STAR GLAMOUR
The renowned Italian luxury shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti on balancing the relationship between commerce and creativity
Giuseppe Zanotti has been designing footwear for more than 20 years. His creations, blending the elegance of jewel details and bold, feminine shapes, are the epitome of “statement shoes” and have graced just about every red carpet. For the spring/summer season, the maestro has conceptualised a collection inspired by the colours of the 1990s – a decade that he defines as ideal. In Hong Kong for the opening of his newly renovated boutique at IFC Mall, we talked with him about the inspirations behind his new collection, the evolution of the fashion business and his unique relationship with shoes.
So what’s the inspiration behind the
SS18 collection?
The collection’s main inspiration is a summer party, during an ideal summer in an ideal period: the 1990s, when everything was perfect. We wanted to move away from the grey image that reflects the historical moment we’re living in globally. We imagined a party by a swimming pool, with colourful cocktails and bikinis, and with eager, sensual women bathing with their shoes on – super-glamorous, feminine and erotic, but certainly never vulgar.
How does it differ from previous collections? What I’ve always been trying to do in the past 20 years is to conceptualise every season, with its own title as a chapter of the same story – like a great movie or a novel divided into chapters. The ensemble constitutes the life of the brand, my personality and my taste, and at the centre of every collection is the woman and her femininity. So, yes, this collection is different and diverse but it still has the same DNA; it’s like changing the menu, but not the cuisine.
Why did you decide to use transparencies? The transparencies are inspired by the water of the swimming pool. Like the metallic and turquoise elements, they create a mirror effect that gives a sense of depth, exactly like water.
Since their introduction, your sneakers have become iconic. Tell us about the latest incarnation: the Light Jump.