Up until recently we thought we were somewhat addicted to shoes, we treasure them, live in them and wear them high [plenty is never enough].
But the record was set straight when we met the founder and designer of Karen K Boutique, Karen El-Khazen. After revealing that she owns over 900 pairs of shoes, from that point on our addiction became nonexistence.
Karen was just 14 years old when she started her modelling career and became the face of the Swiss luxury jewellery brand, De Grisogono [maybe this explain the large number of shoes].
During the years as a model, her love for shoes grew by the day. At the age of 21, she moved to London to pursue her dream in fashion design.
She developed her self-taught skills as a designer and by 2010 launched her first shoe and handbag collection.
Growing up in heels is not as glamorous as it’s made out to be. Karen developed a really bad back problem. This is why she decided to create shoes that are glamorous and easy on the feet.
Karen said: “I get really painful back pains because I always had to wear heels. That’s why I decided to design and make shoes that eliminate lower back pain”.
But she does confess that modelling was more of a stress-free career compared to design.
Karen said: “As a model I got tired but you got to enjoy the brighter side of things after the shows were over. As a designer I am hands on with everything, I design and manufacture them, deal with the shipping list and I am also the face of my brand”.
Life in general inspires her designs, from butterflies and flowers to man-made buildings and architecture.
Karen said: “I look way deeper into things and transform them into designs, rather than look at other designs to get ideas”.
