Amina Muaddi, the queen of Ri’s heels, has just dropped a collection that celebrates and brings Arab culture to the forefront of the fashion world.
Amina Muaddi is a jack of all trades (and master of them all). The Jordanian-Romanian fashion designer, businesswoman, influencer, and shoemaker has done it again; she’s launched an impressive campaign, this time focused on celebrating her Arab roots.
The Drop 2/22, modelled by Imaan Hammam (which was selected by Muaddi for her Middle Eastern and North African heritage) features looks styled by Jahleel Weaver and photographs shot in Cairo by Egyptian-British visual artist Dexter Navy. In her fights for diversity, Amina brought together an almost entirely Arab crew, something which she told Vogue Arabia, felt crucial to her and is extremely unlikely in the industry. “There isn’t nearly enough representation and spotlight on people with our background,” Amina spoke to Vogue.
The fight for a more diverse and culture-embracing fashion industry is one that has been going on for a long time but has gained traction within the creative industries just the last couple of years. Through campaigns such as Amina’s, fashion is slowly entering a new, less bleached and certainly more culturally diverse era. We cannot wait to see what Muaddi releases next.
Amina has always been very open about her inspiration sources, which always boil down to her childhood influences. In a conversation with Harper’s Bazaar back in 2020, Muaddi expressed her admiration for her own mother’s style. “My mother grew up in Romania during the communist era. After we moved to Jordan, she’d always bring back beautiful things to her home friends that they didn’t have access to. My roots will always be a source of inspiration to me.”
The drop features Muaddi’s signature glitzy heels full of bejewelled anklets and Amina’s teardrop crystals and platforms, all modelled by Hammam. Sat next to a shish-smoking man, in front of an Arabian horse, or sat on top of rich tapestries; there is not an element of the creative process that has not drawn from Amina’s roots.
Muaddi’s success, which skyrocketed during the pandemic has not come without drawbacks. Her signature shoes, with pointed toes and bell-like heels, were readily copied by large fast-fashion giants. Amina, when commenting about plagiarism, was found more concerned about pointing out the obvious; with such low prices, one can only question the working conditions of the people that worked to produce said shoes. It does, however, raise the question: will we be seeing versions of Amina’s latest drop populate our high-street stores the coming fall?
