‘COLLECTING IS AN ENDEAVOUR DRIVEN BY PASSION’

What drives people to amass hundreds of artworks, or trainers, or items of clothing, or cars, or any of the other myriad collectibles out there? Once the walls of your home and office have been covered in priceless paintings, or the many wardrobes in your many homes have been filled with clothes and shoes, what spurs you to keep gathering more? Love, it would seem.

This month, we spoke to some of the UAE’s foremost collectors, in categories ranging from classic cars to rare trainers. Elie Khouri, a connoisseur of the region’s contemporary art and design scene, ran out of wall space years ago and now stores the bulk of his collection in warehouses. Every year, he completely redecorates his home, making space for new combinations of his countless acquisitions.

Spanish DJ Lobito Brigante, who moved to Dubai 15 years ago, owns 23,000 vinyl records and acknowledges that “there is not enough time for me to listen to them back to back and take the time to appreciate them”.

Nonetheless, he still dedicates hours to “digging” sessions, wherever he might be in the world. A visit to Georgia last year yielded a number of Soviet-era jazz and funk records, while an August trip to New York served up a rare copy of Roy Ayers’s 1972 album He’s Coming. The value of his collection, he says, lies in the feelings each record evokes and the personal and professional evolution that they illustrate.

From Brigante and Khouri to Rashed Al Fahim, whose family owns 100 rare and classic cars, and Mohamed Al Safar, who has a collection of trainers valued at more than $2 million, the advice, across the board, is this: buy what you love.

Collecting is an endeavour driven by passion – for many, more addiction than investment – and should be about acquiring things that elicit genuine emotion. The priceless collections we feature are imbued with memories: the American muscle cars bought by Al Fahim’s father evoke early trips he took to Detroit; a recording of I’m On My Way by Candido takes Brigante back to B-Boy battles he took part in 20 years ago; and Al Safar is still on the hunt for a pair of rare Jordan 4 Eminem Encore trainers from 2004 because they were released to celebrate the launch of his all-time favourite rap album.

Al Fahim created DRVN, venues that combine artisanal coffee, top-quality food and a little slice of automotive history in one space, as a way to share his family’s collection with the wider world.

He perhaps puts it best when he says: “Don’t rush into thinking you need to complete your collection. Always go for what you love and what screams your name. And no car, no acquisition, should take food from the table.”