Gianvito Rossi Knows Women Are Smarter

Footwear scion Gianvito Rossi, son of Sergio, has taken up his father’s mantle, adding a menswear collection to his own budding line. Continuing in the mode of the sleek, pared-back look that has made his women’s line a favorite of celebrities (Gwyneth slipped on a pair to the Iron Man 2 premiere) and downtowners (Rossi collaborated with Joseph Altuzarra for two seasons, including spring 2010) the designer kept it clean and polished for his newest collection, which he showed off Monday in Milan. We caught up with the young designer to talk about his “real personal need” to design shoes for a shoes.

CHRIS WALLACE: Could you walk us through one look?

GIANVITO ROSSI: The collection is men’s and women’s and I started from the proportion and the silhouette which I consider the basic man contemporary shoes type. Then I interpreted it with my angle, my materials and details to obtain a top-quality fresh and dynamic shoe. I wanted to play a little with a leather belt or a black metal zip to give a little more rock mood to the line.

WALLACE: How do you propose to update the  class men’s shoed?

ROSSI: I used the Italian calf skin or canvas, and the collection will be seasonally updated with colours and variations.
 
WALLACE: What’s different about designing men’s and women’s?

ROSSI: I think that designing a men’s collection is much more restrictive than designing women’s. Women are smarter and more courageous than men; they like to experiment, and this is very good for us guys! But there is the possibility—and the need for—good quality men’s shoes and I wanted to move away from a teenager look keeping the freshness of that mood.

WALLACE: What do you absolutely hate about men’s shoes?

ROSSI: I don’t like pointy toes, camperos and espadrilles (unless, of course,  you are Mr. Pablo Picasso).
 
WALLACE: What do you think men could learn from women in terms of feet?

ROSSI: Women care a lot about their feet and shoes, it would be good for men to do the same.