In His Shoes

Italian shoemaker Gianvito Rossi talks comfort, sexiness, Wonder Woman, and PVC with Rosana Lai.

- Rosana Lai

Did you always want to be involved with shoes?

Shoes have always been part of my life. It felt natural and was not something I chose. I worked alongside my father, but when he sold the company I found myself for the first time working without shoes. That’s when I realised what shoes meant to me— that they’re my way to express myself and talk to the world. But if I wasn’t a designer, maybe I would have been a sailor; who knows?

How do you think shoemaking has changed?

In recent decades I feel it’s become just about design. Coco Chanel used to say a luxury should be a pleasure. If it’s not a pleasure, it’s not a luxury. High heels will never completely be comfortable, but at the end of the day it’s about your entire look and your face. If you don’t feel confi dent, your face reflects that and your smile will be pained, so comfort is so important.