Egyptian Footwear Brand Sole 22 is Founded on Architectural Design

Hana Ghazi didn’t forgo her architectural background when she stepped into shoemaking. The creative mind behind Egyptian luxury footwear brand Sole 22 embraced it instead, designing every pair with angular edges and sharply cut lines. Each piece of footwear draws unmistakable inspiration from Ghazi’s educational foundation.

“I was designing on Rhino, so everything I was doing, I was sort of doing it how I design a house,” she tells SceneStyled. “All of our designs are very square and very geometric.”

Born and raised in Egypt before heading stateside to study at UC Berkeley, Ghazi later made her way to New York City, where she applied her craft at Tiffany & Co., designing stores for the iconic jewelry brand. But the idea of coming home to build a brand often lingered in Ghazi’s mind. It stemmed from a sense of pride in Egypt, she explained, and a firm belief that what can be produced here, sartorially, can match the quality and style of labels abroad. Among many, however, that philosophy wasn’t widely accepted.“It’s crazy how people abroad are admiring our work… and we’re embarrassed. How? How and why?” Ghazi questions. “We need to get rid of this insecurity that we have.”

The disconnect isn’t rooted in a lack of skill or resources, but in perception. Egyptians, she insists, have long possessed the technical know-how to compete on a global scale. What’s been missing is intention. In a market saturated with clothing labels and accessories, footwear remains an afterthought — though not for lack of demand.

“There’s a new clothing brand every single day… but there isn’t that much focus on shoes,” she explains. “It’s ten times harder to produce a shoe than it is to produce a shirt.” Designing one isn’t just about aesthetics. Every stitch, curve, and material choice carries weight. “You really need to enjoy it and understand it to do it well,” Ghazi says.That mindset starts, quite literally, from the ground up. The sole — the core of the shoe — became Sole 22’s anchor after a sentence from one of her early instructors stayed with her: “The sole makes or breaks the shoe.”

It’s a philosophy Ghazi carried back with her to Cairo, spending weekends testing materials, sketching silhouettes, and tweaking proportions long before the first collection went live. Today, it shows up in thicker bases, sharper cuts, and silhouettes that feel architectural without losing wearability.

Only a few months after launch, Sole 22 has already carved out a recognisable aesthetic: angular heels, clean lines, and a palette that leans minimal yet intentional. Behind the scenes, Ghazi continues refining shapes and materials through steady trial and error, treating each drop less like a passing trend and more like a study in form and function. “We have the know-how, we do have the tools,” she explains. “It’s just about putting the design intent with that.”Next on the horizon are new drops and a Ramadan video series spotlighting Egyptian craftspeople — from leather workers to pattern cutters — the hands that shape the final product but rarely receive the credit. It’s a natural extension of Sole 22’s wider aim: elevating local design while shifting perceptions around what Egyptian-made fashion can look like and feel like.