EDGARDO OSORIO

A year ago, Instagram was flooded by lavish photos of a decadent Surrealism themed birthday party in Florence. Celebrities and tastemakers such as Poppy Delevigne and Rebecca Corbin-Murray reveled in gorgeous custom gowns, elaborate Venetian masks, and Philip Treacy designed headpieces. Bar rooms bedecked in leopard, lush jungle backdrops, and bartenders dressed like lobsters helped set the scene for an out-of-this-world extravaganza. At the center of the festivities was the newly 30-year-old Edgardo Osorio, founder and designer of the shoe brand Aquazzura. A dreamer and aesthete with a design pedigree that includes stints at Ferragamo and Cavalli, Osorio’s trips around the globe inspired this epic two-day celebration as much as they do the coveted shoe designs behind the six-year-old label.

In a world where a designer’s “inspiration” can be called out as thinly veiled “appropriation,” Osorio’s work shows that as much influence as he draws from the world around him, he returns by supporting the local artisans around the globe who inspire the aesthetics of his collections.

A friendship with model and philanthropist Petra Nemcova led to the pair’s collaboration on a special edition sandal for Happy Hearts Fund, an organization Nemcova founded after surviving 2004’s Indian Ocean tsunami. Happy Hearts rebuilds schools in areas impacted by natural disasters, and currently operates in ten countries worldwide. Infused with classic Osorio sex appeal, the playful but sophisticated strappy suede stiletto is embellished with handmade hearts and towers in with a 105mm heel. It is available on the Aquazzura website starting in May, and 25% of the proceeds of the sales will go to Happy Hearts Fund. As Osorio involves himself with this and other philanthropic initiatives, giving back is becoming as synonymous with the Aquazzura brand as its signature pineapple soles.

Here, the festaiolo of footwear chats with Iris Covet Book about his inspirations, stripes, and why high heels will never be a sneaker.

Your designs are modern, sexy, and finely crafted. How do you approach designing each collection? Where does most of your inspiration comes from?

I normally start with a trip. I travel eight months out of the year and I believe that I have to travel to find inspiration. The last Winter collection, for example, is inspired by a trip to Russia – in June during the White Nights, when the sun never sets – and it was just so incredible and I came back with so many ideas. I had read about it before because I love history and historical novels, so I started reading about Catherine the Great and Peter the Great and the Romanovs. Just going there, to the different palaces, and seeing where they worked, the art collections, the decor, the way they dressed, the lifestyle…it was just so beautiful. Lots of velvet and fur and embroidery, a very rich lifestyle. I then have to ask myself “How do I turn that into something modern? How do I mix that in?” Then you start thinking of the girls in your life, I have a lot of Russian girlfriends, and then I think “how would she wear it? How would she interpret it?”.

This summer’s collection is inspired by my 30th birthday party last year. It was three days of parties, and one of them was a Surrealist ball, and the first ball was an eccentric jungle. I had a huge moodboard with tribes from the Amazon, Kenya, Papua New Guinea… all of those exotic tribes. It was kind of a multi-cultural, bohemian trip around the world. I just came back to my office and started thinking about some of the places I had been to. When I began designing the Summer collection I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head. As a designer you are just inspired by everything that is around you and you have to take that all into your work.

A large part of your influences and inspirations come from your travels. What parallels can be drawn between your influences and your philanthropy?

We participate in many different charities across the world. As a global brand, you have to give back globally as well. Recently, we hosted an event that benefitted animal rights and protection. We are incredibly fortunate, and I think part of that is giving back. In the past we have worked with Natalia Vodianova’s Foundation, The Naked Heart Foundation, and in Dallas we just auctioned off experiences and products to give to AMFAR and the Dallas Museum of Art. We help in many different ways and it is so important to give back and be supportive of the communities that support us.

When I work on collections, at the same time I give back. One example is like when I worked with the women of Colombia’s Wayuu tribe to make the Mochilla fabrics for the Mochilla espadrilles. The local women wove the fabrics by hand while we made the shoes in Italy; we are inspired by Colombia while supporting local (Colombian and Italian) economies. For this Fall’s collection, inspired by the Silk Routes of Turkey and Uzbekistan, we’re locally sourcing Ikat velvets and Ikat silks there, while making the shoes in Italy using their beautiful techniques.

So what is your favorite part about the design process? The travel?

Well, actually I really love taking an idea and making it into a reality and the whole process behind it. Sculpting a heel, correcting a shoe, choosing the leathers, the trims, etc. It is such a wonderful process because you evolve from your initial idea. To make your dreams into a reality is the most wonderful thing I think anyone can do and the most rewarding. Getting to see a woman actually wear your ideas. I love whenever I walk around and see a woman wearing an Aquazzura shoe, it really makes me smile because that’s really what your purpose is as a designer. Making people happy and looking fabulous.

Do you have a muse? Icons that you always look to?

I don’t have a muse per se. I actually think that the idea of a muse is quite old-fashioned. Designers used to live in a bubble and have one or two muses, but even then they had a romantic idea of who this woman is supposed to be, but she, herself, is not even like that! (laughs) I think women nowadays can have a hundred personalities just by changing the way they dress, so I find it quite limiting to look at women in a one-dimensional way. I love the fact that Aquazzura is actually a multi-generational, multi-cultural brand. We dress sixteen year old girls, seventy-five year old women and everything in-between because everyone wants to feel young and look great. I do have many women that inspire me, I’ve collaborated with many inspiring women like Olivia Palermo, Poppy Delevigne, etc. I love to work with these women, but in a specific capsule that is limited. As a male designer I think it is great to have a female point of view, and these women are under such intense scrutiny and they’re being photographed in every magazine so they know what works and what doesn’t. It is really great input and it is really fantastic to learn from them, but at the same time it’s their point of view so it can only be a little part of the collection.

So then what are the qualities that these modern women are looking for?

I think versatility is key. My best selling styles are very versatile and you could wear them with jeans and a t-shirt or you can wear them with a ball gown. I think it’s about changing your outfit but keeping your shoes. For example, our Sexy Thing shoe, one of our most iconic shoes, Kendall Jenner wears with jeans a t-shirt to go out to dinner in LA, but Gigi Hadid wore it to Cannes in a long Tom Ford evening dress. I think that is modernity. When women are dressing they want something that can completely change with them and I think that asset is what makes a shoe modern. It becomes timeless and it can go with everything. That’s good design.

Growing up in Colombia, was there any moment that became a defining moment for you creatively? Was Colombian culture inspiring to you?

I grew up between Colombia and Miami, and when I was sixteen I moved to London, and from London I moved to Rome, and from Rome I moved to Florence. So, I think that my style is a lot like me and it is just a mix of everything. Growing up, there was no specific moment other than when I was fourteen in London doing summer courses at Saint Martins, and I came back and that’s when I really decided that I wanted to work in fashion and make accessories. I was always creative; I loved to sketch. I have sketches when I was five years old drawing dresses and women and shoes, so it was something that always interested me. As time went by it just became more specific and I decided to focus on shoes, which is what I really loved. I was already interested in shoes before Ferragamo and I think being in Florence really enamored me with what I was doing. I got to work with the artisans making the shoes and get closer to the craft. It was a big job and a wonderful stepping stone into my career.

Well, discussing Florence, what do you think is so inspirational about the city and why did you decide to base your headquarters there?

Well, Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I am an aesthete, I love beautiful things, so being in a city surrounded by beauty, well, it helps. (laughs) It was the site of the birth of the Renaissance. It is a city that has an energy because it has been a capital of art and beauty since the Renaissance, and you still have people from all over the world who go there to attend art and cooking schools. People go there to be artistic and to discover something. It is funny because a lot of people move to Florence for one or two years just because they want that life and they want to enjoy and have a positive life. Tuscany has the biggest concentration of luxury artisans in the world. Italy is a great place to make shoes, and the biggest center is Tuscany because you have all of the factories and the artisans there. It allows you to make things that people in New York, Paris, London, whatever, could not do in the same way because you have a personal relationship with them and you can see things and fix them in a way you could not do if you weren’t there.

I read in a Business of Fashion Interview that you chose to be there because of the personal relationships with factories.

Well, you know as a designer with an atelier, you have an idea and you work with these people who interpret it and make it a reality. If you are close to them in the development process they get to know what you like and what you want and they will interpret what you want in the best possible way. You will, in turn, learn from them as people who have worked in this industry for thirty, forty years. Craftsmanship is about time because you have to learn and evolve and make mistakes. It is not like you can go to university and just learn how to make shoes, it is literally years and years of experience.

What is the quality in your design aesthetic that gives your brand individuality and has made your company so successful?

I think there is a very specific point of view that Aquazzura has. You can really recognize our shoes, even though now we have been extremely plagiarized. (laughs) The lacing, the sensuality, the playfulness – it’s a very specific point of view, it is really about the design and people recognize that. The fact that we do probably make the most comfortable shoes in luxury takes an incredible amount of time to study and engineer and understand how to make the shoes comfortable for the wearer, from the materials to the construction. Because of that, word of mouth from our clients has made the difference in the course of just five years.

Along the Arno River, in the heart of Florence and near the best shoemakers and craftspeople in the world, the Aquazzura headquarters are situated in the historical Palazzo Corsini along with the Florentine flagship store. Pictured above, the green room.

Pictured above, the pink room, both taken at the Aquazzura headquarters.

Why do you think most high heels are so uncomfortable?

Well, high heels will never be a sneaker. (laughs) However, there is a way to study and construct shoes that make them more comfortable. The insole, the padding, the material inside…all of these things make a difference, so I think that when you give a client a beautiful, comfortable shoe, why would they wear an uncomfortable pair?

We are actually going to be launching sneakers next year because it is such a huge part of a woman’s closet. That is the next step because I think that if you look at our collection we have every heel height and every style, but the sneaker is something we are missing. We want to be able to cater to our customers.

Would you ever consider designing men’s shoes?

Yes definitely, that’s actually something that is in the works already. We will be launching next year. We recently launched Aquazzura Mini, which is a line for young girls. We will also be launching men’s and accessories as well.
You have experienced international acclaim since your debut collection in 2011, selling at stores like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barney’s. How has this rapid success affected you and your business?

Department stores are a wonderful introduction for a new brand because they have such a huge array of clients and it is a great way to get the brand known and be accessible. I started in department stores and it is a wonderful way to showcase the collection and have it living in a space among other brands. You have a completely different customer that shops in a department store rather than a boutique.

You are currently making trips throughout the US to different Neiman Marcus locations, what is the importance of that for you?

Well, I love people and I love my clients and it is a rare opportunity to meet my clients. It is a privilege to get to know the people who buy your shoes, to meet them, and to get their feedback. It really helps me create products, and give women what they want. Building relationships and loyalty, which doesn’t really exist anymore, creates a bond with your clients and it is extremely important.

What about your online business? Is that something you focus on as well?

Yeah I am really happy because it has been so incredibly successful. We link our social media and make it an omnichannel, so if something is not in stock you can pull it from our store. If something is sold out on our website you can look up which retailer in the world has it. I think online is all about customer service, and we are trying to create a unique experience with that as well and have a unique selection compared to our competitors.

What are some of the differences that you see between American, British, Italian women, etc., since your company has become so international?

You would be surprised. Obviously in London we sell more boots and more heavy weather shoes, but in terms of style everyone in the world – because we live in such a globalized world, and social media is king – a trend is hot everywhere at the same time. Everyone still wants the same shoe in the same color whether they are in Australia, China, France, America, whatever. It’s so incredible!

So you think that social media and social celebrity makes style globalized?

Yes, the best sellers here are the best sellers all around the world.

Does that approach inform how you open new boutiques?

Well, I believe that we are in a globalized world and people are getting tired of seeing the same thing everywhere. Why go to a shop in Hong Kong when you live in New York or you live in Dallas and you have the exact same store back home? Why would you even walk into that store? You’ve seen it already. So, my design approach is treating them like a home. You wouldn’t decorate your home in LA like you would in New York or Miami because the environment is very different. Every store is different; every store has a different personality. They are even created by different interior designers with different furniture and colors and approaches. I like a mix of modern and classic. There is one thing that kind of pulls everything together: stripes. I think stripes are quite modern and it’s become a symbol of the brand, it actually has become part of our packaging as well. It comes from the Renaissance, and the cathedrals and churches from that time; striped pillars, striped facades, striped columns, I kept on seeing stripes. That is our common thread, back in the day there were some stores that you would have to travel to go to in Paris or Tokyo and it was an experience to walk into that store because it was so special and unique, and you would find merchandise that you could not find anywhere else in the world. I want to have the same approach to my stores, to create stores that are completely unique and one-of-a-kind, where 40% of the merchandise is unique to the store and you cannot find it anywhere else. That is why you walk into a store, or else you will just buy it online.

Photography by Jake Toler|Art Direction by Louis Liu|Interview by Alan Bindler