48 T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Lookout Emirates

Mohammed Sultan Al-Habtoor: Life, His Way

By Orna BaLLOut PhOtOgraPhs By ayaad damOuni – d thE agEncy

It’s hard to keep up with Mohammed Sultan Al- Habtoor’s colorful career: from model to soldier to

fashion designer to stylist, he’s done it all. T Emirates catches up with one of the region’s most recognized

faces to get to know more about who he really is.

The UAE icon’s style sensibilities were recognized by watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre, which made Mohammed Sultan Al Habtoor a ‘friend of the brand’ to promote its luxury time pieces.

49Issue 2, 2013

A deep fragrance captures my attention, so I glance up and see Mohammed Sultan Al-Habtoor, who is charismatically strolling into Capital D Studio for his interview with T Emirates. Dressed simply in a traditional Kandura, he lets his chiseled features do all the talking: big dark eyes, a warm smile and

immaculate grooming make it clear why he’s a such a hit, and why some of the biggest brands are eager to work with him.

Polite and very chatty, 31-year-old Al-Habtoor hails from one of the UAE’s most successful families: his uncle is Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor, Chairman of the Al-Habtoor Group renowned for its businesses covering everything from construction to cars and hotels to real estate. With the family’s achievements, Al-Habtoor admits that he could have made life a lot easier for himself had he taken a role in one of its many businesses. But he wasn’t interested in following in his family’s footsteps.

“I love to constantly challenge myself, so when I chose to step away from the family empire, or whatever you want to call it, I put myself in trouble, yet at the same time I did myself a huge favor,” he says. “If it didn’t happen, I don’t think we’d be sitting here having this conversation.”

Al-Habtoor remembers how, as a youngster, he stood out from the rest of the kids at school. “I was freakishly

tall. I remember when we were in kindergarten some of the other kids would say: ‘Oh, Mohammed is like a giraffe.’ I was always the tallest, skinniest one.” With his model attributes, he made his foray into the fashion world at a young age. “I had a stint in Paris Fashion Week when I was 13. I never took it seriously, school was always more important – but fashion weeks always fell around school holidays, so if I ever got the chance and agencies wanted me, I’d go.”

Al-Habtoor’s path led him from striking poses on the catwalk to marching in military boots. He joined the national army in Dubai, before landing a coveted place at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy in England, where he was commissioned as an officer. During his five-year stint in the army he excelled, earning degrees in both political science and marketing. But he was destined for different things.

“I was hoping one day to be a cultural minister and work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but circumstances changed and I moved back to Dubai to support the family when it was needed,” Al-Habtoor says.

Coming from a successful family ultimately had its drawbacks. On his move home he faced a challenging time finding a job. “People were intimidated,” he says. “Coming from a huge family, maybe they thought it was strange that I wanted to work for their entities or that my family was pushing me, but it was nothing to do with my family.”

t-shirts from Mohammed Sultan Al-Habtoor’s fashion line House of GlaMO.

50 T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Lookout Emirates

In one job interview, Al-Habtoor admits, he was “transparent and almost desperate” to be hired, but he managed to get a job working alongside an influential team that set up Art Dubai. “It was actually really challenging getting people to see that Dubai had so many more cultural aspects to offer aside from real estate and tourism.”

Throughout his life, Al-Habtoor felt pressure to exceed expectations. “It was almost as if I felt like I needed to prove myself 10 times more, because people looked at it as – oh, you know – the bullying and all that comes with being privileged.” But he was too determined to let anything stand in his way.

“The stereotype is there, unfortunately, it’s sad,”he says. “I was too focused, and made changes that were pretty much personal, like styling and participating in fashion shows, and being one of the first boys in the UAE to do any of that.” People certainly paid attention. Nowadays Al-Habtoor, a local icon, is admired for his stylish attributes and bubbly personality, with a dedicated following of Tweeps keeping tabs on his every move. His schedule includes working as a stylist at Capital D Studio, managing his fashion brand, House of GlaMO, which creates cool, sometimes controversial t-shirts and overseeing a New York-based events and management company, The New York Issue; and aside from driving forward his own projects, he’s in demand for a host of brands such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, who linked on to his style sensibilities and made him a “friend of the brand”.

His hectic schedule takes him all over the globe, flying between Dubai, Paris and New York, his favorite cities.

“We tended to go to Paris every summer and winter growing up; Mum would take us to all these museums and make it a priority for us to learn something new every time,” he says. “I love the lifestyle, cafes and the fact that they don’t speak English – it’s an adventure. And I just love the drive of New York, the style, the pace – it excites me a lot.”

With his impressive fashion experience and an enviable list of contacts – Rushka Bergman, Venus Williams, Kelly Rowland, Andrej Pejic and Olivier Rousteing are just a handful of his friends – what does he think of his home country’s fashion efforts? “It has already come a long way,” Al-Habtoor says. “Finally we have an industry that manufactures, and Esmod Dubai fashion institute, which

is the core as to how any city in the world can become a fashion hub. The next upcoming event is Fashion Forward, a fashion week focusing mainly on local and regional talent and taking them to the next level. I’m one of the ‘FAME’ board members, and it’s my duty to support any way possible to develop Dubai as a fashion capital.”

When it comes to inspiration, many of his fellow Emiratis come to mind. “I’m very grateful for our country’s leadership who’ve really put us on the map; my father, without him I wouldn’t be here today; and all my fellow art and fashion lovers; even the foreigners here who have supported and educated us and made it easier to understand a different culture, sense of humor and being so cosmopolitan.”

For style inspiration, he considers Yves Saint Laurent, now named Saint Laurent, number one. “I’m very happy Hedi Slimane has taken over. The fashion world takes you by surprise every day. There’s always something in and out – it’s difficult to keep up with!”

In the future, expect big surprises from Al-Habtoor. “Good ones, I promise,” he says. “There’s going to be

amazing collaboration on an international level, be it artists, luxury, fashion or maybe musicians, you never know.” And what advice can he offer young hopefuls wishing to follow in his footsteps?

“At least once a day try and make someone’s day better, even by smiling or by doing a good deed. It pays off in the long run. Live positively, make it happen, life is too short, make the best of it because no one is going to live it for you.”

“I love to constantly challenge myself, so when I chose to step away from the family empire, or whatever you want to call it, I

put myself in trouble, yet at the same time I did myself a huge favor.”

Showcasing simple style, Mohammed

Sultan Al-Habtoor lets his model

features do all the talking.