How Amina Muaddi is Steering Her A-List Accessories Empire Towards Global Domination

In this exclusive interview, the Jordanian-Romanian powerhouse shares how she always stays steps ahead…

“I definitely only want to do things my way,” Amina Muaddi says, carefully picking her words.

She’s musing over whether she’s a perfectionist who doesn’t shy away from the strength of her convictions “That is the pro and con of having this type of personality. I like to take risks, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid.” That in itself is a surprise as the Jordanian- Romanian shoe queen comes across as fearless.

That she’s disrupted the market is obvious, as the results speak for themselves. The almost 37-year-old (she celebrates her birthday this May) is steering a multimillion dirham accessories empire, which she founded in 2018. In just six short years the CEO and creative director has come a long way, with over 75 retailers across the globe stocking her line that’s designed in Paris and made in Italy.

The secret to her success? “I will take any risk if it’s something I 100 per cent believe in,” she tells Bazaar. “And I think it has to do with my gut. And with my instinct, which many logical people don’t believe in but I believe in strongly because it has guided me throughout my career. So I will take a risk, if it’s something that my gut and all my instincts are telling me to do. And then I believe in it completely; whether it’s a person or an action or an investment, whatever it is. I’m willing to do it if I believe in it.”

MAKING A STATEMENT

Signature pyramid and sculptural heels; translucent bows; neon colours; and 40-50 components in every design: hallmarks that instantly mark shoes out as Amina Muaddis. There’s also a femininity, an edginess, and a look-at-me vibe that permeates every piece. This is footwear that gets you noticed, with an element of whimsy. It feels expensive, nonchalantly upmarket. All the cool girls have a pair of her pretty Cinderella-esque Begum heels.

This originality and boldness has gotten Amina a slew of famous admirers. Kylie and Kendell Jenner, plus Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa have all been snapped in her heels. When Beyoncé has a tour, or a cover story – Aminas feature prominently.

Celebrities are not just purchasing but pursuing her for collaborations; but she’s only picked three so far. Case in point: Rihanna who tapped Amina to help with her Fenty footwear after an introduction to the brand via the singer’s stylist Jahleel Weaver. “What I love about collaborating is that you get out of your comfort zone, and try different things that maybe you wouldn’t otherwise. I’m very lucky to have experienced that, but we’ve been very selective. Only if I felt that they were 100 per cent organic and I was 100 per cent excited to do them and going to give all of myself in the project. Working with artists like Rihanna is amazing; you experience their creative process, their taste, their vision of fashion,” she enthuses. Other partnerships have included AWGE and Wolford – a natural choice given hosiery’s affinity with footwear.

What seems to tie all these women together? A sense of confidence. And you can’t help think that the designs encapsulate Amina’s spirit too. After co-founding Oscar Tiye in 2012 (the duo parted ways in 2017), and working on couturier Alexandre Vauthier’s shoe line, she finally attached her own name to a label; was it a difficult decision? “It wasn’t my first rodeo,” she laughs. “So, when I created this project, I came from a place of wanting it to succeed with all my heart and wanting to create something that felt extremely true to myself. I wanted to really define myself and who I was at the moment.” She pauses, thinking back, “I think I had no other choice. Having another brand before, it was a natural evolution. As a designer, I was already known in in the fashion circles, with buyers, with those I had worked with. It made sense.” It certainly did; her first collection was sold to ten high end retailers – including Bergdorf Goodman and Harrods – and sold out within 24 hours.

SOLE TO SOUL

What started off as a business with a focus on feet, has morphed into a burgeoning head-to-toe accessories maison, with newly-launched statement jewellery and both evening and daily handbags joining the mix. Was this always the master plan for Amina, who lived in Amman till she was six, and always dreamed of working in the fashion industry? “I’m very spontaneous and I like to go with the flow. I like to find solutions. Being an entrepreneur means always having to solve problems on the go. So I’m able to do short term thinking and planning and problem solving. And as far as the long term, of course, I see the goals, and I see what I want to build. It’s more like a big picture. And then in the big picture, I start building the details, I continue to create the puzzle.”

What is her puzzle going to look like when it’s done? “My puzzle was creating a successful brand, seeing many women around the world wear my shoes and be happy. Just being able to brighten up people’s day with something that I do. In our line of work, we are not saving lives. But if we’re able to put a smile on someone’s face and create products that people appreciate, and are able to wear over and over again, throughout the years, that’s what makes me happy.”

She may not see it, but she embodies a sense of girl power. You can almost see the flag waving in the back when the European Institute of Design graduate goes on to say, “To be a woman in this industry and just do something that I dreamt up, to be able to inspire future generations and women across the globe to take their destiny in their own hands, and accomplish their dreams. That’s also a bonus.”

HELPING HANDS

“The most important source of inspiration and motivation was my mother,” Amina is unequivocal when assigning kudos to her Romanian mum, Felicia. “She motivated me and inspired me to believe in myself. Sometimes, it’s easy for you to think small or feel that your dreams are not possible, you might think that certain things are impossible or unachievable. She always made me feel like I could do anything.”

She’s proved her confidence well placed too, but wouldn’t it have been less pressure to take a back seat? “I’ve always had an instinct for leadership. And I think that’s something that partially you learn, and partially, you have instinctively. I’ve been a freelancer, a collaborator but I don’t know how it feels to be an employee. I have never been one.”

She doesn’t romanticise being at the top; “I’ve had a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, a lot of moments where I feel hopeless but I always felt like I could lead the team into building something. If you have a CEO title, the responsibility falls on you. You have to take care of yourself, your company, and most importantly, your employees.”

“I think it’s so important to be a woman that leads a house and to be able to hire women; 99 per cent of my employees are women. I hire women and give them room to grow and develop their careers and their goals and their aspirations. It’s super important to build this strong base of amazing women,” Amina explains, when asked if her company is like a family. “It’s a corporate family. This is a work environment. But it’s amazing that we’ve all been able to build true friendships. And I think we’re able to have boundaries and to disassociate. When it’s work, it’s work. When it’s our downtime, it’s our downtime. My team have built friendships and relationships outside work; they collaborate so well organically that they are able to find other interests together outside the office scope.”

BLURRING BOUNDARIES

Being the boss, and the face of a brand, is a 24 hour job. Although you’d expect someone who hangs out in rarefied A-list circles to be in a constant party whirl, Amina craves down time, and “doing nothing, just being with my dog at home and chilling.” The wanderlust bug has definitely bitten this international trendsetter; “my favourite way to unwind is traveling. I think that’s the only way I’m able to fully disconnect. During the summer I just want to rest and I’ll probably go and get a house in the north of Ibiza, and not go out a lot.”

Amina is also very clear about distinguishing between her professional and personal life. “I have the luxury to decide how much I want to be in the limelight. My brand carries my name, but it’s based on my product. Therefore, I don’t feel the pressure to appear in that sense. I feel the pressure of creating good collections, great product, great campaigns, a great image, great stores, great pop-ups – I feel all sorts of pressure. But definitely, me being the face is not one of them. Because I’m quite private with my life and with myself. My life doesn’t depend on that. And my career doesn’t depend on that at all.”

In many ways Amina is the poster child for global citizens; “I definitely feel like I’m Middle Eastern the same way as I feel Romanian and the same way as I feel Italian even though I’m not by blood, but because I spent most of my life there. So I have links to all of these countries that helped develop who I am culturally,” she insists. “Even though I left Jordan when I was six, I’m super connected to the Middle East, to so many people there. I spent so many vacations in Lebanon, I go to Dubai for work all the time. Every time I’m in the Middle East, I feel like I’m from there. So it’s definitely been a natural connection for me. And of course, it’s based off of my roots as well.”

Her particular aesthetic suits the region well too; “Women in the Middle East dress super glamorously. And they take care of themselves, they pay attention to what they wear, and they’re very interested in fashion,” Amina observes. “I think it’s so important to also have designers and entrepreneurs that are also from the region as well, that are recognised on a global level.”

Given how hands-on she is with her company, has she ever felt at a disadvantage, being a woman? “When I started I was a kid. I was 25 and I definitely felt it many times. In the factories, it’s amazing, but at the same time it’s very harsh and you need to be very strong; you need to impose yourself in order not to not to be taken advantage of. So on the supply chain side, I have encountered a lot of misogyny. Especially as a young woman trying to create her first business. But if you show your power and the fact that you’re not going to let people take advantage of you, you earn people’s respect. If you know what you’re talking about, and if you know your product and if you’re confident and have a strong point of view you will be respected.”

What about her heritage? Did that help or hinder? “As a woman who is Arab Romanian, I haven’t been embraced right away as a designer. But at the same time, I never, ever allow that to just get to me. I never victimise myself.”

DRIVING FORCE

She’s at the top of her game, so isn’t it time to revel in the fruits of her labour and enjoy her success? “I’ve never been a greedy person, what I like to do is to just create, and of course, running the company takes a lot of the time from my creative process, for sure. But I still enjoy doing all of it. I have so much to accomplish and so much to do. I have goals that drive me. I don’t feel like I made it. I think it’s so important to never feel that because once you feel that, you can retire.”

Hitting milestones is always gratifying; “opening our store in Harrods was a great moment; collaborating with Rihanna, one of my favourite artists; the recent pop-up store in Dubai; creating the shoes for Beyoncé’s tour… I have many highlights at each stage. When I launched my first collection, the fact that it sold out right away, that was something that made me happy. We didn’t know how it was going to work and what was going to happen. Women and people in general, don’t feel like they deserve the good things that happen to them. We all struggle with that; when you work super hard for many years, and something good happens to you, it’s also important to say ‘yes, this is my time and I can feel it’, enjoy the moment and take it in.”

There’s plenty in the pipeline that she wants to achieve: “I want to build our retail business, have our own stores and also have a bit of our own supply chain,” she plans.

“There’s so many things that I still have to learn. I try not to make the same mistakes and just new mistakes, because a lesson will repeat itself until you learn it.” What advice would she give those who emulate her, having now been such a fixture in the luxury market? She seems surprised by the question, and smiles, “I feel like I am only just getting started.”

Photographer: Desiree Mattsson. Fashion Director: by Anna Castan. Make-Up: Mr Daniel. Hair: Ilham Mestour. Nails: Core Paris. Executive Producer: Jean-Marc Mondelet. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Post Production: Ruben Kristiansen. Styling Assistant: Gabriela Cambero. Lighting Assistant: Fayçal Bouhassoun

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s May 2024 Issue