The Sergio Rossi brand, an Italian footwear specialist company, was created by Sergio Rossi in San Mauro Pascoli, Italy in the 1960s. It was in 1966 that Rossi began selling his models to shops in Bologna and on the beaches of Rimini, and in 1968, he signed his first pair of shoes: a name written in block letters, with a logo as simple as a child’s drawing, affixed to a black round-tipped shoe.

The 1980s saw the start of the brand’s expansion, with an average of two boutiques opening each year between 1980 and 1999. It was also at this time that the brand became closely linked with some of the leading design houses in the fashion industry, producing shoes for Dolce & Gabbana and Azzedine Alaïa.

Sergio Rossi’s philosophy was simple: to think of a shoe, not as a superimposed ornament, but as the continuation of the body, comfortable, cosmetic, designed for the movement of a contemporary women. The Sergio Rossi brand has since expanded from women’s footwear to include men’s footwear, bags and accessories.

Thirty years after the creation of the first shoes bearing his name, French company, PPR, acquired the Sergio Rossi brand in 1999, and with this, new shops opened in prestigious cities like London, Tokyo and Paris.

As of October 2008, Francesco Russo has been the Creative Director of the Sergio Rossi brand. The autumn/winter 2009/10 collection was his first collection for the brand.

With Francesco Russo as Creative Director, the Sergio Rossi brand has also played a part in developing sustainable fashion with their Eco Pump, a biodegradable shoe created using Liquid Wood. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the Eco Pump went to GoodPlanet.org, a foundation created to raise public awareness of environmental protection.

For more details please visit http://www.sergiorossi.com/.