Designer Spotlight; Amina Muaddi

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. 

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SHOP AMINA MUADDI

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Who Is.. Mr. Pearl

With his 18 inch trained waistline, Mark Erskine-Pullin famously known as Mr. Pearl is something of a 21st century genius and a mysterious father figure in the fashion world. It is not just his commitment to his beloved craft as a corsetier - he wears a corset 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (relieving himself of the garments only to bath) - that he really skyrocketed to fame but rather the fact that he is arguably the most iconic, talented and sought-after corset maker in existence. 

Born in South Africa in 1962, he grew up in a working class family and lived a modest life there with his father Neil, an English toolmaker and his half-English, half-Dutch mother Yvette. Upon their divorce however, he was sent to live with his grandparents Hetty and Ruben Searle. Falling in love with corsets and the art of waist training at a young age, his fascination was encouraged living with his Grandmother, where he would lace her into her corsets upon her request and, loving every minute of it, so his journey into the fashion world was born. Feeling under much pressure to conform, Pullin married a South African actress but later ended it before moving to London, where he found his freedom. He worked as a dresser and costume designer for the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden by day and by night he was a regular nightclub attendee and performer - going under his alter ego “Pearl”; it was later that Isabella Blow named him “Mr. Pearl”, which has stuck ever since. 

After a stint working under the legendary performance artist, fashion designer and club promoter, Leigh Bowery, Pullin moved to Paris to pursue his career as a corsetier after meeting designer Thierry Mugler at the Love Ball in New York City. Paris has become his home and there he works on a made-to-order basis for private clients only. Marking a history of controversy, the corset is often seen as a symbol of female oppression, yet to the contrary a sign of sexuality, power and the pursuit of pleasure. For Pullin it is a form of self-discipline and of his work he says, “it is not about being fashionable. I do not follow fashion at all. I’m interested in an ideal, a kind of expression of elegance, which really has nothing to do with fashion”.

From conception to materialisation, a Mr. Pearl piece can take months of hard work and craftsmanship. Mr. Pearl has produced creations for designers such as Chloe, John Galliano, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Christian Lacroix and Antonio Berardi, while celebrities like Kylie Minogue, Jerry Hall, Sophie Dahl, Victoria Beckham, Kim Kardashian not forgetting his long-term collaborator Dita Von Teese have been known to wear his designs. 

In a time when fashion is fast and seasons are multiplying, there’s something nurturing in the fact that Mr. Pearl’s work will always take time. His dedication to the art sees him refuse to use any form of modern technology in the making of his famously extravagant and opulent inventions. And so it stands that if you’re in the market for one of the world’s most iconic corsets, Paris is calling.