Gina (later Gina Couture) was founded in London in 1954 by master shoemaker Mehmet Kurdash as a brand of luxury women's bespoke footwear. It was named after the 1950s movie star Gina Lollobrigida. Gina Couture's clients included celebrities and movie stars. This family business is still active today, with several prestigious boutiques in the UK and beyond. With skills passes from generation to generation, and a commitment to using the finest Italian leathers and materials including Austrian Crystals from Swarovski®, every Gina shoe is a unique and timeless object of desire. The history of the Gina brand began like a fairy tale: at the age of 19, Mehmet Kurdash, a Turkish Cypriot, was forced to take care of the family after his father’s passing. He got a job at his uncle's shoe factory in Nicosia. Excelling in shoemaking and pattern cutting, young Mehmet left Cyprus with the plans of starting a life in Australia, but first stopped in England. Meeting a Swiss woman, Margaret Pauli who had plans to head to India and work with the Red Cross, the two found themselves making other plans and decided to stay in England, marrying and forming a family business. In 1952 mesmerized by his muse, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, Mehmet started making handmade shoes in a small workshop in the traditional shoemaking heartland of East London. As he had no money for raw materials, he used to salvage components from worn shoes and use the little cash he did have to buy leather. In that time very few leather elegant shoes were available in the UK market, so brand Gina, founded in 1954, quickly established itself as a leader in luxury British shoemaking. The first Gina boutique opened in London’s prestigious Knightsbridge in 1991, moving in 1994 to their flagship store location at 189 Sloane Street. Gina got status as the go-to destination for luxury handmade women’s shoes, sandals, boots and handbags. Their Gina Couture salon was opened in Mayfair’s Old Bond Street in 1999 (and the second was opened in 2014 at 119 Mount Street), and the word quickly spread of their alligator mules finished with 19-carat white gold buckles inlaid with 36 princess-cut diamonds. These shoes were so decadent and luxurious, that Guinness Book of Records acknowledged them as the world’s most expensive shoes at that time. In 2009, the first international store was opened in Dubai Mall, giving the brand a unique global presence in one of the world’s most luxurious malls, bringing its unique creations to the Middle East. Demand soon led to openings in Avenues Mall, Kuwait and Mall of Qatar, Qatar. In 2011, Gina relocated to a 40,000 sq. feet factory in North London, maintaining their commitment to not only the prestige of ‘Made in England’ but uniquely to ‘Made in London’. It is here that the Gina brand, led by Mehmet’s three sons, continue the family shoemaking legacy dedicated to craft and excellence. For over twenty years, Gina has provided footwear for Bond cast and it started with Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming approaching Gina to create shoes for its women actors. Villain Le, Anne Hathaway, Gal Gadot, Nicole Kidman as well as Madonna, Diana Ross, Kate Winslet, Cardi B, Emma Watson, Billie Eilish were among Gina’s customers. And there’s iconic photo of Princess Diana in a pale green dress suit getting out of a car wearing cream bespoke Gina Shoes. There is no reliable evidence of the connection between Gina Couture shoes and the Gina Couture line of evening dresses, but it can be assumed that in the 1960s the brand made its first attempt at collaboration with a tailoring studio. Then there were several such collaborations: with Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, Matty Bovan, and Giles Deacon as well.