Muaddi Describes Fashion As "Jungle"

After training in the famous Riviera del Brenta District, Amina muaddi teamed up with Rihanna and Alexandre vauthier to share her insights and suggestions on how to start a career as a shoe designer.

Paris, France - Amina muaddi grew up in Jordan and Romania. From a geographical point of view, she does not belong to the "fashion world". In order to realize her desire to work in the fashion industry, she moved to Italy and studied fashion communication at the Milan campus of the European Institute of design. After graduation, she got her first job as a fashion assistant at L'uomo vogue, then moved to New York to work for the American version of GQ.

Not content with editing and styling, muaddi returned to Italy at the age of 24 and began to realize her career aspirations in shoe design. Worried about the lack of technical training for design graduates, she moved to Riviera de Brenta, Italy's famous luxury shoe production area, to learn every step of the shoe making process from local craftsmen. In 2013, she co founded her first brand, Oscar Tiye.

Muaddi described fashion as a "Jungle" that required "thick skin to survive, especially as a young woman," and her first brand failed. However, in August 2018, the designer launched her name in Paris, but she made it in the second month in Italy. BOF had previously reported sales of more than 20 million euros in the past 12 months. Her products are sold worldwide at Boutique retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols, ssense, browns and mytheresa. She has launched an exclusive capsule line with the latter two retailers. She will soon launch a series of mini bags and high-quality earrings.

Muaddi has also worked with French designer Alexandre vauthier to design his footwear line, with whom she still works, and recently with Rihanna, to design her LVMH Fenty footwear, which will be launched in July 2020. Here, the designer shares her career advice with readers of BOF.

What attracted you to join the fashion industry?

I grew up in Jordan and then Romania, and I'm not the center of fashion, so from a geographical point of view, I'm a bit out of place with the fashion world. But I'm passionate about the industry, which is a natural instinct for me.

When I was 9 years old, I decided to make fashion my career. I asked my mother how she could work for a fashion magazine. At the time, I had just moved to Romania, where there was no fashion school. My mother said I might study journalism, and then my fashion career began when I went to Italy at the age of 16.

I went to the European School of design in Milan to study fashion communication. I interned at Bridal vogue, got my first job as a fashion assistant at L'uomo vogue, and then worked for the American version of GQ in New York. That's how I started to break into fashion, not through a fashion company, but through editors and magazines.

How did you get your first job in vogue?

I wanted to work in women's fashion magazines at that time, but I didn't have many opportunities. Everyone will offer you internships, but no one will offer you a real job. So, for me, working with a stylist is a way to do what I like, and it also brings income. But it's still very difficult to find a real job.

I'm worried about how I can grow in this industry. I think: my enthusiasm and determination helped me, but my study and the most important thesis also helped me. My graduation thesis was the creation of the first Romanian version of vogue. I was responsible for all the photography, blockbusters and art directors, and I devoted myself to this project. That's why I got my first job.

How did you transition from modeling to design?

When I worked for a magazine, I wasn't satisfied. My boss at GQ, an editor and star stylist, told me, "if you want to be a brand, don't wait." He helped me realize that I don't have to wait for my modeling career, or reach a certain age or position, I should just focus on what I really want.

First of all, I think I should study design, not fashion communication, although we have many courses mixed with design courses, such as design history and textile history. But I'm worried that if I'm not a good painter, I can't design. I think I just need to get out of that traditional mindset and realize that I'm more like a designer than I think because I have a strong vision and feel like I know what I want.

So I decided to move back to Italy and spend a year in the Riviera del Brenta, where basically everyone makes a living by making shoes. I started working with a craftsman who would take me to all the suppliers and see how each part was made. I visited craftsmen who made soles, stitches, heels, boxes and dust bags, and learned about every link in the chain. I learned how to make shoes before launching my first shoe brand, Oscar Tiye, in 2013.

Why is it important to learn from craftsmen and factories?

I once taught a master's degree course in shoe design. Some of them were very talented and beautiful in design, but they didn't know how to make shoes functional. How do you close your shoes? How do you put your feet in? How can you take them off? How do you make sure that they are comfortable and that they don't touch the painful parts of your feet? Shoes have a lot of technical details - unlike clothes, they can easily cause pain.

I have noticed that some students have no technical training, and the only way is to stay in the factory for a period of time. You should go to small factories and suppliers, because when I started working, no factory would like to work with me.

When I got the first set of samples, I ran into a lot of obstacles, but eventually I showed them to a sales agent who is still my sales agent to this day. He decided to take over my series, but because of the small scale of production, it was difficult to find a factory that agreed to work with me in the first place.

What is the most important lesson you learned from the beginning?

First of all, I missed my first product. The timing is not right. Our sample was late. Before the production of my first series started, the factory kicked me out. But don't let mistakes stop you. I've learned that this is a jungle, and you have to have thick skin to get through it, especially as a young woman.

I don't accept disrespect. That's why I lost my first product. It's hard to find someone who believes in your project and is willing to invest time and machinery in you.

You can't be too sensitive to personalize things, but I also think you know where to draw the line and ask for what you deserve or what you owe. As a new brand or as a young designer, you will be put in the last place, because you don't have too much work and money to play a role, so you have to persevere.

How do you deal with collaborative projects with other creative people?

I have a lot of projects to work with, some of which make me feel very intimate, others are not. I've never been involved in a project 100 percent of the time. So, instead of focusing on finance, I focus on creativity, growth, potential and my love for it, which is why I think my project is successful because I do it with my heart.

I have a strong vision of my own, so for my cooperation, I know that I have to realize my vision and shape the two worlds together. I have to run my aesthetic through the DNA of the brand and create an aesthetic that I think matches it. However, if someone works with me, they will bring their elements, but transform them through my aesthetic and my brand DNA.

Do you have any suggestions for those who want to survive and develop at this time?

We need passion in the field we work in, so I want to see someone who is passionate and creative, and feel like, "I want to change, I want to subvert, I want to bring new things." The excitement of creativity is my favorite thing. That's what we do. I also like vision, talent and originality, because they are rare.

Language and the way people behave, the way they speak or write letters, are also important. I get a lot of messages from people who want to work with me, but a lot of them are unprofessional, which can be very disappointing. Social media makes people too casual. The way you speak matters. I'm willing to read this information and I hired my PR through a private letter on instagram. In addition to your skills, you need to focus on how to sell yourself and communicate through yourself.

What do you think is the key to success in fashion?

Success is not only because of your talent and desire to distinguish yourself from others, but also because of your persistence. It took me a long time to build my own things, and it took me eight years to get to where I am today. My first brand has failed before, so I'm not afraid.

When I started Amina muaddi, I went to a PR company and told them that I wanted to launch a buy as you see brand through the wholesale business. I don't care about media coverage either. I don't want to do fashion week shows either. I was advised not to. But I didn't let anyone's advice affect me.

When you get advice from an organization, whether it's sales or PR, you tend to think that they know what they're doing because they should be authoritative, but they don't have to be modern authorities. You have to be true to yourself. If you let everyone influence yourself, you will never succeed because it will never be the real you. You need a lot of ambition and hard work, but you also need to think in a diverse way. Be a leader, not a follower.