Najeeba Hayat is the Kuwaiti designer behind Liudmila, the luxury footwear brand bringing fun back into fashion with her playful designs inspired by fairytales. Unlike many luxury shoe brands Liudmila is going against the status quo, offering something other than the traditional sex appeal of uncomfortable six-inch heels. She founded her label, (named after Liudmila Rutilova from The Petty Demon ) in 2013 and the former English Literature student has gone from strength to strength. Her pre-spring 2017 collection, hosted by Leandra Medine of Man Repeller was influenced by Victorian fashion with crushed velvet heels, deep hues and carriage boots and for its launch, Najeeba took over a Soho townhouse and transformed into an immersive Victorian magic show; complete with magician and models leisurely laid on vintage benches donning lace slips and the shoes on their feet. We thought it best to catch up with Hayat to talk through her top five shoe inspirations, from The Powerpuff Girls to 1950s Dior.
Roger Vivier for Dior
Vivier is the OG when it comes to fantasy shoes, creating the most photogenic little lace pumps with curved heels and festooned with the light of a thousand angels. It’s impossible to buy shoes as special; his is what pushed me into footwear.
Amelie Pichard
I love how she redefined sexy shoes. She totally ignored convention (bondage leather, high heels, tons of straps) and made sexy shoes out of sensible, mumsy silhouettes, chunky heels and terry cloth and it totally works! It’s this steamy, wet t-shirt, plush soft girl power that is so addictive!
Pietro Yantorny
Yantorny to me embodies the apex of shoemaking and mastery of form. Exquisite, impeccable, flawless executions of ambition design. The curves he would throw on the heels and the overall harmony of every element of his shoes is a real lesson to anyone wishing to call him/herself a designer. Perfect pitch, daring cuts, gorgeous flow, flawless embellishment and mind-blowing precision.
Little Ottoman soldiers in miniature paintings
A weird one but I love small feet! I would always stare at the little soldiers in paintings around my house as a kid. I was fascinated by the cute little pointy black shoes they wore and always have that in mind while designing. I always imagine the little “tik tik tik” noise they would make walking across the paper.
The PowerPuff Girls
No list of mine would be complete without their sweet little mary-janes. I love this idea that cute little girls wearing tiny little shoes save the town every time. The shoes seem to be such an integral part of the force of the character, (just think of Sailor Moon). They are the final, necessary touch that seal their superhero-dom!
