- Esquire Middle East’s ‘Best Dressed’ list is the region’s only definitive list of the best dressed men in the Middle East
- The list was first published in 2011
- We counted 10 different nationalities among the men who made the cut
- This year’s list includes luxury consultants, personal trainers, professional sportsmen and bankers
The late Hardy Amies said it best when he declared: “A man should look as if he has bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.” Beyond this guiding principle, the formula for a stylish man is harder to pinpoint. So for this year’s selection of the region’s best-dressed gents, we’ve looked at men who wear their clothes with a sense of individuality, confidence and consideration.
Step forward class of 2019.
Talal Al Rashed
Shoot location: avli by Tasha’s
Kuwaiti / 35 / Hospitality consultant
“Sandra Bullock,” answers Talal Al Rashed when asked who his style icon is. “She always gets the basics right: hair, body and skin,” he explains. It is as refreshing and honest an answer as Esquire has ever had when asking people about their personal style.
Correctly, Al Rashed explains how he doesn’t believe that gender should have any effect on who inspires us. Taking the Oscar-winner’s lead, Al Rashed stresses the importance of taking care of yourself as a way to help inspire confidence in what you wear. For this always well-put-together Kuwaiti hospitality consultant his style is about being unconventional, but not flamboyant. “I don’t believe in perfection, but I believe in feeling good,” he says mentioning that his favourite piece in his wardrobe is a purple silk handkerchief by Brioni. The one tip he would offer others? “Don’t throw away your favourite pieces because people tell you that you are wearing the same thing over and over.”
Again, solid advice.
Mario Saaiby
Shoot location: Galaxy Bar
Lebanese / 31 / Head of sales
As someone who works in the media, Mario Saaiby is conscious of the latest trends in menswear but he ensures that they don’t ever dictate his style. “I love watching what new developments come out in men’s fashion, and while I am interested in change, I always make sure that I don’t just follow trends blindly,” he says. “You should always dress for yourself first and foremost.”
His professional life sees him needing to dress a little more corporate, but it is not something that bothers him. “I have a lot of suits and blazers, but that is not a bad thing because I like wearing them.” That said, any quick glance at his personal social media channel – which he runs as a well-dressed motoring enthusiast— will clearly show that he is a man who admires more adventurous labels like Fendi, Philipp Plein and Dolce & Gabbana.
Tayeb Tayeb
Shoot location: Zuma
Sudanese / 36 / Engineer
In his day job Tayed Tayeb has to be meticulous. The role of an engineer is to rely on accuracy and, almost always, function over form. Therefore, it is in his personal style that he expresses himself creatively. “Casual but eclectic,” is how he describes his dress sense, claiming that he draws inspirating from pretty much everything around him. “If you see my wardrobe there are so many different items in it,” he says.
“There are pieces that are inspired by Japanese culture, and others that are much more classic. I like it all.” In quite the contrast, his profession plays by the numbers, yet his style is much more renegade, looking up to the likes of Pharrell Williams when it comes to his style icons due to his daring and unique fashion choices. How does he build an outfit? From the ground up. “Shoes are my favourite item in my wardrobe,” he explains. And when it comes to shoes, CB Italy stands out as his favourite designer.
Khalil Tawil
Shoot location: avli by Tasha’s
Lebanese / 37 / Marketing director
When it comes to fashion, Khalil Tawil likes to mix and match several styles to complete his look. He describes his personal style as “smart casual with a twist”.
“I like classic things but I always like to have one item in my outfit that is out of the box. Like my outfit now, black suit with an Off White belt, fully yellow,” he says. His mood has a strong influence on his style. On a good day, he explains, he would wear brighter colours, and on a bad day, he would go darker. Rather than any one specific style icon, he is a man who takes inspiration from a variety of sources. “I look up to so many people when it comes to style. Whoever wears something nice can be my idol. I usually look at styles from different brands, but not anything specifically. I just like to mix and match,” he says. Designer sneakers in particular make it to the top of his list when it comes to his wardrobe favourites. “Be yourself. Don’t be boring. Be yourself, but have a twist, be different,” advises Tawil.
Fayaz Punjani
Shoot location: Zuma
Canadian / 37 / Banker and entrepreneur
For ex-banker Fayaz Punjani office etiquette and its penchant for staid suits never stood in the way of his style. “I was always the eccentric one at the bank with the pocket squares and the lapel pins and I used to enjoy thoroughly enjoy being different every day,” he says. A fan of tailored suits, he says he’d be the one wearing the flamboyant colours and the crop pants and, despite the flack he’d get for it, he wouldn’t change his dress sense just to fit in.
A family man who has been in Dubai for more than a decade prefers to spend his weekend at home with his kids rather than at the ‘seen-to-be-seen’ events, his advice when it comes to fashion is less is more: “Don’t try to go crazy with different things like, too many colours, too many options or too many different styles at once.”
Mike Oyac
Shoot location: Galaxy Bar
French / 40 / Personal trainer
Style is a sense of self-expressions, therefore it comes to little surprise that comfort and freedom play a large part in Mike Oyac’s personal style. As a personal trainer, Oyac spends a lot of his day in workout gear. ““Whenever I finish with the gym, I try to jump into jeans or shorts. I try to be comfortable,” he says. Today, perhaps more than ever, the menswear market is rife with options that fill that sports-lux bracket, and the cross-over of sports stars as fashion idols is something that Oyac is inspired by.
“I love colours, so my style idol would have to be Dwyane wade. He is the coolest guy in basketball, and there are a lot of guys who dress well in that sport,” he says. While eventually settling on a pair of Hermes sneakers for his shoot with Esquire, Oyac does mention that an outfit is only as strong as the shoes it’s paired with. “I have a lot of shoes. They need to be chosen carefully depending on it you’re running, playing football or going out.”
Maddy Chaaban
Shoot location: Zuma
Turkish-Palestinian / 30 / Luxury consultant
As someone who’s always loved luxury, Ahmed ‘Maddy’ Chaaban loves his job. “Once it came to me, I got stuck to it and I never wanted to leave the industry, to be honest,” he says. His own personal style, however, has evolved over the years. Looking at himself during the recent ‘10 year challenge’ social media craze, he says “I was looking at my style over the past 10 years and I was like ‘wow’. It’s changed a lot.” Chaaban will always be found dressed up with different accessories.
“I always like to challenge my style and go out of my comfort zone, but in reality I always end up doing something a bit more suited up. But I always try to tone it down as well, so you’ll either find me in t-shirts with a suit and sneakers, or in a full-on suit with a pair of sneakers.” One thing that Chaaban won’t be without, however, is his saddle bag. He says that someone will only be comfortable in what they wear if they wear it with
a touch of pride. In his words: “If you’re not comfortable with what you’re wearing, you won’t be confident.”
Emile Zarife
Shoot location: Capital Club Dubai
Lebanese / 34 / Digital strategist
As the founder of the Arabic blog Anasharqi, Zarife claims that versatility is key to his personal style. “I would say my personal style is very versatile, as it goes from casual to formal, depends on the occasion. Mainly edgy cool, but as well casual chic,” he says. When it comes to clothes, his creativity and styling techniques started at the age of 11, where he cut a jacket in half to style an outfit. His current favourite item in his wardrobe is a pair of sneakers, which is no surprise seeing as one of his biggest style icons is David Beckham – although when talking of designers is quick to mention his admiration for Tom Ford. Zarife advises everyone to follow trends but keep in mind that each on may not suit everyone.
“Check the trend, but be yourself. Not everything that is trendy, suits everyone. It’s okay to mix high street brands, with luxury brands. For me it’s not the item, it’s the style,” Zarife explains.
Luca Lombardi
Shoot location: avli by Tasha’s
Italian / 38 / Photographer
Statement designer pieces combined with affordable elements is the secret behind Luca Lombardi’s personal style. “I don’t want to be seen as the ‘high-end guy’ that you cannot relate to, but also not known as the guy who dresses in H&M. At the end, it’s just a matter of style,” he explains. The photographer’s favourite latest item in his wardrobe are his Zanotti silver metallic sneakers. Lombardi takes a rather unconventional approach when it comes to having a style idol. “I don’t like to be the copy of someone else,” he says. Instead he advices everyone when it comes to fashion to avoid what makes you comfortable. He believes you should dress with what puts you at the edge of your comfort zone.
“When you have the reputation as a stylish guy, you can take a napkin and use it as a pocket square and people will say ‘wow, this is the coolest pocket square ever’” he says.
Hazem Alagha
Shoot location: Capital Club Dubai
British-Palestinian / 29 / Film producer
Hazem Alagha has a unique outlook on style. “I never really cared about wearing labels. For me anything that makes me feel good, I will wear it,” he says. A clear sense of self-confidence has grown over a 14-year career in the film and commercial industry where big personalities tend to dominate.
“Style goes hand-in-hand with confidence, and confidence is something that comes from within. As long as you wear anything confidently with pride, you can pull off anything,” he explains. Like many of his generation, his personal style is influenced by the music he listens to and the pop culture he consumes—which means his collection of skinny jeans in a variety of colours comes as little surprise.
Mike Phillips
Shoot location: Dubai
Welsh / 36 / Sportsman
As a former international rugby player, Mike Phillips has lived most of his life under the intense scrutiny of others. However, rather than crumble under the pressure it created a strong sense of self-belief and confidence which now runs through his life, and is evident in his personal style. “I don’t believe in statement pieces, the statement
has to be you,” he says.
“It doesn’t really matter what you’re wearing, how you conduct yourself is the key. I don’t rely on a piece of clothing to make me feel happy.” Now a new father, Phillips seems at ease with life after the pressures of professional rugby, having moved to Dubai and working to set up various new businesses. “I’m older now so I try to keep things simple and clean cut,” he says discussing his love for linen and well-tailored shirts. It comes as little surprise that his advice when it comes to personal styling is much the same as it is to playing sport, “preparation is key.”
