DUBAI: Celebrity-loved Romanian Jordanian footwear designer Amina Muaddi has given her 1.3 million Instagram followers a glimpse of her recent trip to Japan before she receives the designer of the year prize at the 2022 FN Achievement Awards in New York on Nov. 30.
The Footwear News awards is hosted by the American industry magazine that specializes in covering the international shoe industry. This year, Muaddi will be granted the designer of the year award, while Christian Louboutin will be given the lifetime achievement award. The best collaboration award will go to the “Manolo Blahnik for Birkenstock” collection, while the year’s best shoe has been unveiled as the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 by late designer Virgil Abloh.
Muaddi — who flew to Japan after visiting Qatar, where she attended the recent Fashion Trust Arabia awards — shared two carousel posts on Instagram, giving her followers an inside peek at her time in the country.
In the bevy of stylish photos, Muaddi can be seen enjoying Japanese cuisine, posing beside a luxury pool and exploring Tokyo by night.
The designer was joined by a number of friends on the trip, including US Palestinian model and musician Fai Khadra.
Muaddi gave readers insight into her jet set lifestyle and career highs and lows in a telling interview with Footwear News in September.
“I was so passionate, so I was willing to go through any hardship,” she told the publication. “There’s a reason why only so many people get to this point, because you get tested a lot.
“Many times, I was close to giving up. I had to part ways with my partner, with producers, I’ve had (orders) canceled. It’s not about what you go through, it’s how you survive the situation and how you thrive after it. It’s a never-ending lesson,” she added.
The designer told the magazine that this year alone, her brand’s global sales revenue will total $55 million but added that after becoming an established shoes and accessories maker, her hardships have changed.
“It’s a matter of navigating and continuing no matter what,” she said.
Muaddi launched her eponymous footwear line in August 2018, approximately one year after departing from her role as co-founder and creative director of luxury footwear label Oscar Tiye.
The shoemaker’s eponymous label’s distinct pumps, sling-backs, mules, boots and sandals in an array of vibrant colors and holographic designs have since garnered a loyal checklist of famous fans, including Dua Lipa, Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber Baldwin.
She helped design the shoes for Rihanna’s Fenty collection. The collaboration was so successful that it received the Collaborator of the Year award at the 34th edition of the FN Achievement Awards.
In 2020, she debuted a range of jewelry and handbags and collaborated with Austrian brand Wolford on an exclusive 17-piece capsule collection of ready-to-wear looks in 2021.
In October 2021, she landed a spot on Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) and Footwear News’s 50 Most Powerful Women list.
