Gianvito Rossi Makes the Case for a More Glamorous Festival Shoe
Gianvito Rossi wants festival shoes to get a little more glamorous.
In one of the luxury designer’s key stories for spring ’23, Rossi offers up his distinct take on summer festival footwear — centered around natural stone embellishments.
Jades, opals, turquoise, amethysts and tiger adorn high gladiator sandals with a sharp stiletto heel. For those who might want to stay a little closer to the ground, the stones are also featured prominently on the block heels of Rossi’s metallic leather mules.
While Rossi sees the stones as a relaxed alternative to crystals, there are still a plethora of crystals to be found across the rest of the collection.
Case in point: Alluring crystal chains serve as a bracelet of sorts for pointy-toe boots and booties in the part of the collection the designer refers to as his “Punkish” world.
And crystals are prominent in the “Party” portion of the offering too, with red, yellow, pink and green sparkles decking out the plexi upper of a pointy-toe sandal in metallic leather. Iridescent leather bands in every color of the rainbow punch up gladiator sandals.
“Our new proportions make the shoe elegant, but also easy to wear,” Rossi told FN. “I believe today’s women are still looking for shoes that enhance their silhouette, empower them and make them feel beautiful. This goes beyond trends.”
As the designer launched his new collection, he said he had been busy working on the rollout of several store openings in the Middle East and China, two important markets for the brand. Recently, Rossi set up shop in Dubai Mall and Doha Vendome, and Saudia Arabia and Turkey are next on the list.
In China, locations in Beijing and Chongqing have recently opened, and two boutiques in Chengdu are in the works. Plus, the brand will debut a digital shop on Tmall in early 2023.
The focus on the direct business is paying off: DTC sales (stores and online) are up 50% year-to-date compared with the same period in 2021. The brand is expecting that total 2022 sales will be above 2019 levels.
The brand has been working on refurbishing key doors in Milan, Paris and London. It has a new shop-in-shop at Harrods.