Enter your email to receive editorial updates, special offers and breaking news alerts from Vogue Business. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please see our privacy policy for more information it’s immediately clear what this company is about hangs a photo of mum and dad Santoni — the founders — flanked by campaign photos of Santoni shoes stands a round wooden table displaying some of the company’s best-known shoe designs Behind the table is another pair of sliding doors; once through I’m presented with the desks of the students of Santoni’s Accademia dell’Eccellenza a newish venture looking to foster the next generation of local artisans a green wall (as in made entirely of plants) future — all displayed in the sleekest of manners Following a couple of difficult decades after World War II during which many Italians launched their own businesses Two of those entrepreneurs were Andrea Santoni the then head of production for a shoe company based in Marche with a couple of machines they set up in their garage which at the time was formal men’s shoes with leather soles “Over the years they made enough money to build a new house The first two floors were a 5,000-square-foot shoe factory My father and mother lived there until they passed away,” says chairman and executive president Giuseppe Santoni He’s speaking from one of his executive meeting rooms that sits directly on top of the modern day factory — just like the old days We’re in Corridonia, a small town in Italy’s Marche region, known as the Italian home of footwear manufacturing. Italy is built on family run businesses Both Santoni’s son Gabrio and his wife Alessia work in the business and join us for lunch a little while later in the factory cafeteria We bought this piece of land and we built the first factory I think the challenge for Santoni was to transform the company from a manufacturer to a real luxury brand The new goal is to make Santoni a lifestyle brand.” To do that the company is investing in categories beyond shoes — like bags There is also an attempt to dress celebrities if the brand’s Instagram is anything to go by but shoes are annoyingly hard to tell apart on red carpet photos Even with Santoni’s trademark orange soles and ombré colourways we introduced women’s shoes and leather goods,” says Santoni men’s shoes still make up 70 per cent of the business while women’s and sneakers make up the rest The split between wholesale and direct-to-consumer (DTC) is 70 and 30 per cent Photo: Courtesy of SantoniEchoing the wider industry trend one of the goals is to grow the DTC business The company’s results for the first half of 2024 showed 8.6 per cent growth versus the same period last year with sales of 60 million compared to 55.2 million in 2023 I am treated to a detailed tour of the factory and its different production stages — checking and cutting the leather (which mostly derives from a tannery in Tuscany) stitching and colouring (which are mostly done by hand except in sneakers and the lower price ranges) Over 500 artisans put the shoes together; although modern methods that involve some pretty cool-looking robots are also used It would be impossible to manage the production of 2,000 pairs per day without this support The production floor operates in a small islands model which means a group of 12 to 15 artisans will bank together to share tasks for a specific part of the production process Each ‘island’ is also tasked with checking the work of the previous island adding a level of efficiency to its quality control Santoni was inspired to introduce this way of working after visiting a series of car manufacturers about six years ago Photo: Courtesy of Santoni“If you look at the car industries the production line starts from one stage and finishes at another This has the advantage that when you have a standard everybody does their part and then production is easy,” he explains “But that system was invented in the early 19th century It’s not flexible and it doesn’t work when you have a lot of models to produce So instead we have a group of people make a part of the shoe at all times They can be very flexible and they know how to manage either one single layer or one single customer request.” there are three levels to Santoni’s customer offering: ready-to-wear with the former two making up a combined 10 per cent of the business Bespoke normally follows a one-to-one approach with artisans visiting a customer’s house to get measurements and help them put together the shoe of their dreams There is a special room on the production floor where the bespoke shoes are made entirely by hand each carrying the measurements and previous orders of bespoke clients The entry price for a bespoke pair of shoes is about €5,000 but the most expensive shoe sold to date cost €60,000 and was made of precious leather while the entirety of the 300,000-square-foot roof is covered in solar panels which according to Santoni produce 60 per cent of the energy used by the factory Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out on the United Nations 2030 Agenda the company is actively working towards three: decent work and economic growth and responsible consumption and production they’re working to counteract the criticism around their product being largely made from leather all the leather that we use comes from the food industry Those animals are raised and grown for their meat The leather industry is just recuperating the waste,” Santoni offers “Have you ever met an alligator?” he responds It is also a very small part of the business for us.” Eight to 9 per cent of the bespoke business to be exact Photo: Courtesy of Santoni“In terms of the tanning process but the whole industry has made unbelievable progress in terms of water and chemical reduction the colours we use are all water based,” he adds but the problem with these eco leathers is that they are essentially plastic If you take my leather shoe and throw it in nature Those other shoes will stay there for 300 years Whereas Santoni shoes… These shoes I am wearing are pretty old I can refurbish and resole them as much as I like.” Santoni’s Accademia dell’Eccellenza (Academy of Excellence) was founded in 2023 with the aim of handing down that very local expertise taking in a maximum of 18 students per course “It came very naturally to us because it’s what we do; we’ve always hired new people Photo: Courtesy of SantoniSantoni continues: “We do this for two reasons: One because we want to preserve this culture of shoemaking I always want to have fresh energy in the company It’s a big investment because we basically hire those people on a salary we’re going to have the first person from the academy that will become a maestro The company is also collaborating with the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata as well as local technical schools on shoemaking courses It seems to be the final chapter of the aforementioned elevation strategy that took Santoni from shoe manufacturer to luxury brand “We need to celebrate the hard work of our artisans,” he says “I’ll give you an example: if 25 years ago a girl told you she was in love with a cook That’s what we need to do here — work on the marketing Because this isn’t mindless work that our people do Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com Style vs craft: Turning AI designs into IRL clothes ‘The Genius for Asia’: Moncler soars in Shanghai Paul Costelloe on 40 years of London Fashion Week Sign up to our newsletter for a truly global perspective on the fashion industry Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Four-time Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi celebrated a revenge victory in front of the Italian crowd at the UCI Para Cycling World Cup in Corridonia 10 months after failing to reach the podium at his home World Championships in Maniago The veteran was the fastest in the men’s time trial H5 finishing ahead of Dutchman Mitch Valize and France’s Loic Vergnaud He then posted two photos on his Instagram @zanardiofficial and wrote: “After last year’s defeat A wonderful audience made it even more special.” Dutch cyclists were in outstanding form as they finished as leaders of the World Cup overall standings with 10 golds Italy claimed a total of 24 medals but less golds (seven) Netherlands’ Paralympic champions Vincent Ter Schure and pilot Timo Fransen won the men’s time trial B with their compatriots Tristan Bangma and pilot Patrick Bos taking the road race Rio 2016 triathlon gold medallist Jetze Plat was unstoppable in the men’s H4 securing double gold in the time trial and road race Carmen Koedood (women’s H2) was another Dutch cyclist who enjoyed two wins on Italian soil The home crowd also celebrated victory through Paralympic silver medallist Giorgio Farroni both in the men’s time trial and road race T1 US two-time Paralympic champion Shawn Morelli did not disappoint and won the women’s time trial and road race C4 races It was interesting to see two multiple Paralympic champions going head-to-head in the men’s C1 with German Michael Teuber winning the time trial and Spain’s Ricardo Ten Argiles the road race Full results are available on UCI’s website The World Cup circuit will continue in Ostend while the final events will take place in Baie-Comeau A gunman shot six African immigrants from his vehicle on Saturday during a 2-hour rampage in the central Italian city of Macerata before he was arrested by police The suspect, identified by authorities as Luca Traini left at least one person with life-threatening injuries Five men and one woman were injured during the shooting spree who police said had no previous arrest record before the shootings ran a losing bid in local elections last year for the anti-migrant Northern League in the nearby city of Corridonia suspected by the Police of opening fire on African migrants The shootings came days after the discovery of a dismembered body in Macerata identified as Italian teenager Pamela Mastropietro A 29-year-old Nigerian immigrant is being held on a murder charge after police found several large knives and blood stains in his apartment Police did not immediately connect the two incidents “the closeness of these two events makes you imagine that there is a connection.” Images posted on the website of the Italian newspaper il Resto di Carlino show Traini with an Italian flag draped over his shoulders as he was apprehended by police Regan is a senior digital editor for PBS NewsHour © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins the founder of the Italian luxury shoe brand Santoni “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our founder Andrea Santoni,” said the luxury brand Santoni died in the Torette Hospital in Ancona after testing positive for the coronavirus Andrea Santoni and his wife Rosa Cippitelli founded the Santoni shoe company in Corridonia in 1975 The family business was successful with its Italian craftsmanship and over the years developed into a global player in the field of luxury men's shoes Santoni's wife Rosa died last July at the age of 76 Daughter Ilenia died of a serious illness in 2013 at the age of 41 We always keep you up to date: with our free newsletter SHOEZ compact You will regularly receive all information from the shoe industry in a clear form when a new magazine is published US Managing Director Peter Sachs hands over to Lance Taylor Alchemy plans to take over almost half of the Austrian shoe retailer Second best financial year in the company's history Creditors' meeting decides against P&C's takeover offer Sanela Krisat becomes International Sales Director sales representatives and business partners throughout the DACH association Telephone: +49 (0) 6 41 / 7 95 08 – 0Fax: +49 (0) 6 41 / 7 95 08 – 15Email: info@shoez.biz Designed by willsch-media.de An artisan and Giuseppe Santoni. Photography courtesy of Santoni.TagsitalyfashionRelated ArticlesFilm & TVJon Hamm Runs DeepIn his new show Your Friends & Neighbors the Mad Men actor has satisfied his three main criteria: a non-Draper-esque character Iconic Italian designer Romeo Gigli discusses his move to Marrakesh and looks back on an influential career that stemmed from his candid attitude Jonathan Anderson leaves his post as creative director of the Spanish House intensifying the recent flurry of executive changes in fashion See every red carpet look from fashion's biggest night See who showed some skin at the 2025 Met Gala like Sabrina Carpenter and Emma Chamberlain The actor made a bold chop for the 2025 Met Gala carpet Take a look at the best dressed celebrities from the 2025 Met Gala The Blackpink star and Chanel muse turned heads with a jumpsuit that some are calling her most stunning Met Gala look yet The rapper has quickly become a fashion favorite—and at the 2025 Met Gala she cemented her status as the night’s breakout style star The Formula 1 driver took his talents from the race track to the red carpet to co-chair tonight's event It’s a question that Giuseppe Santoni – CEO of the shoemaking house Santoni Andrea – has been asking himself for many decades “I see it as a fusion of the young and the old,” he says over coffee on a winter morning at the company’s Italian headquarters “None of our designers are more than 40 years old but if you look at the artisans making the shoes We match these two cultures: young people who want to innovate and try new things and expert craftsmanship that can keep the more traditional qualities alive.” While the company today may be significantly larger than its first iteration in the early 1970s when it was based out of the garage of their family home every shoe is still entirely crafted and shipped from its headquarters in the town of Corridonia in the heart of Italy’s Marche region The surrounding area is well known for its centuries-old tradition of artisanal shoemaking but Santoni has come to represent its apex – and Giuseppe leaning back in a dapper three-piece suit against the living wall of his sustainable conference room It helps that he has an estimated personal collection over 450 pairs of shoes – “a room as big as this,” he says gesturing around the space – including pairs he’s owned for over 30 years The building stands out within its surroundings of a typical suburban Italian town: from the outside it appears an ultra-modern architectural monolith of steel but its interiors reveal an open-plan space flooded with natural light It turns out 90 per cent of the materials used during construction were recyclable and the entire factory is powered by photovoltaic panels across its rooves making a Santoni shoe entirely carbon-neutral is the fact that the building was opened almost a decade ago many years before sustainability became a central industry conversation “We began planning an environmentally friendly building back in 2005,” Santoni remembers “I’ve always believed that luxury is not about product and paying attention to the future and to the younger generation is a big responsibility for men in power when they are making decisions.”  This balance of the profoundly traditional and the cutting-edge is clear when taking a short walk around the factory who knew there were so many moving parts to make a shoe?) While every stage of the process is either shaped by human hands – even when machines are involved they’re guided with care and precision – the intricacies of crafting a piece of footwear quickly become apparent dozens of workers apply layer upon layer of paint to achieve the brand’s signature burnished One particular piece of kit speaks to the company’s finely tuned balance of craftsmanship tradition and radical innovation: the giant boards with projectors above them where workers lay out sheets of leather before positioning (with the help of a computer mouse) lit-up shapes to cut from and ensure as little wastage as possible After they navigate their way around the blemishes and select their chosen patterns the leather gets swept over to one side and sliced with a mechanical “You have to think of it a bit like an Olivetti typewriter,” Santoni explains but it’s much easier to use Microsoft Word if you’re writing a letter and print it out You need to be cultured to know what you’re typing but the end result will be better with the help of a machine.” Most extraordinary of all is the brand’s Uniqua style launched earlier this year and retailing in the thousands – and for good reason given the shoe is assembled from a single piece of leather it’s the ultimate expression of the craft he holds so dear “in the sense that if our business model was just producing Uniqua shoes But it’s about expressing the ultimate vision of what we can do.” Santoni is keen to emphasise that he’s not just designing shoes So how does this all fit into his mission statement of reimagining luxury as something more soulful with a very Italian mix of pride and passion “A worker uses the hands; artisans the head and hands; while artists use the head perhaps – but if buying a pair of his shoes will last you 20 years then maybe it’s something we should be taking just as seriously You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed but at a rate that confirms the positive forecasts The Corridonia and Marche-based company tells Corriere della Sera that it closed the first half of 2024 with a revenue of €60 million or +8.6% compared to the same period of 2023 The performance is significantly lower than what Giuseppe Santoni who returned as sole CEO of the company after Eraldo Poletto’s departure to Furla Santoni claimed to have approached 40 million euro the forecast for the full year has not changed Santoni expects to close 2024 with a 10.6% increase in revenue with the brand’s main target market being the USA 30% of revenue comes from its own sales channels and we expect an annual growth in storefronts of about 30%“ “The goal is to get to 35 own-brand boutiques by 2026 and by the end of 2024 we will open in Vietnam and Saudi Arabia” The entrepreneur also spent time reiterating the importance of training new artisans as they now work in new ways (lean manufacturing) and are supported by modern machinery to create innovative products This company is collaborating with the Marche Polytechnic University and the University of Camerino to make a plant-based bio-polyurethane with the goal of eventually producing a biodegradable shoe “We are 60 percent of the way there” Photo from social media All you need to know about the leather industry the Florence group enters the footwear segment Lorenza Calzaturificio in Filetto (Chieti) and Novarese in Corridonia (Macerata) join the luxury cluster as Florence also announced its entrance in the intermediary manufacturing segment with the acquisition of Officina Ciemmeci in Ponte a Egola (Pisa) an entity specialized in the treatment of leather and textiles There are now 17 companies part of Florence’s project The group is controlled by VAM Investments (65%) and Italian investment fund (through the Fondo Italiano Consolidamento e Crescita – FICC) and by Italmobiliare The remaining 35% is owned by the companies’ founding families Vincenzo Cicolini and Pina Caramanico founded Lorenza Calzaturificio in 1996 The companies is specialized in the production of informal luxury shoes and closed 2021 with 23 million euro in revenue with an overall production capacity of 230,000 pairs per year The company has a 3,000 square meters production site where 70 employees work was created by the Gismondi family in 1946 The main production site is located in Corridonia where the 5 production lines developed on 6,000 square meters work according to Lean Organization principles: one line is entirely dedicated to prototypes Each line can make about 350 pairs of shoes each day Novarese is also an expert in the field of treating and utilizing exotic leather The second production site the company has is the footwear plant Bison This acquisition package also includes Officina Ciemmeci (in photo) which was opened in 2015 by the same founders of Ciemmeci Fashion (already a part of the Florence group since November 2020) Officina Ciemmeci closed 2021 with a revenue of 5 million euro It employs 40 people and deals with the washing coloring and manual treatment of textiles and leather of which Francesco Trapani is chairman and Attila Kiss is CEO can count on more than 350 million euro in revenue for the year and over 1,000 employees located in 12 regions The group collaborates with more than 50 international brands Vittoria Mentasti's Dead Sea takes us to a place where the sky and the sea are one A chat with Kristin Prim, the founder of The Provocateur, the site that publishes letters written expressely by leading women addressing the whole female world. Vogue.it presents you an exclusive preview of the letter written by Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer During the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, Kanye West presented his new album, The Life of Pablo. Here's everything you need to know (and let's get ready to the fight with Taylor Swift) The most exclusive parties at the New York Fashion Week All the best street style spotted at New York Fashion Week From New York Fashion Week Fall Winter 2016/17 Menswear and womenswear collections will walk together and will be on sale right after the show. These are the news from Burberry but the evolution is generalized: runway shows are changing The documentary that celebrates 3.1 Phillip Lim's tenth anniversary The latest social media initiatives dedicated to the Fashion world The (Perfumes) Factory The sixth edition is now open for submissions - P.zza Castello 27 - 20121 Milano cap.soc 00834980153 società con socio unico