Footwear is a craft that requires an artistic quality. Through the ages, shoes have been developed to accommodate a wide variety of needs and styles. From the pharaonic leather footwear to King Louis XIV’s obsession with high heels, shoes have always been at the forefront of the fashion industry.
With that said, Maksters is the brainchild of two artistic minds who wanted to change the game by bringing art to everyone’s feet. The Makki brothers started their journey towards linking the world through art, quality, and craftsmanship a few years ago.
Today, the duo can confidently confirm that their shoes attract diverse clients from around the world. Their handmade masterpieces are inspired by the world’s most captivating treasures and cultures. Each of their designs is created independently to stand out.
Daily News Egypt met Khaled Makki, one half of the dynamic duo, upon their launch party in Egypt to learn more about the brand, their new collection, and near-future plans.
What encouraged you to launch this collection in Egypt?
The people. The people have spoken. We have had a lot of interest over the past two or three years, especially during the past 12 months. Many people from Cairo have reached out to us asking about our outlets.
Seeing as we are launching our third global collection, we thought now would be a good opportunity to introduce our brand and test the market. Cairo has a good client base. We thought of inviting all of our friends to show them the new collection. We also wanted to meet new people and introduce them to the brand.
How would you evaluate the feedback so far?
It has been good so far. The feedback from people who have seen and tried our shoes has been very positive which is why we wanted to come to Egypt. We are confident we have a good product. We just want to share it with more people.
What was your main inspiration behind this collection?
This collection is very eclectic and different. Each pair is fun, different, and unique; I design them to stand out. For me, inspiration comes from different places. Nonetheless, this year I was inspired by a trip to Spain.
Spain, especially the southern parts including Marbella and Ibiza, are some of my favourite places. I was highly inspired by the mood and the vibes. Most of the colours and the geometry used in this collection come from that part of Spain.
If you would take an Egyptian symbol or concept on which you would base a collection, which would you choose?
It would probably be the hamsa hand. We have incorporated it before and it is already a very popular model. It relates to different people from various cultures. It often means something to a lot of people around the globe. So when we used it on cool fabrics with attractive colours, it worked quite well for us.
Tell us more about your materials and manufacturing process.
Everything is handmade. Our fabrics are made around Spain, Paris, and Italy; nonetheless, the overall manufacturing process takes place in the north of England. We have a small workshop, where a group of people put them together by hand.
Everything is completely made by hand; we do not have any machinery. I wanted to make something of very good quality, which would also be very well made and quite honest as well. For us, the manufacturing process in itself is very important to the brand.
Each collection takes an average of 12 months from design inception to when it is finally in the stores. We bring one collection every year. We want to create unique items, and not produce things just for the sake of it. It takes a lot of time to create each pair of shoes.
Where are you stocked in Egypt?
We have stocked some of our products at a store called 29-31 in Maadi. It is a very cool concept store that has a conceptual design which highly compliments our shoes.
Where would you like to see your shoes in Egypt?
I would love to see Mona Zaki and Donia Samir Ghanim wearing our shoes. They both symbolise different personalities; however, they are unique individuals that represent Maksters’ identity.
What is next on your agenda?
We are working on expanding our horizons beyond just shoes. We are considering adding accessories as well as a very select prêt-a-porter line of jackets and the likes. We are very excited, but we plan to do it through limited capsule collections.
