ZM on the cover with his woolly, tassled, fiery chandelier and a 14 page spread in India's Design magazine INSIDE OUTSIDE (July 2012).
Thank you Reshma Mehra, Jaya Rao Mehra, Amita Sarwal, Sheila (ed. IO) and photographs by Amean J, Zeeshan Haider, Umer Bhatti, Dossani Studios & Visage Lifestyle magazine, Pakistan.
ZM is the first interior designer to grace the cover of a regional design magazine!
Zain Mustafa's return to Karach after a decade was into a speedy renovation of his beach front ocean facing 3 bedroom apartment home. It was kindly photographed by Visage Lifestyle magazine for their cover story. Published April 2012.
Dubai's recent phenomenal growth curve has seeded concerns over its design credibility with the 'biggest', 'best' and 'tallest' not necessarily signifying a benchmark for true elegance. International designers aside, home-grown talent is embryonic as, like the rest of the Middle East, aspiring to be a designer has never been high on the career agenda for more traditional families. However, with its urban-scape craving professionalism across all categories, international design kudos is a must, and Dubai is ripe for a design revolution. By realising this environment's potential and offering inventive solutions, Zain Mustafa, with his individual interior designs, aims to change the way the city looks from the inside out.
Change, from the inside out
What prompted you to move to Dubai after the US and, subsequent to careers in Publishing and Corporate Communications, what made you settle down with interior design? The choice was between Tokyo and Dubai after deciding that New York was 'done' and increasingly dull. Ultimately, Tokyo did not cut it and Dubai won the toss. Interior design was my initial response to the ever changing Dubai skyline and its liquid urban infrastructure which carried with it a magnetic charm that caught my spirit.
How does the work and lifestyle in Dubai compare to the other countries in which you have lived? The places in which I have lived - Karachi, London, New York and Santa Fe - cannot be compared to Dubai. Though the city is young, it is also highly complex.
How exciting is the interior design industry in Dubai? The interior design industry here needs desperate help. It lacks fresh ideas and a new spirit and this can be seen through the uniformity in design throughout. A revolution from within is what's needed to reduce reliance on imported ideas or cookie-cut solutions. The city's design scene requires nurturing, thought, sensuality and movement - a heart beat. Most importantly, the city needs to create its own signature direction.
Do you and your company have a preference for the interiors you design? Why? Yes, my team and I have a specific genre we enjoy designing. Essential to this is the necessity for the client to have a relationship with the space.
What is your favourite project to date and why? Undeniably my own home, it underwent a total transformation in almost no time, morphing from a generic mass produced space into my personal sanctuary. It has become a space I have an emotional relationship with - my haven, my nest and my reprieve. Supremely calming, it looks and feels great as it fuses the contemporary and the industrial with warmth and sensuality.
What does the future hold for Zain Mustafa Interiors? It's an open horizon with large scale projects scattered across it. Despite its imbalances, Dubai's global profile is strong and therefore is becoming a focal point on the international interiors style map - finally.
