Feature
Community Story
May 22, 2016
(Print and Online)
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Here are excerpts from the article:
"Having learnt the craft from some of the best in the business, the Italians and the Portuguese, Cheikha is creating her signature style, an inspiration from her own life and background. In the first and distant look, her shoes appear plain simple. But they are not. Pick one up, observe closely and the finesse is evident.
“It is all about technique, the way the shoe is made. Then, it is about details. Everything is done by hand, even the weaving and the stitching. And it is 100 percent leather. So once you look at the details, you realise there is a lot more to it than what you initially see,” Cheikha tells Community in a chat at the launch of her trunk show."
"Cheikha’s shoes are not mass market products. She intends to target a niche market as she wants to maintain the style and the artisanal craft. And for that reason her numbers and the production is small."
"It was putting everything that she learnt together on paper and creating a mood and an identity for her brand. On the other end of the gallery, she placed the shoes that she had created with her hands alongside during the initial research. And this is how she commercialised the collection, she says.
Cheikha did all this for creating a true brand because she believes “you do not design shoes by looking at shoes; you look at things that inspire you.”