One of Italy’s most celebrated shoe designers, Sergio Rossi, has died at the age of 84. The luxury designer was hospitalized in Cesena and according to reports, the fast-spreading infectious COVID-19 took away his life. Rossi lived in the Emiglia Romana region of Italy, which was one of the most hard-hit areas with coronavirus disease. The Sergio Rossi Group donated €100,000 to the Sacco hospital in Milan to help fight the pandemic, according to Business of Fashion.
Founded in 1968, people all over the world lauded for Sergio Rossi’s keen eye and his ability to create iconic collections of for women’s footwear.
In a statement to the press on April 3rd 2020, the brand’s CEO, Riccardo Sciutto stated, “It was a great pleasure to have met him. He was our spiritual guide and he is today more than ever. The designer loved women and was able to capture a woman’s femininity in a unique way. He was never over-the-top, always in good taste. The shoes were always wearable and he was never satisfied until they were perfect. They were not accessories for him. He told me once that he wanted to create the perfect extension of a woman’s leg.”
Sergio’s pioneering label and designs inspired many shoe designers and brands, including his own son, Gianvito who worked alongside his father until Sergio Rossi, as a brand was sold to Kering in 1999. Gianvito Rossi launched his own label in 2007 as a homage to his father’s legacy.
In a tribute to his father, Gianvito shared the words, “He has always stood out for his class and his strong, charismatic, generous, courageous character: a natural leader, loved and respected at the same time by his collaborators, with whom, in the long journey of his life he created one big family. There are those who have had the good fortune to transform their art into a work and those who have the extraordinary talent of transforming their work into a work of art. Sergio Rossi was this man. A husband, father, grandfather and progenitor of a family that followed his example. The family offers, with love, their last goodbye. With the unquenchable fire of your passion, you taught us that there are no limits for those who love what they do. Goodbye maestro.”
