Natalia Shustova is the burgeoning style influencer taking Dubai by storm. We caught up with the shoe-loving lawyer in our May issue and now we’re taking a closer look inside her wardrobe.
Natalia Shustova in her glamorous home
Were you interested in fashion as a child?
I was usually wearing some combination from my mum’s and dad’s wardrobe – I liked putting things together.
Did anyone inspire you growing up?
My grandma was so stylish, even until she was very old, and she was always trying to be super different – having people working under her outfits. This is something that I think I do specifically.
What does style mean to you?
Style is not something that you can buy. It is something that you can develop and it should be absolutely unique. Style is basically you.
How do you express yourself through fashion?
Being a creative person, I make half of my clothes myself. I make lots of hair accessories, hat accessories and love to do something quirky with my bags – but I can’t do shoes. For me it’s magic.
When did your obsession with shoes begin?
My first pair of designer shoes were Giorgio Armani sandals, which in my opinion were the most beautiful shoes in the world – they were wooden and green. After that the sickness started and now I’m buying three or four pairs a month. But being addicted to shoes has given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing designers and they are all magicians.
What’s been your favourite moment with shoes?
In my shoe life there are so many magical stories happening every single day, the very latest one happened with SJP shoes. I met her for three minutes in Bloomingdale’s when she was here and I was standing in the queue with a thousand other people. I had my three minutes with her and she asked me: ‘did you buy the shoes?’ I said: ‘No, because you don’t have my size in store’ and she said: ‘Ok, someone make her these shoes’ – that was it. Two months later I received them from Sarah Jessica Parker, size 42 in the colour of her lipstick that doesn’t exist anywhere else – it was made just for me. It’s a story that I’m keeping close for years.
