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Paul Andrew has been appointed the new creative director of Sergio Rossi. The British-born designer officially took up the role on Tuesday, the Lanvin Group-owned shoe brand said in a statement. The appointment marks Andrew’s return to Italy for the first time in three years, after his tenure at Salvatore Ferragamo ended in 2021.
“I am honored and excited to join Sergio Rossi, a world-renowned shoe manufacturer with roots and traditions that speak to the enduring strength of Italian savoir-faire, and look forward to building on Sergio Rossi’s unique spirit of innovation and technical expertise as we propose a bright new vision for the brand today,” Andrew said in a statement.
Though the Sergio Rossi brand has been quiet lately, it has a strong tradition of innovation and an impressive archive, which Andrew talks about. The founder learned his craft from his father and once said, “I was born in leather.” He founded his own brand in 1968 and brought his original thinking to both design and business through collaborations with emerging ready-to-wear brands such as Versace, Laura Biagiotti, and Dolce & Gabbana. He sold his brand to the Gucci Group (now Kering) in 1999, then changed hands again in 2015, before being acquired by Fosun Fashion Group (later renamed Lanvin Group) in 2021. Rossi passed away in 2020 at the age of 84.
Andrew moved to New York in his 20s, where he worked for designers such as Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Narciso Rodriguez, honing his craft before founding his own eponymous brand in 2013. The following year, he received the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and in 2016, he was asked to design women’s shoes for Italian footwear giant Salvatore Ferragamo (later renamed Ferragamo). At the end of 2017, he was asked to partner with menswear design director Guillaume Meilhan to oversee women’s ready-to-wear. Then, in 2019, as the house’s revenues rose to €1.38 billion, Andrew became creative director. However, he left Salvatore Ferragamo in 2021 after the first year of the pandemic was a difficult one for the business. Soon after, he moved to revive his own brand, which he had closed to focus on the Florentine maison.