DUBAI: Lebanese influencer Karen Wazen was on hand to celebrate her sister Andrea Wazen’s exciting news on Wednesday as the footwear designer won the Emerging Talent prize at the Footwear News (FN) Achievement Awards this week.
The Lebanese shoe designer took to Instagram to share the news with her 175,000 followers.
“What a feeling… I cannot explain the joy and satisfaction I am feeling,” she wrote before thanking Michael Atmore, chief brand officer and the director of the event, for recognizing her as this year’s emerging talent, stylist Jill Jacobs for presenting her with the award and her team, who she said she couldn’t have “accomplished any of this” without.
“Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this award to my beautiful city, my source of inspiration and my home Beirut,” her message read.
Andrea was among a long list of creatives whose offices, ateliers and boutiques were destroyed by the deadly explosion that ripped through Beirut’s port area on Aug. 4.
When receiving the award, Andrea — in a clip shared by her twin sister Jessica Wazen — said: “This is really unreal considering what a year I’ve been through.
“As you might already know I am a Lebanese designer based in Beirut and Beirut has been through so much this past year between the economic collapse, the revolution, the pandemic and to top it all off there was the explosion that ruined absolutely all the city,” she added.
“I felt so sad and so angry at that time that I really needed to put that energy and all those emotions into designing,” Andrea said.
Her sibling, Karen, who has her own eyewear brand, celebrated her sister’s success with her five million Instagram followers. She shared the news on Instagram Stories and wrote: “I am so proud of this girl. She won best emerging talent at the Footwear News Awards last night and it’s so well deserved. I love you.”
Andrea’s creations have been spotted on a number of A-listers and It-girls across the globe, including Katy Perry, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber, Cardi B, and many more.
The most recent celebrity to champion her designs was dancer Maddie Ziegler. She wore a pair of clear pointy-toed heels with black-strap detailing, called the Dassy PVC pumps, during the MTV Movie and TV Awards that took place earlier this week.
Wazen was not the only Arab designer awarded at the virtual FN Achievement Awards event that took place on Dec. 8, however.
Jordanian-Romanian footwear designer Amina Muaddi was honored as Collaborator of the Year for her partnership with Fenty, the fashion and beauty brand founded by singer-turned-entrepreneur Rihanna.
