Honorable Mention 2021 / SPECIAL AWARDS / ARTISTIC FOOTWEAR

Zahw

 

 

  • Company
    D. Designs
  • Lead Designer
    Farida Eid
  • Design Team
    Farida Eid
  • Expertise
    Brand

As redundant designs are one of the major problems in The footwear Industry, this project is aimed to create original and unique shoe based on a conceptual design. It is inspired by the old Egyptian identity found in El Moez Street. It's inspired by the Mamluks dynasty, focusing on The Qalawon complex.Nowadays, our article of clothings and our lifestyle in general no longer represent our culture nor identity. Very few are sticking to our traditional lifestyle and costumes and they have become the minority.This project aims to bring the unique cultural & visual elements found in Old Cairo back

Bio
I am an Egyptian footwear designer and patternmaker, I graduated from Arsutoria, Milan, Italy 2020. I am currently senior footwear designer, developer and patternmaker of Mintra sports, the biggest factory of sports footwear in Africa and the middle east. My passion for footwear started long ago when i was in high school, however, I couldn't travel nor study footwear as it's not available in Egypt. I studied graphic design instead graduated with honors and persuaded my dream and traveled to Milan. It was very challenging to leave my country and travel as a middle eastern girl,but I did it

Other prizes
During the Pattern Making Diploma, Italian sole makers GEA Gomma had their annual competition where they asked for a Chelsea boot design to be used with their outsoles. Gea Gomma has been a market leader in manufacturing calendered natural rubber since 1952. Their request this year was to design a chelsea boot without using crimping which is a technical requirment for the majority of chelsea boots. The objective was challenging, however, out of 19 people, I was one of the five finalists.I stood 3rd out of the 5 finalists and my design was featured in Ars. magazine. Arsutoria magazine is leading Italian magazine for footwear manufacturers and designers In Milan, Italy. I am looking forward to win with global footwear awards to inspire women in my country to follow their dreams no matter what, even if people think it's impossible and absurd. I will keepchallenging and developing myself to follow my dreams as long as I live.