Chasing Rainbows Kissing Frogs: If The Shoe Fits

Monday, March 28, 2011

If The Shoe Fits

I love a good engagement story, and when it also involves a Frog Prince giving his Princess a beautiful diamond encrusted pair of shoes on their engagement... well, that's the icing on the cake !!

I'm not sure if it's the sweet look of love and adoration in Angela Kurdash's eyes, or if it's my love of Gina shoes that plucked at heart strings when i read this article in Elle magazine years ago. In any case, it's one of my most savored magazine articles, and i share it here with you.

Aydin & Angela Kurdash

Angela is the head of press and Aydin, the creative director at Gina, the family-run couture shoe label named after the 50s movie star Gina Lollobrigida. The couple were married in 1998, a year after they started working together. They have a daughter, Leila.

When and how did you first meet?

Aydin: I was showing a collection at Paris Fashion Week in 1996 and Angela was working for a PR company we'd hired. Our first meeting was in a cafe downstairs from the office. The first thing I noticed about her was her eyes. They were amazing. Magnetically blue. I thought she was very attractive.

Angela: I thought, 'That's my husband!'

Aydin: Really?

Angela: I had this strong feeling in my stomach, as if i'd known you for ages.

What qualities do you each bring to the business?

Aydin: Without a doubt, Angela brings glamour and excitement to the brand. She has this incredible ability to bring so much energy to a situation, to meetings with new people. They just gravitate towards her. She's a natural.

Angela: Aydin is a multifaceted Gemini. Most of them have at least two sides to their personalities... he has about 200. He brings his really strong spirit, he's solid, disciplines, calm, methodical, scientific and organised. But as the designer he's also very creative. It's like the shoes are his fantasy escape hatch.

Aydin: She's telling you that i'm schizophrenic!

What has working together taught you about each other?

Aydin: That she's incredibly suited to a role in an environment where the phones are ringing all the time and everything is always up in the air. She thrives on that.

Angela: Aydin always keeps his eye on the goal. I'm savagely competitive and can get easily distracted. I've learned discipline and focus from him.

Do you have any favourite presents from each other?

Angela: A pair of shoes Aydin made for me when we got engaged. They are pale green alligator-skin kitten heels with 36 small princess cut diamonds on the buckle on the front.

Aydin: A plastic snow cone with the Statue of Liberty in it. At the back there's a little slot for a photograph. Angela put one of her and Leila wearing Bollywood outfits in it. I love it, it's on my desk at work.

Complete this sentence... When we're old we'll be...

Aydin: Still dreaming about shoes. There's just something about shoes. It's like an addiction.

Angela: Still working hard and living the dream.

What things still attract you about each other?

Angela: His mind and his shoes, they're the sexiest ever. Put me in front of a shoe line-up and i'll always know Aydin's.

Aydin: The way she is. The way she looks. Her walk, her clothes, he mouth, her nose, her eyes...

We get the picture !!!...

Gina shoes are a favourite of celebrities and brides alike. Although they are at the more expensive end of the market (the designs below average at around $1000 each), you are sure to feel like a real Cinderella with twinkle toes in any of these shoes. Here is a sneek peek at the bridal collection at Gina.

GINA SHOE SALE !!

Want some Gina twinkle-toes of your own... for less than half the price? I have 5 pairs of Gina shoes for sale. These are the real thing, not imitation! Each shoe features a spectacular Swarovski diamonte bow and are seriously glamorous.