Mario Valentino
- Luca Colonna
- Mar 15, 2022
- 2 min read
The shoe Master
Classic, whimsical, flat or dizzy when it comes to Mario Valentino there is something for everyone. The shoes, especially if are made by great quality and refinement, are not only a simple accessory but represent a tool with which to play, present and be recognized so much to get to be exposed in the museums.
This is what happened to Mario Valentino with his flat sandal, far from the fashions of the 50s, with an extremely modern design. A very simple sandal, flat, naked, adorned only by a coral flower restrained by two very thin strands of pearls, a minimal but precious detail, symbol of a light aesthetic, simple but sophisticated; more than a shoe a mirror object of the times that conquered the world and made epoch.
This special sandal, still on display at the Bally shoe museum in Schoenenwerd (Switzerland), enchanted everyone by making known the name Mario Valentino even overseas.
From Jackline Kennedy to Monica Vitti and Catherine Deneuve to Maria Callas, Mario Valentino has become synonymous of style and elegance.
And since the 70s, the designer has dedicated himself to clothing, always using the highest quality leathers to maintain a common thread with the origins of the company, which over time has seen several collaborations with great designers of the history of fashion as Karl Largefeld, Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace.
To guide us in the Mario Valentino's world of today is the granddaughter of the legendary Mario, Giulia, head of the company’s style office, who with solarity and passion tells us the memories of his grandfather and his future projects.
Asking her what is the element that characterizes the DNA of the company, she replies without hesitation the leather.
Smooth, woven, reworked and transformed to make it silky and light to the touch.
To get to the latest novelty introduced in the FW 2022/23 collection, a completely eco-friendly leather that uses apple peels without losing the quality and strenght characteristics of which the company is a spokesperson. The use of sustainable materials, as Giulia points out, is no longer just a habit but a necessity, an indispensable added value also in terms of credibility on world markets.
What has always characterized Mario Valentino, is to keep up with the times managing to understand them and why not, anticipate them. It is no coincidence that the company and its founder, says his niece, have always had close relations with the world of art and architectural design, a way of living and creating fashion , that goes beyond the object, appropriating suggestive social codes to become a phenomenon of custom.
