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by Barbara Yakimchuk

Dubai Insiders: Ali Chaaban And Lana Qatramiz On Their Lives In Dubai

11 Nov 2025

This is the fourth episode of the Dubai Insiders podcast — and today, everything is doubled: the places, the insights, and the fun. Why? Because this episode features two guests who also happen to be best friends. And saying “meet them” wouldn’t be quite right — you already know them well.

So, welcome back our long-time Dubai insiders: Ali Chaaban, the Kuwaiti-born, Dubai-based Lebanese artist and Creative Director at YKONE, and Lana Qatramiz — stylist, creative consultant, and the founder of LAS CLUB. Together, we explore their Dubai — through friendship, creativity, and everything in between.

If we were to vote for the deepest episode of the podcast so far, this one would definitely take the crown. It is all about two very different personalities who, for some reason, just fit together perfectly.

We start by talking about their favourite areas, move through food, and somehow end up with style, music and art. And as a little bonus, woven throughout are their thoughts on Dubai’s diversity, overspending and saving habits, social anxiety and ghosting — topics that make this conversation not only entertaining but genuinely thought-provoking.

Here are four things to discover in our podcast with Ali and Lana:

  • Where to go for a date — and why their choices couldn’t be more different. Lana votes for 3Fils — a casual, unfussy spot that, she says, makes for a far more relaxed first date. Ali, on the other hand, chooses LPM, even though, as he admits, he isn't really a DIFC person. This part of the chat comes with a few light-hearted jokes about Dubai’s dating scene — consider that your little bonus moment.
  • How Dubai’s music scene could use a shake-up. Lana’s take? "We need to stop sticking to the same playlists — everything is so electronic and hip hop." She points out how people in Dubai can be a little afraid of trying anything new — understandable in a city where everyone feels the pressure to fit into the existing structure. Ali adds that music should make you want to Shazam it.
  • Their take on style — and why less is more. Ali’s golden rule: invest in good denim. Lana adds her stylist’s insight — it should be thick, not stretchy, and ideally paired with a good jacket. What starts as simple style advice turns into a sharp reflection on overconsumption, and why true style often lives by the rule: less is more.
  • Their biggest UAE and non-UAE inspirations. Ali, ever the advocate for the Sharjah Art Foundation, speaks about its lasting cultural impact, while Lana — the ultimate European at heart — shares her admiration for architecture, particularly Antoni Gaudí.

Listen now

Come for the deep conversations — stay for the fun jokes and the cool takes on style, music, and food.

Missed previous episodes? Here you go: