If you spot a man in pink, red or orange colours, sporting a truck-load of gold jewellery, chances are you are face to face with Mohammad Khamis.
He's a Dubai-based restaurateur and real estate businessman, not to mention being perhaps the biggest hip hop fan around. Mohammad Hassan Khamis, 48, is a man who looks perfectly comfortable in his thick gold jewellery. He has even got the word ‘King' finely engraved on the gold choker around his neck.
“No one can be educated on how to be stylish and attractive. It is a talent and taste a man is born with. I have always had a fashion obsession,'' said Khamis.
A self-described restaurateur who owns a chain of eateries and real estate business, Khamis flies regularly around the world on fashion runs.
He loves chartering a private jet for touchdown at Milan's high-end fashion shops, where he pounces on the latest designer marvels.
Heba Hamoud, his Lebanese fashion consultant, accompanies him wherever he goes, to ensure his style is intact and his hues remain matched.
“Every morning he calls me to ask me what to wear or if the colours he has chosen match or not,'' she said.
Given his flamboyant style, Mohammad is pretty used to people stopping and staring.
“People think that I am a man in a show, a famous artist. I have a lot of fans. People know me everywhere and many rich Emirati businessmen have asked me to be their fashion advisor because they admire my style so much,'' says Mohammad.
Also known as Mac, Mohammad is a father of two and has been married twice. He developed his love affair with hip hop while studying in America for six years.
And what about his singing? Mohammad claims he sings hip hop with style, and making a CD before he turns 50 is among his dearest ambitions. The CD will be titled 50 King, and will be a remix of Arabic classics and English songs laced with a hip hop flavour.
Given his flashy lifestyle, he sure must be having his fair share of critics. He does agree that his family and some Emiratis don't approve, but he doesn't mind. “I like my style,'' he says with a shrug.
He added: “Although I am following the western fashion, I respect our customs and traditions in the UAE. People can also see me in my traditional Emirati costume during Ramadan, Friday prayers, Eid, while visiting government organisations and especially when I go to my mother's house.''
- 499 Diamond watches are in mohammad's jewellery collection, which is worth Dh5 million
