Fouzul Hameed

In conversation with Ashwini Vethakan

JOURNEY OF LIFE

Born

26 March 

Alma maters

Zahira College and Isipathana College 

Family members

My wife (Nuha) and children (Najath, Habiba, Mikail and Alif) 

Wanted to be

A designer; and thanks to our family business, I was able to get on the right track to reach where I wanted to be

Drives

A Toyota Harrier 

Would like to drive

Any simple vehicle 

Moments you would like to go back to

My childhood days to be with my friends and relations 

Best advice received

Be honest, have integrity and be ready to help everyone – words of advice from my parents

INTIMATE AND INSPIRING

Happy places

Home and my country Sri Lanka 

Likes to play

Football and cricket – and I also like a good workout in the gym 

Likes to watch

Any sport related show 

Most unforgettable events

Being a judge and designer in England for the Mr and Miss England contests

Most forgettable events

The 2004 tsunami and the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose in life

To live happily, peacefully and help others

Items on the bucket list for the next six months

To survive this pandemic, keep building my business and begin making plans to take it overseas 


UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Mantra to unwind

Playing sports, going to the beach and reading

Hobbies

Reading anything on fashion or biographies of entrepreneurs

Most hated chore

Cleaning 

Pet peeves

Racists, cheaters and people who are out to cause destruction 

Impressed by

Quality, simplicity and elegance

What you think about when you’re in the car

I usually take a nap while being driven around – it’s also the time I usually call my friends

The best thing about working in the fashion industry

Fashion is constantly evolving so you always need to be on your toes and work towards delivering first; there is also the thrill of creating new styles

Items on the bucket list following retirement

Enjoy life, continue my fitness regime and help those around me

Three must-haves

Mobile phone, wallet and glasses

What you would like to have

Peace of mind, a healthy life and the ability to help everyone

A little-known fact about you

I dream too much – and tend to expect everyone around me to also work towards that same dream and at the same speed

FAVOURITES  

Day of the week

Every day is a favourite day 

Colours

All shades of blue – I believe a gentleman should always wear a range of blues

Work wear

Semi-formal or formal

Leisure wear

Casual, linen and comfortable

Brands

My very own Envoy London and FH

Drinks

Anything that is natural, fresh and healthy

Local holiday destinations

Any seaside resort or around the cool hills of upcountry

Overseas holiday destinations

Italy, Malaysia and the Maldives

Chill out spot

Home

Work out preferences 

The gym

Restaurant to eat at

Cafe Bagatalle or any beachfront seafood restaurant

Actors

Shah Rukh Khan, Brad Pitt and George Clooney

Genre of movies

Comedy

Musicians

Sir Elton John and Michael Jackson

Books

Biographies of Sir Richard Branson and Tom Ford

Favourite international civil servant

Former Prime Minster of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau

Qualities you look for in a friend

Honesty, integrity and simplicity

Likely retirement destination

Sri Lanka

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE

The first thing you need when you wake up

My cup of tea

The first thing you notice when meeting someone

His or her first impression 

Recently laughed out loud when…

I tend to joke around and keep my days lighthearted so there’s quite a few times a day when you’d catch me having a good laugh

Saddened by

Death, sickness and when people fall sick

You’re challenged by

Competition 

Children are…

My world

Colombo in a few words

A good place with a lot of potential

Sri Lanka in a few words

Filled with lovely people who are divided by politics

The world is…

A beautiful place that’s divided by politicians

PICK ONE

Memory skills on a scale of 0 to 10

It’s really a 50-50 sort of thing

Computer ability in a few words

A little below average

Most productive in the morning, noon or night

24 hours a day

A leader or follower by nature

Leader (at least that’s what people tell me!)

Cook or foodie

I’m a cook (in training)

Quality or quantity

Quality

The glass is half full or half empty

Half empty

Work or play after retirement

Both

The most delightful word you can think of

Beautiful

Do you consider yourself to be a student or teacher?

Teacher

A technology that you think will transform the future

I would really appreciate if someone could create a tech-nology that would allow the finer stitching of an outfit or suit in a few seconds

Why something so specific?

It usually takes about 24 hours to create a suit; imagine the hours that could be saved if we had the technology able to do it for us in even half that time?

Your most used word or phrase

Quality! And focus! 

Role models

Tom Ford and my mother

Yourself in a few words

Simple, sporty and I’d like to say honest 

Motto in life

Be simple, be honest, care for and help those around you