Strutting through the streets of New York, she turns asphalt into red carpets and sidewalks into runways. Her figure might have already complemented the masterpieces of the world’s leading fashion tycoons; however, it is only during her morning trips around the city that she truly narrates her most intimate stories.
Known for owning the glamorous life of luxury and fashion; meanwhile, she is often greeted for her continuous contributions to support women and pay tribute to their inspiring strength. Shanina Shaik is a millennial poster star of many successful campaigns and fashion collections. With ancestors between Australia and Pakistan, the 27 year old beauty is a true global citizen.
The A list model is often trailed by paparazzi as well as a number of devoted fans, who keep up with her daily online interactions. Furthermore, she has been followed by the world’s leading publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and many more for her extraordinary beauty, as well as Islamic upbringing. With 1.3 million followers on Instagram, Shaik’s personal choices and career adventures are always regarded with importance and attention. Accordingly, it was not an ordinary day when she decided to go out to the big apple carrying a home-grown mini bag!
Farah Yasser and Hanna Hazem woke up to a path-changing surprise few weeks ago, when the super model took one of their mini creations for a tour around New York. From a casual morning walk to a night with her friends and even an event, Shaik made it clear that the girls’ small bran-child is her newest favourite companion.
Les Miniatures is Yasser and Hazem’s love letter to mini bags—something they have been passionate about since a very young age. The life-long best friends founded their brand in Egypt to pursue their passion and spread art through small bags. After a number of memorable designs and a growing base of clients, the duo managed to put their brand on the regional radar.
With that said, their early steps on the global scene are currently associated with none other than Shaik herself. The Curvella bag is currently their most popular design with an unstoppable stream of requests and inquiries pouring from all sides of the globe.
Daily News Egypt sat down for an interview with the two best friends to know more about the ripple effects of this remarkable celebrity placement, how they found their way to one of the world’s most coveted models and how they plan to build on this opportunity. The transcript for which is below, lightly edited for clarity:
How did her IG posts reflect on your brand? Sales, awareness, social media buzz, etc?
We have definitely seen a buzz after Shanina’s posts, the impact we have seen after her posts was astonishing. We have always been huge fans of Shanina; but, we have never contemplated the boost of followers and exposure, which we could get because of her—it is always a reassurance that social media is definitely a huge part to the brand’s success. We are definitely very lucky to stumble upon such a massive opportunity along the way.
How would you describe Shanina Shaik?
We feel that her style inspiration comes from Rihanna’s style; a person that goes beyond the trends and rather set her own the trends all by herself. We look up to her diversified attitude towards her personal choices—whether it is a cool laid-back morning outfit, or something that she puts together to attend a sophisticated and chic night out.
In addition, Shanina is a feminist herself; her idea of style revolves around indulging in the concept of women empowerment through wardrobe, as well as advocating the strength and beauty of women’s body, which is very appealing to us as well as our target audience.
What does your brand have in common with Shanina?
Both Shanina and Les Miniatures adopt an edgy style, we think this is one of the reasons Shanina liked our bags in the first place.
How did this opportunity come along your way? Did you reach out to her or was it organic?
Our PR agency Flare PR reached out to Chloe Bartoli (Shanina’s stylist), whom we always wished to work with. We were lucky enough that she was interested in our bags and highly welcomed utilising them in styling her high-profile clients on the long run.
With that said, we were not expecting to see such results this soon. Therefore, we were absolutely thrilled, when we spotted Shanina looking stunning with her Curvella! We certainly cannot wait to see how Chloe plans to use our bags more in the future.
How far has celebrity placement reflected on the success of your brand?
So far, we have been seeing a noticeable increase in the number of people interested in Shanina’s bag and inquiring about it. This also apply on evident international interest and inquiries not just local hype.
If you can choose any other celebrity, who would you love to see carrying your bags?
We would definitely love to see Blake Lively styling one of our bags one day!
Where is the brand currently available?
Our brand has always been based in Egypt since the very beginning; but, with some luck and a lot of hard work, we are focused on expanding globally sooner than you might think!
