He’s a Sole Man

giuseppe-zanotti

Peek into any glamour girl’s closet and you’ll pinpoint a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti shoes piled amongst the Blahniks, Louboutins, Pradas and Choos. Any Zanotti zealot will confess his heels are sexy, innovative, expertly made — with bling to boot. I recently interviewed the shoe scion while he was in the Magic City.

“I’ve been working in the shoe industry ever since I was a boy and have always been interested in the technical and design aspects involved in their evolution,” Zanotti says. Shoemaking, it turns out, is a long tradition in Zanotti’s hometown of San Mauro Pascoli, Italy. The son of a seaside ice cream shop owners, Zanotti worked in cobbling and credits footwear phenom Quinto Casadie as one of his mentors. “Actually, I haven’t had any formal education — I do have 14 years of working experience as a designer in other factories where I appreciated the importance of melting technique and style together,” Zanotti says.

Before starting his eponymous line in 1994, Zanotti worked with several luxury couture houses such as Thierry Mugler, Byblos, Alberta Ferretti, Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, Vera Wang, Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior. “I never imagined myself running my own company. I was aware that my passion and strength was creating shoes and not business management — it was my wife Cinzia who launched me into this. She probably saw my potential earlier than me,” Zanotti says.

With a client roster that reads like the page of Us WeeklyRihanna, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and more — and 50 monobrand boutiques around the globe, Zanotti is walking on air. He designs for those with self-confidence he says, “The Giuseppe Zanotti woman is authentic — she’s not a fashion victim — the victims are those who are enchanted by her beauty and personality.”

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