Women are crazy about shoes because the right pair can take an outfit to another level. Wearing comfortable, stylish shoes is the secret to self-confidence, which is surefire head turner.
And there is someone who thinks along the same lines and has taken shoe design to a whole new level. That person is none other than Anas Younes Shanaah, famous Jordanian-born shoe designer. Curious enough to know what he perceives about this vital aspect of women’s fashion, I asked him what women actually look for in their shoes. “They want their shoes to look feminine and give them a nice posture as well as a good feel of power. Believe it or not, shoes can do that! At the same time, they have a high regard for the best quality and stability,” he explained.
Where he has incorporated seemingly exquisite changes is in his wonderful concept to display Arabic calligraphy on striking pieces of shoes. “I wanted to use this beautiful art form on products in general. It was my conceptual thinking. And so be it! I then moved on to integrate it with shoes as an experiment,” he says. “I was quite elated when the experiment really paid off.”
A career in shoe design
The idea of shoe design was already lingering somewhere in his head. It was just waiting to happen in the right place at the right time. “It has always been something I considered since I had my boutique in New York City. I had a shoe and handbag store on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, and designing my own line has been a dream project since then,” says Shanaah.
He wanted to work closely with factories and customize the orders for his shop. He realized he should start getting involved in the process as well. “I found myself guiding the design process while placing the orders. In fact, how I ended up with this goes back to my deep roots in my culture, and the love I have for my background,” he says.
When asked why he was drawn to a career in fashion since he studied architecture, he simply said, “All by chance!” In the course of setting up his design company, he knew that it wasn’t based on fashion at all. The purpose of this enterprise was an industrial one, making products and home accessories. “Switching to fashion followed an experiment which I really wanted to try and I did it on shoes given my connections to Italy and my background working in leather goods,” he recalls. “That’s when the thought of showcasing Arabic calligraphy in a different format popped up in my head.”
As soon as he graduated, he left for Italy first and then headed for New York to pursue a career in product design. He did his Master’s Degree in the same. This was the turning point in his life. Nonetheless, he still has a lot of respect for architecture which, he says, is a great profession and provides a great base for design and in any field. “My attention to details, textures, finishing and perfection is part of being an architect.”
In his case, there was a weird reason why he didn’t choose structural design as his career option. “For me, working in architecture meant a long and tedious process. It annoyed me. I prefer to see results of my creations within weeks or months,” he said.
Birth of Aennis Eunis
The brand was launched in 2009. He had no certain expectations as to how far it will go. But the turnaround made it a familiar choice among women in a short span of time as he admits, “I couldn’t believe what had happened. All of a sudden it became a popular brand. In fact, the results were much more astonishing than I had anticipated.”
His designed shoes rock for a reason. So what really is it? He explains, “My shoes are a bridge between current trends you see in international markets and a sense of cultural heritage that I add to my designs. Therefore, one can clearly trace a story behind the shoes.”
There are many great designers out there, and each has his own “touch”. Likewise, Shanaah’s touch has also been defined. “The shoes are produced in Italy and in some of the factories that produce the best leather goods in the world,” he says.
He wants to enjoy every bit of what he does. Not surprisingly, he personally follows up on all stages of production to make sure that the final product is compatible with any luxury standard in the global market.
“So in essence, one is getting a cross cultural product as per international luxury standards.”
Another important thing that women expect their shoes to perform is to give them comfort. Like the designer of Aennis Eunis says, “I personally try to maintain comfort while working on aesthetics. I like it when a customer says: ‘They are comfortable’.”
However, what can’t be denied is that statistically, a woman buys shoes regardless how comfortable they are. And if what they really want is comfort, then they don’t compromise but just go for that.
Asked whether he has a particular type of a woman in mind before he gets on with the nitty-gritty of shoemaking, he replied, “Yes, I do. The inspiration is always ‘the woman.’ When the concept of shoe comes to life, the first thing that comes to mind is how it would look on a woman’s foot plus how it enhances the lines of her body.”
He also added that he even imagines the outfits she would wear with each style. If for any reason all of this isn’t clear in mind, he doesn’t take the style further. So he works on the ones he feels and believes in.
He knows exactly what type of women wear his amazing creations. “The woman who appreciates my work and tries my designs is a woman who is independent, not driven by advertisements and fashion lists,” he says. It’s even more flattering to me that a stylish woman would be wearing my shoes, because it was a decision that she made consciously.”
It could be hard to pin down the secrets to creating stylish stilettos. The reason being is that they cannot be described in words. Because it’s all about proportions, lines, relation with body posture, what you expose and how much … and how! As Shanaah says, “Good designs just happen. A good designer is the one who has that formula built in. That “eye” only comes with experience and time.”
There is no dearth of inspiration in Shanaah’s work. “Inspiration can come from anywhere such as the old bazaar, a novel or a poem. These inspirations come to dress up the collection so all styles have something in common,” he says. “The driver behind all my work is to create feminine lines that enhance a woman’s look and posture. In so doing, I am blessed with a rich pool of heritage background giving each collection a unique flavor.”
Asked about a celebrity who justifies the image of his brand, he said, “I have only one in mind. And she is none other than Queen Rania of Jordan who is an icon in fashion and style. I chose her because she represents what my brand tries to achieve, the perfect balance between East and West.”
Determined to take his brand a level further, he has many small steps planned for the future, such as, adding new items, doing a men’s line and creating a perfume. “I want my brand to be a force to reckon with internationally. I am sure I will get there soon,” he said.
