Style through Design: Form and Function

This essay considers the relationship between footwear, fashion and design in what is now called ‘Made in Italy’. This relationship goes back to the late Renaissance when a restricted aristocratic social group imposed the first ‘artificial’ transformation of clothing. This is part of a process that arrives to the present day and has been based during the last few centuries on the so-called ‘democraticization of fashion’. By the eighteenth century ‘to be fashionable’ was no longer the prerogative of the wealthy or the social elite, but could be also achieved by the lower ranks of society. As ‘popoluxe’ products become increasingly central in negotiating fashion across classes, shoes assumed new psychological and cultural meanings. They become material expressions of desire, affection and attraction. These changes in the demand for footwear were paralleled by important technological and technical innovations. The artisan skills of the Calegheri (the Venetian shoemakers) were continued by new entrepreneurs operating in industrial contexts. Skills were often trasmitted through tacit processes and personal experiences. Although these mechanisms are very creative and contribute enormously to the artistic aspect of the ‘Made in Italy’, they have the major fault of being difficult to replicate and can therefore be a barrier to the development of any sector. There is the need to share knowledge, know-how and to codify individual experiences. This is the role undertaken by particular businesses that are able to combine traditional working practices and training in new technologies and design. In other cases the shoemaking tradition is combined with innovation through the action of schools. One such example is the ‘Footwear Politechnic School’ of the Riviera del Brenta near Padua in the North East of Italy. Since the 1950s large producers, as well as the most famous world designers have used the school for inspiration and have commissioned students and graduates to produce the latest footwear to be shown on Milan and Parisian catwalks. This coincides with the birth of the ‘shoe designer’ who is not only a skilled artist, but also commercially informed about fashion and market trends. The market becomes central in the training of highly specialised designers who are able to capture consumer preferences, to design and finally industrialise fashion.