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What do you do if you're heading in a direction you're not sure you want to be moving in? Well, if you're Najeeba Hayat, you pack it all in (it being a career in Foreign Affairs), follow your feet and become one of the hottest shoe designers in town.
Meet Najeeba, founder of Liudmila shoes, who was studying Political Science at University in America before realising she wasn't after a corporate life. Like something out of a Disney movie, she packed her things, shipped herself off to Italy and set up shop as a luxury shoe designer. Najeeba now works from her studio in Milan and the shoes she designs are nothing short of a fairytale, inspired by the romance of Russian literature, Dickensian Victoriana and details reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty's slippers. Najeeba's shoes are as quirky as they are magical. Think mint green lace up booties and feathered pastel sandals with French courtesan style silhouettes. If Marie Antoinette were kicking about now, she'd be doing so in Liudmila heels.
Naturally, Najeeba's style is as charming as her designs – bows, fluff, milk-maid dresses with matching milk maid pigtails are her signature stamps. She's recently worked on an epic collaboration with Leandra Medine of Man Repeller and her AW and SS collections have been bought up by Browns. So, start name dropping her, now.
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