Meet Kristina – founder & designer
Former designer and production director to the JOHNNY FARAH House of leather accessories, Kristina ZOUEIN spent nearly ten years in artisan workshops. Over the years, she developed a passion for crafts and a deep appreciation for makers, which led her to create KINAMANIA in 2014, a brand rooted in meticulous craftsmanship and cultural heritage.
The abarca, the popular Spanish sandal, is where it all started. It sparked the whole adventure. KINAMANIA is a brand name with roots in menorquina, the alternative name for the abarca which was originally handmade on the island of Menorca in the Baleares. The mania for Kinas is born from menorquina mania!
Kristina wants to take her customers across a journey behind each style: from its origins to its KINAMANIA evolution. Today, the brand is proposing edgy intemporal collections of footwear and leather goods, inspired by traditional designs from around the world.
She also collaborates with multiple artists and NGOs to create limited editions showcasing their talents and their crafts, and in many cases, creating employment for underprivileged artisans.
Kristina currently lives between Beirut and Brussels.
Dress by @miliamaroun - Photo by @joekesrouani
The Kinamania Shoes
At KINAMANIA, we value craftsmanship and heritage. We are inspired by the history of footwear. We revisit timeless traditional shoe designs which we adapt with our progressive and designer signature. We make footwear for the urban consumer who wants to glide into a world of comfort with no compromise on style and elegance.
We believe in the quality of our products. We test all of our shoes: we walk, run and dance in them for weeks, and we will never launch if we don’t get approval from our team.
At KINAMANIA, we are against fast fashion. Sustainable and slow fashion is no longer an option. We make our own shoe prototypes, and our production is made in Portugal. Our leathers are European.
We are also committed to celebrate craftsmanship through collaborations with artists and artisans. In today’s fast paced and highly competitive global economy, we want to tell the story of craftswomen and craftsmen from around the world. This is our way of protecting cultural heritage and the welfare of talented artists.
“When you work with artisans, you buy more than just a service.
You buy hundreds of hours of trial and error.
You buy days, weeks, months, of disappointments and of pure joy.
You buy more than a mere object,
You buy a piece of heart, a bit of soul, a share in someone's life.
Most of all,
You buy more time for artisans to live their passions.”
Anonymous
