Maria Cucu, together with her business partner, Ionut Vamanu, founded the Cucu Fashion company 8 years ago. Employing a team of 10 and with more than one million items passing through their warehouse over these years, this ladies’ footwear brand is becoming a destination for shoe lovers everywhere.

With their main goal to make you feel good and walk with confidence, they are a company we all need to get behind- especially as their main operations are based in Manchester UK. Maria describes the way shoes achieve so many things for us.

“They can be used to show our inner strength and also help us tone down and relax by feeling comfortable and secure.”

With a passion for fashion and a dedication to bringing the women who shop with them the best while keeping it affordable, Maria has traveled the world to find the most fashionable models and form deep ties with the manufacturing companies and their communities.

I talked to Maria about how her early life lead her to create a fashion brand, her day to day role in the company, what drives her and the lessons she has learned along the way.

“My role in the business focuses more on the acquisition of different styles of shoes from high heels, sandals, ballerinas, trainers to boots and visiting countries like Germany, Italy, France, USA, and China for inspiration.

I was born in Romania, in the beautiful city of Iasi and was lucky enough to have a calling (or purpose) and I’ve followed that until it led me to the business world.

I am a strong believer that everyone has a divine force inside and many times we don’t understand it but as we follow it, we can reach amazing places and sadly, when we are disconnected from it, we lose our path. We should all be connected to this energy of the Universe. I’m mentioning it because I am a spiritual person and I know how important this is for achieving any kind of success.

I was 22 years old when I arrived in the United Kingdom, I didn’t know very much about the culture, my English wasn’t very good- I’m still working on improving it now. But I had a sheer determination to succeed and no challenge would stop me. I went straight into business without even considering the idea of finding a job.

I’ve tried many ideas and projects and I’m happy to say that they were not successful, but I see failures as lessons. The learning process never ends, and I challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone knowing that it’s the only way for growth.

Cucu Fashion is not just a regular women's shoe shop/store, it is a place where inspiration, teamwork, and dedication come together to create an environment where every lady can find her “Cinderella'' pair of shoes.

We are in the business of making girls feel confident and we just happen to sell the magic pair of shoes.

We are also involved in sustainability, ethical sourcing, and fair trade, as we want to have a positive impact on society. We do our due diligence when choosing the manufacturers and suppliers we work with for all of our items to ensure fair standards are followed.

My aim for the next few years consists of delivering the happiness that comes in a box called CucuFashion. A quote that I would like to end on is from Cinderella, it’s a message her mother gives her before she passes- “Have Courage, Be Kind and Believe in Magic.”

-With thanks to Maria Cucu – cofounder of Cucu fashion.

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