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Is there any more satisfying sartorial sensation than that of slipping your foot into a pair of brand new shoes? There’s something almost magical about the transformative power that a good shoe has – to make you walk and feel taller, smarter, more focussed, a sharper, better version of yourself.
The virginal surfaces, patina and shine slowly give in to your unique step, moulded to you and you alone. A shoe becomes an extension of its wearer in a way that not many accessories or garments do. The sensation of one’s footwear is so profoundly personal; for many it is unthinkable to even allow someone to try on your shoes.
“When I first chanced upon the boutique in Paris, my hands were drawn to touch the shoes,” says Abdullah Al Rashdi. It’s a sentiment we wholeheartedly understand, because Carmina’s exquisitely crafted shoes draw in first the eye, then the hands and then the heart.
“I was impressed by the quality, the appearance, the way that these shoes had clearly been made with great care and attention.”
The prevalence of properly constructed shoes has been, in the past, surprisingly meagre, considering a region whose climate and terrain does its best to destroy even the hardiest of footwear styles. Stepping between climate-controlled interiors into the inevitable pockets of sand and gravel that seem to exist even in the most established urban spaces, one would have presumed that sturdily made yet beautiful shoes would be gloriously prevalent. They weren’t.
But today, connoisseurs of well made shoes do not need to venture through the luxury districts of Milan, Paris or London to satisfy their hankering for beautiful – they can make their way to Carmina’s new boutique in Mall of the Emirates, where a collection of the Spanish company’s products is proudly on display.
Each of the shoes is made using a very traditional artisanal method whereby the design is drawn directly onto the wooden last. A single new design may take several months from the first draft to final completion, undergoing several careful stages of design, layout, revision and perfection before the design is approved and created in its final form.
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Each of the shoes is made using a very traditional artisanal method whereby the design is drawn directly onto the wooden last
“I experienced an instant gut feeling that these shoes would find a welcoming home in the Middle East,” says Al Rashdi, whose family presides over myriad diversified businesses in the region. He says he discovered a natural affinity and shared understanding upon meeting with the owners of Carmina, also a family-run enterprise that employs around 150 people.
Sandro Ramis is the great-grandson of Carmina’s founder and therefore the fourth generation of shoemakers – based in Mallorca – to oversee a business founded in 1866. In a twist of serendipity, the Ramis family had agreed a mandate for expansion. Al Rashdi’s tentative enquiry about exploring opportunities in the Middle East became a firm plan.
With boutiques and points of sale around the world, the region was conspicuously absent from Carmina’s list of locations. Al Rashi became its first distributor here, signing rights for the GCC and South-East Asia.
“I represent a family-owned business and family values, and so does the Carmina family,” he adds. “And what established the connection between us was this shared appreciation for family values. The synergy was great.”
Shared values and trust flow between the families, and underpin the entire philosophy of building lasting relationships between customers in the region and the heritage brand.
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The boutique, in Mall of Emirates, is located within a premium luxury part of the mall
“This has been such a wonderful project to work on, opening in November 2020, with the family coming from Spain and the interest in the shoes growing so much here. The majority of our customers want something that is made to last; the mindset of people now is that they want something in a style that is lasting and sustainable.
“We aren’t socialising as much at the moment, and I think our customers want to know that the item they purchase now can still hold style and relevance into the future, because he or she may not be dressing to go out formally as much as they were used to in the past.”
The boutique, in Mall of Emirates, is located within a premium luxury part of the mall, with its décor created in Mallorca, reflecting the ambience of the original Spanish boutiques.
“As an entrepreneur, retail wasn’t my original focus and I believe that ecommerce acted as a bottleneck for retail. But once I stepped into the Carmina universe it shifted my entire perspective. The customer interactions with the brand here affirmed by belief that retail has its place, that shopping in person has its place.”
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Carmina opened its first store in the UAE at the Mall of the Emirates in November of last year
The tactile, intimate pleasure of browsing and touching isn’t one that can easily be replaced by a digital experience, and with hundreds of options for personalisation and customising available for the customer, taking the time to trace one’s hands over the various options is an ode to a slow, sensual kind of decision-making. At Carmina, this process can be enhanced thanks to the option to customise shoes.
“Once we demonstrate our quality, it makes it easier for the customer to imagine the possibilities for their shoe. We have calf leathers, suede, exotics… there is so much choice. For example, you can take an oxford and have the middle part of the shoe in one kind of leather and the rest in a contrast, if you want something quite eye-catching. The lead time is up to 45 days; if our factory has the more common materials in stock then it is shorter.
“Wearing a pair of Carmina shoes is special. We want to create this awareness that these styles are timeless and classical and never go out of style. We have some customers in Spain with shoes that are 25 years old, they changed the sole – but if you look after things well, they last for years to come. And that is a true sign of quality.”