The shoe factory of Sergio Rossi, his father, was his playground. The lasts and fabrics became toys in Gianvito’s hands, almost like a premonition of what would later become his unfathomable passion. “At that age I confused them. The shoes were kind of like Legos for me,” he explains. Today, at 88 years old, he recognizes that despite his early contact with the art of shoemaking, his vocation was slow-cooked when he started his business in 2006: “At first it wasn’t my decision, I got into the business. family business at the age of 20 and after working a lot with my father (who passed away in 2020) I embarked on designing my own line,” he adds.
Their designs maintain the soul of that first collection. They are synonymous with minimalist elegance, polished silhouettes that frame the female figure and enhance it. Considered the shoemaker of royalty – his designs dress personalities such as Mary of Denmark, Maxima of Holland, Rania of Jordan and Kate Middleton – Rossi prefers not to violate the privacy of his most select clientele and, after being asked about anecdotes or curiosities of his Regarding this, he simply responds with a smile. His lips are sealed.
This creative’s obsession is not fame or dressing renowned faces, but rather the creation of the perfect shoe. “I haven’t done what I want to do yet, I look for it every day and I only think about it when I wake up,” he says. For Rossi, designing shoes is an architectural as well as sartorial art, a reinterpretation of the female anatomy. At the center of everything is always the woman’s gaze. “She is the most relevant part, her eyes are important, not the one who sees the shoe but the one who wears it,” she confirms.
That balance between craftsmanship and form translates into a piece that is “aesthetically beautiful,” he says, as well as comfortable. In fact, the word comfort is today the most repeated word in the workshops and offices of shoe companies. Also in Rossi’s, although he assures that the term he shouts most times a day is “Horrible!”
This lover of Gio Ponti’s architecture and racing cars is aware that the shoe store’s challenge now lies in giving the kitten heel—less than five centimeters—the elegance and silhouette that stilettos bring to a woman’s walk. . “The challenge is to design a low heel in such a way that it allows the woman to look better, that she creates the same effect as a high heel,” details this footwear expert. Thus, Gianvito Rossi’s winter collection seeks to play with shapes and reinterpret shoe classics. “I have introduced the large square tip into my designs. It is a shape that maintains the elegance of the shoe and, as it is wider, it is comfortable,” he explains and adds that the most prominent model in his showcase is now the western boot: “We have made it a very special, more emphasized toe.”
But this season’s crown jewel at Rossi’s boutiques is, curiously, not a shoe. This artisan delves into the universe of accessories with his first bag, a nod to his own journey and the essence of the brand. “The bag is something very special for a woman, a space where she keeps her most precious things, so she wanted to make something that was feminine and at the same time transmitted that will beyond the ornament,” argues the shoemaker. It was the sample case where he keeps his great treasures, his designs, to show them during his trips to Paris, New York and other fashion capitals, which has inspired the shape of the first bag designed by Gianvito Rossi.
Named Valì, this carry-on design is available in several colors and stands out for showing off rounded angles that evoke the classic travel suitcase. Light but sturdy in appearance, the Valì Bag shows the desire for expansion of the firm led by Rossi.
In 2023, it opened points of sale in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as in Shenzhen (China), Hanoi (Vietnam), Kuwait, Riyadh and its first store in Saudi Arabia, specifically in the luxurious Faisaliah shopping center. This desire to evolve without losing its essence also led him, this year, to sell a majority stake in his company to Richemont, a group to which Cartier, Montblanc and Chloé belong, among other majors in the fashion industry and e-commerce giants. , like Net-a-Porter.
Gianvito Rossi has made a history in the shoe store in his own right. Despite this, this artisan does not forget or deny his heritage and the teachings of his father. “He taught me that you should never stop. There is always a better way to do what you do and that is the great challenge. A constant challenge that you not only face as a businessman, but also as a person,” says the pupil who, years ago, became a teacher.
An artisan who does not want, nor expect, to reach the ceiling in this industry. At least until he designs that perfect shoe that he longs for in his dreams and that he searches for without pause in his studio, as his father undoubtedly already did, in the workshop where it all began, under the stairs of his house.
