Sergio Rossi unveils new Grazie Sergio collection

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 22, 2020

Five months after the Sergio Rossi passed way, the house he founded has unveiled a new archive driven collection of the famed shoemaker’s greatest hits named Grazie Sergio.

 
Consisting of 10 looks, the limited edition Grazie Rossi collection will begin retailing in selective stores and online in December. The choice of classic and quirky looks, all based on designs from the founder, underlines the goal of CEO Riccardo Sciutto to firmly plant the brand in its roots.
 
Since arriving in the company in 2016, Sciutto began organizing a significant archive for the house, which was founded in 1951.
 
“If you don’t know your history how can you build your future?” Sciutto told FashionNetwork.com in a sneak peek of the collection, which will be presented online during Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The ten looks include a 1973 cream platform or a cunning 1969 beveled heel ergonomic glove like pump with the original SR logo. For funkier times, there’s a fishnet boot with crystals strands and gold pendants; for easy living several square-toed sandals in snakeskin from 1998; and when one wants to accent the snazzy, a stylish glove-shaped 1991 shoe in stretch red lira with a courtly band; or a natty pony skin court shoe in
black and shite, anchored by an architectural heel with triangular base.
 
“I actually bought the platforms myself in the old vintage store in Berlin before joining Sergio Rossi. I eventually set up a dedicated team of five people for the archive. But I bought the first 250 shoes. My colleagues thought I was a little bit crazy when I arrived with two hundred old pairs and asked them to properly clean them! But now we have gallery of lasts. And we have a pretty complete archive of 6,000 pairs, dating from 1950s to today, and acquired at auctions or online,” smiles Sciutto.
 
The CEO telegraphed the project by mailing selected editors a glossy black and white invite, to “bring back a little humanity.”
 
During lockdown, the company factory closed, while Sciutto retreated to the mountains and founder Rossi tragically died from Covid on April 3 in San Mauro Pascoli, where his factory is based, a small town in Emilia-Romagna, named after the decadent Italian writer Giovanni Pascoli. The son of a shoemaker, Rossi first began creating sandals as a young man and selling them on the beaches at Rimini; before building his own brand and having Helmut Newton shoot his suggestive campaigns.
 
“I was in the mountains when I decided we had to develop this collection. To remind fans and customers who are new to the brand what an incredible talent Sergio Rossi was. He was a maestro,” insisted Sciutto, who was able give Rossi a tour of the archive last December before the pandemic hit.
 
“We spent four hours together, him revealing his design secrets and that’s why we wanted to give this sign of continuity and the message that he will never die, but live on through his shoes,’ concluded Sciutto.
 
Grazie Sergio – limited to 400 pairs for each style - will retail in 20 Sergio Rossi flagships – in China, Japan and Europe; on its dot.com and in 35 selected multi-brand boutiques that are testimonial partners. One can buy a set of 10. While the price point varies from 550 euros for sandals to 2,500 euros for the Disco boots.