Admittedly anything Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or Kendall Jenner wear on repeat very quickly and absolutely gets our attention. This time it comes in the form of Amina Muaddi, the Paris-based shoe designer who has cultivated a following bordering on religious level standards in such a short time that it’s impossible not to be wide-eyed in awe. The thirty-three year old designer, who grew up in Italy and with her half Jordanian, half Romanian heritage, has used her stylish roots while cultivating a world class taste and knowledge for life’s heavenly high-heels.
Coming from a place of immense knowledge and understanding of the shoe industry, the young designer has carved our quite a niche for herself. She began her career upon graduating from the Institute of Design in Milan after which she spent time as a stylist with stints at l’Uomo, Vogue and GQ. Realising her innate talent and passion for designing she landed in the Riviera del Brenta, the celebrated destination of all destinations for artisan shoe-makers. Working with high-end craftsman there, she learned her craft, using the time developing the 40-50 elements that go into each of her designs. She then moved to Paris to collaborate and create with the famed French couturier Alexandre Vauthier on his shoe line, a line she still designs today.
Today though, along with her other design commitments, she heads up her very own brand; Amina Muaddi Shoes. Recognized for her fabulous architecturally inspired designs, each collection is created with a whole lot of sass. Bold shapes and sparkling embellishments, you will instantly recognise a pair of Muaddi’s creations by their flared heel, her identifiable point that sets her apart from the masses of stiletto styles or regular block heels we’ve become so acquainted with in all our heeled existences.
Upon branching out to go solo (at just 31), her business-boss-lady-taking-over-the-world self came to the forefront when it came time to find retailers who would take her on and of the process she explains how she “wanted everything to be secretive and super exclusive. I was in no rush to take on lots of stores, I wanted to do things the right way”. Her attitude stood to her because upon meeting her, every single major buyer bought in. Now, with her eponymous brand, she designs just one large collection a year, which she then drip-feeds in to high-end retailers alongside her own e-commerce platform month on month. Hyper sexy with an edge of cool and a major helping of sass, Muaddi describes her collections as “shoes from nine to midnight”. Each pair is designed in Paris and produced in Italy with impeccable craftsmanship, attention to detail and a creative mastermind with an eye for beautiful aesthetics.
With celebrity followers like Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, Dua Lipa and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who all became self-proclaimed fanatics upon independently finding their way to her shoes, not to mention Princess Rania of Jordan also being a fan - she donned a pair on an official meeting with the Queen in London, you can be sure Muaddi is here to stay.
SHOP AMINA MUADDI
