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.
Name and occupation:
Najeeba Hayat and Shoe designer/sales rep/production manager/everything for Liudmila shoes.
If you were an item of clothing, what would you be and why?
A giant, colourful fluffy coat. Warm, puffy and always causing trouble.
What item of clothing could you not live without?
My pink plastic croc print Miu Miu miniskirt.
What item of clothing best sums you up?
A Meadham Kirchhoff red Christmas dress. It's prissy, schoolgirlish, covered in bows and ruffles and only suitable for special occasions which means I will wear it at every available opportunity.
If you had to wear one designer for the rest of your life, who would it be?
Hmmm tough call between Miu Miu and my man Christopher Kane.
How would you sum your style up in three words?
Happy, fluffy, a little bit stuffy
What’s your favourite pair of shoes?
My new Drury Lane lace up boot from Pre-Spring '17
What do you love about the city you live in?
I don't really live anywhere because of the nature of my work. I currently live between Kuwait, Milan and London. I love Milan for everything: the food, the friends, the weather, the lifestyle. I love London (my birth city) for the atmosphere and the fact that a nice country walk is never more than an hour away. I love Kuwait for my family.
How does travelling so much impact your style?
LOL nothing can impact my style. Unless there are strict regulations against it, I will be wearing loud colours, shiny miniskirts and fluff no matter what.
Where’s your favourite place to shop?
I don't really shop anymore as I'm focused on my company. That being said, nothing beats London for multi brands and the high street. My favorite shop in the world would have to be Agent Provocateur. MASSIVE brand loyalty there. Corsets are my favorite thing. One of my favorite shops on Brick Lane is called Boundary. Last thing I got from there was a fully plastic "rain skirt" covered in shiny stickers. I wore it for New Years. In Milan I love the little hidden vintage shops without any signs outside run by old ladies. I go there for little lace shirts and the odd fully suede floor length Tyrolean mountain dress. I go to Miu Miu for shiny miniskirts and chubby little sweaters, Uniqlo for basic sweaters and leggings, and Yoox for cool weird things I wished I had when I was younger.
What item of clothing are you still hunting out?
Gucci SS03 blue ombre layered silk chinoiserie minidress. Prada SS03 and SS10 everything, But above all the Miu Miu SS14 lucite choker. Still crying over that one.
What’s your most important beauty rule?
Take care of your skin!! I have a 7-step skincare routine as my nightly ritual. I almost never wear makeup but if I do, I use Shu Uemura oil cleanser to take it off, then I follow with my regular routine. I am OBSESSED with this brand called Paula's Choice. It's super effective and no BS. First I cleanse with their cream wash, then alcohol-free toner, I exfoliate with AHA, then apply a depigmentation treatment, followed by a retinol serum and heavy moisturizer with some drops of Vitamin C and ferulic acid mixed in. I also take Spirulina tablets and the Close Up supplements by Correxiko daily. Since I hit 25, I have been very serious about daily sunscreen application. I use an SPF 50 by Ultrasun. I'm pretty hardcore but I think it's justified. Once you ruin your skin, there's really no turning back.
Favourite make up product and why?
Two lipsticks: Yung Rapunxel by MAC and the best red lipstick on earth, Red Velvet Velvetines by Lime Crime.
Weirdest beauty trick you’ve ever tried?
Way too many to count. Ingestible silicon gels for skin detoxification, scrubbing my face with coffee blended in yoghurt in high school and taking all kinds of weird supplements my mom orders from Thailand.
Who do you stalk on Instagram?
My favourite model/Vice show presenter @HaileyBentonGates , the best interiors page @DecorHardcore , @RayReeg love his cartoons, @area_nyc they're going to be big, @thugsbunnny and @maisie_williams because she gives me hope for her generation and GO ARYA.
What's your favourite picture you've posted?
A picture of myself and my AW15 lookbook model wearing my Mrs Quah rose panel Victorian boots in bright pink and green.
Your favourite place to eat?
Hmmmm. Difficult. Trattoria del Pescatore in Milan. It's the best seafood restaurant in the city. Best food, best atmosphere, best owner, best staff. I LOVE Korean food so in Kuwait my favorite place is Koryokwan, a Korean restaurant in a run-down old hotel. K Town in New York. I love Pret and Itsu for fast-food in London but for slower food I'm becoming overly obsessed with Dinings in Marylebone. In Paris my favorite spot is Buvette in the 9th. If you're talking about literal best place to eat, Milan wins hands down. Give me Bresaola, fennel, rucola, pesto, bread and parmigiano, vermentino and good company I'm in heaven. Plus, eating out there and eating well is so easy, life is so much more harmonious and pleasurable in Italy.
What’s your favourite thing to cook?
No. I hate cooking. I might enjoy making banana ice cream in my banana ice cream maker from time to time.
Who’s your best buddy?
The inimitable Perry Joseph Straus. But honestly I have so many super close friends all over the world and I am grateful every day for the quality of people who are near and dear to me. They are all so different but all so so fantastic.
Where's your happy place?
In the water. At a party, dancing.
Your motto?
Life's a joke. Roll with the punches.
Your biggest fear?
The passing of time.
Your biggest achievement to date?
Honestly, doing everything that I did over the past four years to break into the shoe industry alone and without any support networks.
What do you want from your career?
I want to see people wearing my work. It makes me very happy.
Where will you be in ten years?
I don't want to think about that! Hopefully on a boat in the Med with my best friends, jumping into the sea and eating watermelon.
Who makes you laugh?
My best friend Perry, whose observations on humankind are unmatched by any other. Even if a person isn't funny, I always find a reason to laugh at them. It's one of my more endearing/annoying traits.
What quality do you most admire in other people?
A generosity of spirit! The will to live live live!
What's next?
Who knows!! Let's hope for the best!
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