Aquzzura Firenze designer and founder Edgardo Osorio, at Saks Fifth Avenue Houston from Florence, Italy headquarters with his newest resort collection and his signature shoes, such as the ‘sexy thing’ bootie and a popular flat….both in his popular ‘cashmere suede’.
Recently Saks Fifth Avenue brought into Houston, the lead designer and founder of Aquazzura shoes from Florence, Italy for the latest Recipe for Success, Dress for Dinner event. A fan of his shoes, that are just about the hottest shoe collection around right now, I treasured my time to sit and chat with this delightfully charming and handsome young man who’s goal in life is to make beautiful, sexy and feminine shoes for women….and get this, they are also comfortable because he loves to dance and wants women to be able to do so also, in his shoes!
Some highlights of my chat with Edgardo….
RP: I know that you worked for Ferragamo and then also for Roberto Cavalli, what inspired you to do your own brand?
EO: I have always loved shoes. I began sketching at 14 as an intern. Went first to study at Central St. Martens, which was too focused on apparel for me and moved to London School of Fashion where there were courses in shoe design. I left at 19 and began working for Ferragamo, which brought me to Italy. I worked for both brands and, as you know things that happen are always about timing. I happened to go to 12 weddings in one year and being a native of Columbia, I love to dance but noticed that so many of the women were complaining that they would love to dance but they were suffering from aching feet?! This gave me the idea of wouldn’t it be wonderful to create shoes (I always had a love for shoes!) that would be fashionable, sexy, feminine…..all of the things that women want, but also be comfortable. After making a trip to NYC, checking out many retailers, I could not find any that did that.
RP: So then what happened, how did you get started?
EO: As you know I lived in Florence, and so I went back and worked with the Italian craftsmen that were master technicians that had studied the body form and worked with them on the pitch and the fit and how to lift the woman’s foot just right. We moved on to materials…..needed strength to hold a woman’s foot but soft. We developed an unlined suede that is soft but stronger, that literally molded to the woman’s foot like a ‘second skin’. We called it ‘cashmere suede’. This process took about a year to develop.
Sexy-Thing-Bootie…..signature shoe for Aquazzura
RP: So when and how did you actually start selling your shoes to all of we lucky ladies out here?
EO: Started the process in 2011, 2012 was in stores and increased by exposure literally by word of mouth. My story was that I had a friend who was a fashion editor with Italian Vogue and then W and she wore my shoes to Paris fashion week….they were so comfortable that she wore them every day and editors asked whose shoe she was wearing and wanted them. Also ‘street style’ was starting to happen and social media was taking off. It became known immediately as the ‘fashion week shoe’ or the ‘twelve hour shoe’. Before long all of the cool, ‘it’ girls were wearing my shoes!
RP: How did you come up with the name Aquazzura?
EO: After shopping the market places, I went to Capri, which I love. It is my place to chill out and swim and I love the beautiful blue waters where I go every year. My shoe box is in blue, my favorite color. Because I am based in Firenze, I wanted my brand to remind me of Italy in the summer, which I love!
Also, it should be mentioned that my logo is the ‘gold pineapple’. I want everything about my brand to be positive and the pineapple, which you see in entryways, represent hospitality. The Gold Pineapple is a lucky charm in Asia…it will attract good fortune and wealth for my wearers, which is why there is one on the bottom of every shoe!
RP: What was your inspiration for this collection?
EO: I am obsessed with Instagram; I study it and see what and how girls are wearing my shoes? They appeal to all ages and I literally have daughters, moms, and grandmothers wearing my shoes, which l love, as we all know that age is only a number.
RP: Who is the Aquazzura girl? I read about it all the time……please tell me, I want to be one???
EO: I am fortunate that many famous women such as Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and many many more are wearing my shoes but as equally exciting for me is to travel to trunk shows and talk to my regular customers and follow them on Instagram and hear and see what they want. I don’t believe in having just one muse, I think that is very ‘old school’…..how could one woman depict all of the many different women out there and their many different moods and needs. Yes, I have the ‘Christy flat” for Christy Turlington and the “Classy Nancy’ for a friend in Dallas….could that be for Nancy Nasher???
RP: What is next for the Aquazzura brand? Do you see expanding into other categories?
EO: I dream to have a total accessories business; can build an entire collection around shoes. We will be launching handbags, we are developing an Aquazzura Baby collection that will be in stores, Christmas of 2016 from input from his clientele.
Editors note: This collection has many components of his core collection as well as some new hot shoes, like ‘The Wild Thing’ fringe shoe that I see everywhere. His goal is to keep modifying his basics that he is known for so that as women wear them and wear them to death…..they can always come back and that he will be their ‘go to shoe’, always available to service his customer’s needs.
Looking forward to watching Edgardo become a master of the shoe business very very soon! As I mentioned his collection is already one of the hottest shoe lines around!
photos: courtesy of Aquazzura and Roz Pactor’s IPhone