In order for a thing to be beautiful, fashionable, convenient and of high quality, you need to “put your hands” into its manufacture, as my mother likes to repeat. Probably the same thing was said by the Italian mother Andrea Santoni, who, having matured, became the owner of a family company for the production of luxury handmade shoes. Santoni S.P.A. was founded in 1975 by the spouses Andrea and Rosa Santoni. The key to success of this family-owned enterprise was the experience of both, accumulated over years of work in large Italian shoe factories.
As at the dawn of the company, at present, most models of Santoni shoes are assembled by hand, and this is a real "jewelry" work. The masterpieces of Italian shoe makers cannot be reproduced or imitated. Each pair of shoes is unique, like a true work of art.
Today, exclusive Santoni shoes are presented in multi-brand shoe stores or single-brand boutiques in New York, Tokyo, Rome, Milan, Kiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku and other large cities. And in the early summer of this year, Mr. Andrea Santoni arrived in Dubai, where he presented his collections in the Bloomingdale's gallery of The Dubai Mall, where we chatted with a cup of great espresso.
Mr. Santoni, please tell me why the label “Made in Italy” is synonymous with style and luxury all over the world.
I believe that the label “Made in Italy” has earned a worldwide reputation for a reason. Firstly, Italians are great workers, to this day preserving many traditions of the most famous crafts and producing quite familiar things, partially or completely, by hand. All the big Italian brands that have reached incredible heights today, both in quality and in their presence in different countries of the world, started from small, often family-owned workshops. In my opinion, the main ingredients of Made in Italy are passion, industry and tradition. This is the secret to success.
Santoni has been a family business from its inception to today. Was it difficult to maintain high quality and continue to create more and more collections in these difficult times, in the current financial situation?
It is very difficult. And the main difficulty is not to sacrifice product quality at a time when prices for raw materials, transportation and other components of the company’s work soar. We produce three main lines of shoes - for men, for women and for children. Quality, as you yourself understand, is the main criterion for our work. And so far, despite the fact that the management of the company lies on the shoulders of our children - the son of Giuseppe and the daughter of Ilenia, my wife Rosa and I also control the entire production process, each in its sector. Giuseppe is the chief executive officer of Santoni and part-time chief designer of men's shoe collections, Iléna leads the financial service of Santoni.
Tell me, which shoes are more difficult to create - women or men?
Of course, female. No options.
Then what vagaries and requirements of women should you take into account so that they choose Santoni shoes?
There is such a tradition - if a man buys one pair of shoes, then a woman needs five pairs at once. Because women follow fashion and its trends, while men pay more attention to comfort. If a woman buys shoes, she, first of all, will pay attention to the appearance of shoes, their style and compliance with the latest fashion trends. And even if the new shoes are not very comfortable, the woman will still buy them, guided by the usual motto, they say, "Beauty requires sacrifice."
Santoni is trying to take this into account in the manufacture of its shoes, so our shoes for ladies are not only trendy and beautiful, but also very comfortable. We also necessarily take into account the fact that when buying shoes for the whole family, people usually purchase shoes first for mom, then for children, and last but not least for dad. This means that we should pay increased attention to women, because it is they who will ultimately depend on the choice in favor of a shoe brand.
What types of materials do you personally prefer to work with?
My favorite material is high quality calf leather. You can do real miracles with her. Of course, we work with exotic types of leather, and with suede, and with nubuck. But the favorite of all Santoni collections is calf leather, which we select on our own in accordance with our own quality criteria and traditions of the production of "handmade" shoes.
How varied are the colors in the Santoni collections?
As much as the client needs. Almost 80% of our shoes are hand-painted in our workshops, so the color, shade, and color options can be very diverse and unusual. Middle-aged men, for example, traditionally prefer brown and black boots and shoes. This is a classic. We offer young men shoes in bright colors - blue, mustard, orange, white, burgundy and others.
It is well known that Santoni shoes are sold in major cities of Russia and the CIS countries. How did buyers in these countries initially meet your product?
Our limited collections of shoes made from exotic leathers made a splash in the Russian market. And today, customers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Baku and other cities give preference to our quality and convenience. This is a very important market for us, and I can say that sales in Russia and the CIS countries are still high. The only thing is that sales of shoes made from exotic leathers decreased slightly, but the interest of buyers shifted to shoes painted by hand. Russians, like Italians, like to experiment with flowers.
Andrea, what model or collection of Santoni shoes is recognizable at first glance and indicates its belonging to the workshops of your company?
The most recognizable shoes from our collections are Rose women's shoes, fashionable, elegant and very comfortable.
Is it true that you named this collection after your wife?
Pure truth. And the collection, I must say, reflects the beauty, elegance and femininity of my wife Rosa, with whom we created the brand Santoni.
Well, once again, I congratulate you on the appearance of Santoni collections at Bloomingdale's Dubai fashion gallery. Tell me, please, Andrea, what do you expect from the Middle East market as a whole and from the Emirate, in particular?
Honestly, I expect a lot from the Middle East market. We similarly entered the markets of the USA, Great Britain and other European countries, Russia and the CIS. And now Santoni shoes can be purchased in the Middle East. In my opinion, this is a reason for pride.
Dubai is a well-known business and tourist center, therefore we are pleased to present here shoes in which the exact balance between quality and price is preserved. I believe that Santoni will be able to win the hearts of Middle Eastern buyers, so I am optimistic about our future in this market.
Thanks for the conversation, Andrea. We will be waiting for your new collections in Dubai.
Santoni shoes -
it is a combination of the best traditions of Italian masters, handmade and high-quality exclusive leather. This is the brand’s calling card. Almost all Santoni shoes and shoes are pointed, bourgeois and daring - delicate velvety leather combined with a patent surface, thin leather laces and elegant shiny fasteners.
All fall-winter collections go on sale with preventive maintenance already done - you turn the shoe over, and there is a thick cherry-colored sole with thin hats of carnations. A distinctive feature of Santoni shoes is the average completeness of the pads and a small size range: women's shoes from the 35th to the 39th size, men's shoes from the 39th to the 44th.
Santoni produces several lines of branded shoes:
- Limited Edition (limited edition) - elegant men's shoes of classic design, including those from rare types of leather: crocodile, python, ostrich, etc .;
- Classic - more affordable Santoni men's shoe collections;
- Club - collections of men's shoes in the style of “elegant casual”;
- Santoni Sport - separate sports collections for an active lifestyle and sports;
- Rose is the first women's collection that appeared relatively recently, in 2005. These are mainly classic models of shoes that are very comfortable and elegant.
You can buy Santoni shoes in the UAE exclusively at Bloomingdale's Gallery at Dubai Mall.
