The Vault: Amna Baber

The owner of the trendiest footwear in K-town, Amna Baber speaks to us about her love for shoes and her brand, Cocoon

How and when did you become interested in shoes?

I always had an obsession for shoes, kept on buying but had no place for them – I felt like local options were quite boring for my taste and it certainly was not what was trending internationally. I felt there was a very limited selection of fashionable shoes which didn’t burn through the wallet. Plus I knew so many girls in the same predicament; I just knew I had to give it a try!

Share a story with us about how you designed one of your favourite pair?

Haha... this is an interesting one! Denim fabric and tassels were all the rage and I just had to create something with it. The denim tasselled slides as you see them now, flashed before my eyes before bedtime and it all came together — I knew exactly what to explain to my craftsmen. However, the next day it slipped my mind. My mother and I work together on designs — so she happened to communicate the exact same design and colour combination to me and the craftsmen. I think it’s pretty cool the kind of sync, thought process and vision we had for this particular shoe!



 Is there any design that you are emotionally attached to and why?

The Tiffany slides in blush pink – for each pair we make, my mom and I select material and colour personally. So the kind of look we wanted to achieve for this specific design had us searching high and low in the markets for the precise colour in patent leather. This meant hours in the heat in the markets just looking for the right material. Our persistence paid off when we actually found it — the results have been fantastic for the Tiffany slides!

Tell us about your favourite shoes from your collection?

My favourites keep changing as we keep launching new designs – keeps things fresh! But my current favourites have to be the new slides in white with draped material and folds over it. It’s very different from what’s available out there; really on trend and very easy to pair with summery ensembles.

Is there anything on your radar that you want to make in the future?

Cocoon has mostly played in the casual but chic range of shoes; so now, I am really excited to create a formal range as well, using different textures and shapes — think bling embellishments!