Black Suede Studio has released its third collection in collaboration with “The Real Housewives of Dubai” star Caroline Stanbury.
Launching alongside the fall/winter 2022 collection, the new Black Suede Studio x Caroline collection consists of seven styles including the debut of the Laurel western style boots with crystal embellishment, which Stanbury wore for her engagement party, and the Caroline platform sandal, which she wore on her wedding day.
Other new silhouettes this season include the Piper slingback thong heeled sandals and Raina pointy toe slingback pumps.
For Stanbury, the collection is a “labor of love.” In an exclusive interview with FN on the set of this collaboration’s campaign in New York, Stanbury said that her relationship with the Montreal-based footwear brand has grown much further than when they started working together. “I’m much more involved in the design process now, we love fighting over heel heights,” Stanbury told FN. “Kris [Avakian, founder and president of Black Suede Studio] has an obsession with medium-sized heel heights and I love higher heels. So, I have to compromise more, which I’m not used to doing,” she added with a laugh.
The influencer and reality star, who also appeared in the Bravo series “Ladies of London” which aired from 2014 to 2017, also weighed in on her time on the first season of “Housewives.” Having been on TV before, Stanbury said she feels she’s had a target on her back all season. “I think a lot of the girls on the cast didn’t want to acknowledge that I had done this before,” Stanbury said. “I think people get intimidated or think that I have an overactive ego for it. But actually, the show is an ensemble cast, and it’s a lot easier to carry a show when there are seven cast members than it is for one.”
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Looking ahead, Stanbury, who had just wrapped filming on this season’s reunion special which concludes tonight, coyly mentioned that she would love to add more styles in future collections that she can wear in her confessional looks for the next season of “Housewives,” if there is one. As of this posting, Bravo has not made an announcement about future seasons of the Dubai edition of the popular franchise.
Avakian echoed this sentiment. Asked what’s next for the two collaborators, Avakian said that they have a few seasons in the pipeline and will “continue the partnership as long as both of their visions stay aligned as they evolve.”
According to Avakian, collaborating with Stanbury comes easy. “Caroline is a very hard worker and is very ambitious. It’s actually quite easy to develop our collections together,” Avakian told FN.
The Black Suede Studio fall/winter 2022 collection ranges from $278–$698 and is available online at blacksuedestudio.com and select retailers including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Revolve in the U.S. and Holt Renfrew in Canada.
