, especially because I need a break from phone and computer screens, rotating between a few books at the same time depending on my mood.
By Eliza Scarborough
Photographer: Henry Pascual
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