Our spring issue cover star hardly needs an introduction. Thanks to Netflix’s Dubai Bling, we’re all well-acquainted with the glitzy lives of Dubai’s high society. Although we normies sit at home relishing in the chaos and couture, for the stars themselves it’s all very much real life. And for Safa, bling is as much a privilege as it is a birthright. “The first time I ever bought a Birkin, I was flying, I was walking on a cloud and so happy,” she tells me, a sentiment only the truly luxe-initiated can understand. But even the most devoted material girl has an existential reckoning, and Safa’s, in true Dubai Bling fashion, came in the form of a send off – for her Lamborghini. Draped in head-to-toe black alongside her co-stars, she staged a full mourning ceremony for the dearly departed vehicle, creating a moment so absurdly theatrical it became the show’s most viral spectacle to date. Was it satire? Self-parody? A genuine expression of grief? Perhaps all of the above. Either way, it was peak reality TV – unapologetically over-the-top and impossible to look away from. And that, I come to learn, is the true essence of Safa Siddiqui.
“I was detaching myself from materialism,” she tells me with a laugh as we sit down for our cover interview on a rainy Monday afternoon in Dubai (yes, we actually have those here). “People assume I’m just about labels and luxury, but I see the humour in all of it”. The self-awareness is refreshing, and of course, she’s in on the joke. “I’m very spontaneous and dramatic, and obviously those characteristics go viral,” she admits. “No one’s sitting around a dinner table saying, ‘Oh, Safa’s a great mother.’ They’re saying, ‘Safa threw a funeral for a Lamborghini’”.
Dress: Femme Fatale
Shoes: Amina Muaddi
Jewellery: Swe Me Jewelry
Makeup by Flormar.
As absurd as the scene was, Safa’s display, she insists, was all about the symbolism. Luxury will always be a cornerstone of her life, but her definition of it has evolved over the past few months. “I used to get carried away with buying things, but it’s not giving me the same happiness anymore. I am not apologising for any stage of my life. I was a spoilt wifey and I had a right to be. In season one, that was my era. But now you see me in a different era”. This one, she reveals, is of supposedly humbler roots (though, if you ask me, season three Safa was for sure in her Reputation era—Swifties, back me up here).
Before Dubai Bling, Safa was a force in Dubai’s high-stakes luxury real estate scene. And this year, she made a formidable return – this time as CEO of Decisive Living, her own luxury real estate firm. “A business is like a baby,” she says. “You nurture it, you watch it grow, and you become proud of it. People forget I had a very successful career before the show. Dubai is full of opportunities. You can progress so quickly and do so much for yourself”. Still, she’s not interested in playing the “boss woman” narrative to perfection. “There’s so much pressure to be number one, but success looks different for everyone. As long as you’re happy and fulfilled, that’s what truly matters”.
Dress: Shahad Albandar
Earrings: Hugo Kreit
Makeup by Flormar.
Her decision to re-enter the real estate world wasn’t just about business – it was about reclaiming her sense of purpose. “Right now I’m enjoying the stimulation of being able to have my career back, something for myself”, she says. Although she’s always had an innate desire for domestic life, there was always a pull for something bigger. “When I had my firstborn, I had been a housewife for some time, and I fell into postpartum depression because I didn’t have that outlet to achieve. Then I was offered the opportunity for Dubai Bling. I was never interested in fame, my to-do list was always just get married, have kids, spend money. Fahad was actually really against us joining the show. But ultimately it ended up happening and everything changed”. It’s quite hard to imagine the show without Safa and Fahad. The family dynamics, the arguments, the extravagant gifting…it’s all audaciously unfiltered. With Fahad facing some recent health scares on the show, Safa emphasises the unscripted nature of it all. “These are real issues happening in my life. I live it”.
Fame, of course, has changed her over the years. As it would anyone whose life is suddenly catapulted to global stardom. “I was used to being like this around my people. But now, I’m vulnerable to the world. There are always eyes on me,” Safa tells me. And yet, she refuses to censor herself. “I want to keep it real. If you want to chase material things, go for it. I hate the shaming. It really annoys me when people come for me about surgery or Botox. Like, are we still shaming women for that? Why are we still doing this?”. But the power of influence, Safa reflects, is a tricky thing to navigate. “Having so many young girls coming up to me saying they want to be like me – it’s important for me to show them that there’s another side to Safa beyond the glitz and the glamour. You don’t just marry a rich guy and that’s it. If you marry a rich guy but you haven’t worked on yourself, what happens if he hurts you? Or if you have to leave the situation? If you don’t have anything grounding you then you become too dependent”. It’s wisdom she credits to her mother. “I used to say, ‘I don’t want to go to university.’ My mum said, ‘No, you have to. You need to have your own power in life.’ And she was right”.
Jacket and Skirt: AREA
Jewellery and Shoes: Safa’s own
Makeup by Flormar.
The unapologetic resilience we see on the show today is in many ways attributed to some hardship she faced in her formative years. “I honestly never thought about it until you asked me this, I feel like I’m in therapy, it makes so much sense now”, she jokes. Moving to Dubai from the UK, she entered real estate almost by accident. “The first day on the job, I couldn’t even read a floor plan.” But she quickly outpaced her male colleagues. “I was the only woman in the office, and I was closing more deals than all of them. They hated it”. That confidence is now the cornerstone of her brand. “That space where you allow people to talk badly about you? It stops you from progressing. I was too busy closing deals to care. These were grown men who would talk badly about me, and I was a 23-year-old girl in the office outperforming them”. It was, she reflects, the first time she ever felt powerful as a woman. “I am who I am because I was bullied a lot growing up. As I got older, I realized how silly those people were. I decided I’m never pouring my energy into that”.
Dress: Selezza London
Shoes: Rene Caovilla
Makeup by Flormar.
Owning your power as a woman is very much the key to success, Safa realised – ironically actioning the advice she received from her own mother those years ago. Now, she hopes to pass down that same wisdom to her own children; that girlhood is not something we grow away from – it’s something we grow into. “Years later, I’m fulfilling my dreams. I’d love to tell my younger self, ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to be a fashion designer, you’re going to have a real estate company, and you’re going to have the most amazing family.’ I can’t imagine my younger self knowing that.” She pauses. “I pinch myself. I’m so grateful”.
Because, as Safa puts it, she is the brand. “I lead with myself. At the core of what I’m building is a community of authenticity. That’s what I want to build more than anything”. With that, she’s already attracting major brand deals, including a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Flormar. “They value me as a brand. It’s such a playful and creative space – I love what we’re doing together”. Whether it’s fashion, real estate, or reality TV (and yes, I did try to recruit her for Selling Sunset – you’re welcome, world), this is Safa’s moment, and we’re all indeed watching. And as for Dubai Bling Season 4? “Is there a show without me?” she teases. Touché.
Editorial Director: Milli Midwood
Deputy Editor: Sara-Aisha Kent
Words: Megan Tomos
Art Director: Agata Wycichowska
Styling: Imogene Legrand
Hair Stylist: Sara Nasimiyu Olando
Makeup Artist: Noor Prestige
Producer: Fatima Mourad
Styling Assistant: Daisy Jacob
Camera Assistants: Macky Anthony Navarro & Charlie Mrcoolot.