While Rihanna now has her own luxury fashion label, that doesn’t stop her from supporting other designers who are scaling new heights, like Amina Muaddi. RiRi recently posted a picture of herself in a pair of “Begum” crystal-embellished PVC pumps from Muaddi’s spring 2019 collection. However, If you’re hoping to see the Jordanian-Romanian designer's contemporary take on Cinderella’s glass slippers light up your shoe cabinet, it seems you’re in for a wait as they’re completely sold out, everywhere.
Kendall Jenner was also spotted in the rising shoe designer’s “Gilda” sandals at the amFAR Gala after-party in Cannes, while other members from the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, have also stepped out in Amina Muaddi shoes.
Other taste-makers who have taken a liking to the graceful and beautiful designer’s work include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Caroline Daour, Beyoncé, not to mention the Middle Eastern influencers who love to support talents from their region, like Jessica Kahawaty.
Needless to say, Muaddi, who grew up between Jordan, Romania and Italy, is inspired by her Middle Eastern heritage, as well as different cultures. Travelling, close friends like Attico’s Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, as well as just about anything that draws her attention and leaves her feeling touched, are other major sources of creativity for her.
Whether stiletto pumps, boots, slingbacks, sandals or mules, Muaddi’s feminine, swish and fresh footwear comes in lustrous textures, often with eye-catching embellishments like crystals and feathers. Designed in France and made in Italy, the shoes also come in bright colours and holographic designs. Plus, of course, there’s her trademark flared stiletto heel with a geometric base, which adds a distinguishing mark to her styles that have a timeless quality.
Muaddi has been obsessed with shoes ever since she was a child and walked around the house in her mother’s heels, as young fashionistas do. By the time she was 16, she was living in Italy and after high school she studied at Milan’s European Institute of Design. The chic brunette then started working as a fashion editor, with styling stints that included work for L’Uomo Vogue and American GQ.
However, her creative vision compelled her to start her own shoe company and she embarked on a new challenge, to learn a different trade. This saw her setting off to the Riviera del Brenta, an area near Venice that is a storied shoe-making district, And after learning everything she knows about shoes from world-class artisans and suppliers, she co-founded her first shoe brand, Oscar Tiye. A move to Paris then saw her collaborate with Alexandre Vauthier for the launch of his shoe line. And while she focuses on her own eponymous footwear line, she still designs the French couturier’s to this day.
