Paul Andrew Reinvigorates Sergio Rossi With Modern Designs
“This is such an exciting moment in my life,” said Paul Andrew during an exclusive preview at Sergio Rossi’s Milan showroom. “I’ve worked with a lot of different brands, but this really feels like home.”
The shoe designer, who last July was tapped as creative director of the brand by parent Lanvin Group, introduced his namesake label in 2013 and is also known for his run at the creative helm of Ferragamo, which he exited in 2021.
“One of the first things I did was to go to the factory and the archive, which is in San Mauro Pascoli, and it’s extraordinary, it’s uber-modern, built by [then-owner] Gucci Group in the early 2000s. It’s this shiny edifice in the middle of the countryside and then you go inside, and it’s even more modern and technologically advanced. The things that Sergio invented are truly extraordinary, like the pull-on boots, for example,” said Andrew. “There’s a level of technique and innovation that I have tried to harness as my mantra for what we’re doing here, which is the combination of craft, art and technology.”
Watch on FN
Cue a bold shoe in carbon fiber, super-light, with an architectural structure that looks extremely modern, almost futuristic. Yet Andrew promised it was very comfortable, as “this is an absolute must. Sergio invented this particular arch in the shoe that is patented and specific to us, which, of course, I’m not changing. That’s part of our DNA.”
He admitted the late founder created “so many gorgeous things to take inspiration from,” but that he wanted to “make shoes that are relevant for today,” without replicating archival designs.
One group of slingbacks, slide sandals, and slip-on loafers with a rubber inlay are called “Surge,” a pun on the founder’s name, reflecting Andrew’s “idea of pushing the brand forward,” and which the company will try to get into the stores in May or June. Andrew is also conceiving a new concept for the stores and packaging, which will display a new aqua-mint color for the brand, which he discovered was employed by the founder in the 1990s. The hue will be used in the lining of the shoes, and several looks appear in this same color, for both men and women. The designer also created a new monogram.
Among the innovative novelties, Andrew is launching a micro-kitten heel on slingbacks and even ballerinas. He revisited a pyramid-like shape in the last with a very graphic form, translated into a nipped square-point toe, seen for example on eel-skin booties, a material Rossi employed in the 1990s. “Nobody really uses it anymore, so I thought how wonderful it would be to bring it back, but using deadstock, as I am doing a lot of work with sustainability and upcycling,” said Andrew.
Beautiful and feminine sandals with thin straps were embellished with Swarovski crystals, rhinestones and beads on a durable nylon wire, “draping on your foot, like a bracelet,” he said, holding a look in silver.
Andrew created a new, edgy chain, which he calls spine, that will become a new signature for the brand, as he hinted at the launch of accessories and maybe jewelry next season that could also feature the decoration.
“I also thought I would put Sergio Rossi’s invention, the Martini heel, which was very fine, on steroids and make it really accentuated,” said Andrew of sandals with a vamp in crinkled patent leather or decorated with rhinestones.
“I like the idea of shoes you can wear all day long, from desk to dinner,” he said.
Andrew revisited Sergio Rossi’s cone heels on boots that had a modern Western feeling, “like a witch’s nose, or a beak,” he said, and he showed another brand signature, the slouch boot, decorated with a cascade of super-thin studs, hand-applied one by one, or in a zebra print — a motif loved by the founder, Andrew pointed out.
Mongolian lamb appeared on another group of boots and flat sandals. “You can’t believe how much we’re selling these. It’s like people want this sort of fun and pizzazz in footwear,” he said. “I think that this quiet luxury trend is definitely still continuing a little bit, but I also believe people are ready to get excited to get dressed up and have fun. Everything in the world is so heavy, I think we need some joy.”
